Puttin’ around the Marco waterways, and all you feel is the warm sun melting your stress away, the dazzling water gently motioning underneath and an innate calmness from being around water.

And then you see “No Wake.”  What does that mean?  In boating terms, “slow down”. But it could certainly apply to more than your speed on the water.

Being in Marco Island (sometimes referred to as “God’s Waiting Room”) put’s a totally different perspective on life.  Every day we hear pearls of wisdom like “you can’t buy time”…. “time and tide waits for no man”….. “you can’t roller skate to heaven with your money”….and so on.

The message is always the same though the words may differ.  Slow down and enjoy yourself.  Take the time to note the good things in your life. Sometimes we take them for granted.

We really enjoy meeting people, being on the water, and sharing special moments. This is how we have fun. But we always find great pleasure in seeing other people slow down and relax as well. That’s why we love seeing our clients enjoying time with their friends and family when they’re on a charter with us.

We hope you’ll keep Free Spirit Yacht Cruises in mind for celebrating the good times in your life.  

Much as we miss being out on our yachts on Lake Michigan, winter is the time when Captain Joe and I get time to work on planning fun events for you.

We are saying “Au Revoir,” “Ciao,” “Adios,” and “Good bye” to 2009!  Amen to 2010!  Our Zen is, “2010 will be better than it has been.”

Seems so, considering I just got off the phone with a church group that booked a Saturday night fireworks cruise in July aboard the Free Spirit.   A great way to start out the New Year.

All of us at Free Spirit Yacht Cruises are wishing you a Happy New Year!  And can’t wait to sea you next year.

We want to wish you a wonderful Happy Holiday – filled with joy, peace, health and all good things for you and your family.

As my sister-in-law Dawn, put it, FUN is what we had…for ten glorious, sun-drenched days!  

Thanks to Joe’s parents, Rich and Judy (the original owners of Free Spirit Cruises) we celebrated Judy’s birthday on a fabulous Caribbean cruise. Talk about dream vacation!

I was so excited that I didn’t sleep for the first three days. There was always something happening on board the ship:  dancing, rock climbing, shows, gambling and of course all the food you could eat! 

Every day, whether we stopped at a port or were at sea, we all met up in the dining room and shared stories, laughed, toasted and really got to enjoy each other.

I was able to meet and spend time with Joe’s siblings and spouses…a rare opportunity since we live in Chicago and they’re in Florida and Idaho. We had such a good time together that we’re planning to do it more often. Thanks to Deborah, we’ve all been invited to Idaho next Thanksgiving. I might even try skiing….on snow!

While it may seem a stretch to compare a ten-day Caribbean cruise to a three-hour yacht charter on Lake Michigan, if you’re talking about celebrating important occasions, it’s one and the same.

There’s something very special about gathering a group of friends or family members on a yacht. Whether you’re celebrating a wedding, birthday, anniversary or reunion, an afternoon or evening spent laughing and relaxing on Lake Michigan makes for magical memories.

Joe and I aren’t the only ones who will tell you that. Here’s a quote from the Sertoma organization who sailed with us in July 2008:

If you missed our 40th anniversary party – you “missed the boat.”  It was a beautiful night – the lake was perfect - food and hors d’oeuvres were scrumptious….

Frank J. Tomecek, Chicago Ridge

So if you’ve been kicking around the idea of celebrating your special event on a private yacht charter, call us to lock in a date. We’re already booking into 2011. 

With all the buzz about social media (which we use and find extremely valuable), there’s still nothing better than face-to-face networking. 

This past Thursday, we attended the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce (we’re members) LPBDI Networking Extravaganza at Goose Island BrewPub. The place was rocking with energy and people.

Cleverly we were guided into small groups where a facilitator had each of us share info about our business. What a great way to get everybody comfortable mixing and mingling the rest of the evening.  So much so that Joe was cruising around the room making connections (he’s quite the networker…and hard to miss in his orange Hawaiian shirt!)

From the interior designer to the international insurance company agent, I enjoyed meeting people from a wide variety of business and industries. 

While speaking with one man, who had recently moved to Chicago, we discovered he had cruised aboard the Gypsy Spirit this past summer.  Now we are connected on LinkedIn and he mentioned, “I will definitely be on one of your boats again during the summer.” Now that’s what I call a terrific way to build relationships via networking.

Speaking of business, have you ever thought of starting your own? Dream of being an entrepreneur but need a push in the right direction? Then this is for you. Start Up! Chicago is an excellent program to get you on track. This ten-week course will take you step-by-step through the process to help make your dream a reality.

Even though I had my own business for ten years (Angela’s Charter Service), I took Start Up! Chicago a few years ago because I knew we would be merging with Free Spirit Yacht Cruises. I found the program extremely valuable and came away with the knowledge that whether you’re family-owned yacht charter company or a large manufacturer of widgets, you need a plan.

We all need to deal with the day-to-day operations, and ultimately, the sale of our product or service. Start Up! Chicago will help you in developing and executing your plan.

Here’s to living your dream!

Are you starting to feel SAD?  Even though the weather has been nice the past couple of weeks, it’s dark by 5:00pm, Christmas decorations are popping up and there are a lot of bare trees…winter is inevitably on her way!

Just because Chicago’s yacht charter season is over, doesn’t mean you have to quit cruising.   Joe and I are starting winter off on a family cruise celebrating Joe’s Mom’s Birthday; cruising through paradise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Sea.  The anticipation of experiencing exotic places like Columbia, Panama and Costa Rica is a great escape in itself!  Thanks Judy!

Additionally, we would like to introduce a good friend of ours that is a yacht charter broker specializing in customized private charters in the Caribbean and BVI.  Passionate about sailing, Dennis Dori, aka Capt. Denny, is in the Virgin Islands inspecting a variety of yachts for you to charter.

Capt. Denny is also participating in fun social events, creating great opportunities for the brokers and crews to spend some quality time together.   Joe and I attended this boat show a few years back and it was incredibly fun and the people are awesome!

Thank you for choosing Free Spirit Yacht Cruises for your Chicago charters and keep on cruising this winter.

The less-than-cruise-friendly weather we’ve been having has had no effect on the brides we’ve been talking to this past week. Yes, people are starting to plan for their 2010 weddings. We’ve booked two in the past week.

If your dream wedding venue is something different than a hotel or banquet hall, a luxury yacht charter wedding is a fabulous “something different”.  Intimate.  VERY romantic.  And everyone seems to have such a good time.

Check out some of the pictures from a Jeremy Lawson photographed wedding this summer (be sure to look at the cue cards!)

At Free Spirit Yacht Cruises, we can do almost anything you want.  Ceremony on board, followed by a small lunch or brunch reception. Elegant cocktail party. Sophisticated dinner with lavish buffet. Casual, fun Chicago-themed wedding party. Or an intimate champagne reception for a few close friends.

Since we do so many wedding charters, nothing throws us. We’re used to the craziness that pre-wedding jitters can bring on (not to mention that Joe and I are still newlyweds!). That’s why we make absolutely sure that every last detail is covered when you book your wedding charter on the Gypsy Spirit or the Free Spirit.

So whether you want a beautiful morning brunch reception as the sun rises over Lake Michigan or an evening wedding with the spectacular twinkling Chicago skyline as your backdrop, we’ll help you plan the wedding of your dreams.

For more information, visit our wedding page.  Or call us at 708-361-2220.

We love weddings!

Because we love to hear from you.

We don’t normally do this kind of well, blatant, horn tooting. But this email from a client almost made me cry.  So I want to share it….

August 25, 2009

Joe and Angela-

I wanted to drop you guys a line and say thank you for another great year. We will certainly be back next year for number 5!

 Here is a quote you can use for your publications:

“Free Spirit Cruises is a first class organization. If someone is looking to host a memorable event, Free Sprit does it right. Every detail is taken care of and the experience of sailing on the lake is one that lingers for days afterwards. Everyone in my group looks forward to this day all year, and afterwards that is all we talk about.

We have been using Joe and Angela for 4 years now, and every year it gets better. They are continually improving the yacht and the way in which they deal with their clients. It is a pleasure to work with a company that is so professional. However, it is a disservice to call them a company, because after you get to know them, it is almost like they become family. We will be setting up events with them for years to come.”

Thanks again,

Luke

Now you see why I had to share this? Joe and I feel so blessed to have wonderful clients like this.  Not to mention that Luke will be hosting another event tomorrow. Or as he said, “Fresh off of our annual event, I am looking to host a very important business event for my work. I thought I would do something different this year, and I thought of you.”

Off to the harbor for a busy week of corporate charters…. 

Cruise, that is.

Once you’ve been on one of our Lake Michigan or Chicago River luxury charters, you want to come back for more. We totally understand.

Captain Joe and I could be out here every day….and would be if it weren’t for winter.

That’s why we see a lot of clients book multiple charters. Like Best Buy. They had one charter this past Monday. They have another next Monday. And a third the first week in October. The groups are from different districts, but they’re all Best Buy employees. And they all heard about us from one person in the company who loved a charter she was on.

Last night, a group from Topco cruised on the Gypsy Spirit (their second charter this year). And tonight, ZS Associates will be out on the Free Spirit. The latter has been doing two charters a season since 2006.

The repeat bookings make us happy, cause that means we’re doing a good job of making sure your events are successful and your parties memorable. We want you and your friends to have wonderful times on our yachts.

So even though Free Spirit Yacht Charters are kind of addictive, it’s in a good way.

Happy weekend, Everyone. Enjoy this beautiful weather.