What a great summer this has been! With warm sunny days and beautiful evenings, our yachts have been booked pretty much day and night.
Parties and weddings. Reunions and networking events. You name it. It’s probably been celebrated on the Gypsy Spirit or Free Spirit this summer.
Still, the bulk of our business is corporate charters. And more and more businesses have discovered that yachts are a perfect venue for meetings, entertaining clients, and hosting company outings.
Who’s been cruising with us this summer? More like who hasn’t?
Here are some of the companies that sailed with us in August: Yahoo, Google, Hulu, University of Chicago, the French Pastry School (yum!), Best Buy, Target, JP Morgan, Leo Burnett, and Draft FCB….to name a few.
And we still have two more months before the season ends. So if you’ve been thinking about an office party, you’ve still got time before summer ends.
When the city announced that after 52 years, it was cancelling Chicago’s Venetian Night celebration, Joe and I were SO disappointed. It’s always been one of our favorite summer celebrations – one we looked forward to all year.
Then we talked to our friend Theresa Carter, aka The Local Tourist (who’s hosted a chef’s cruise and networking parties on our yachts this summer). She loved Venetian Night too (although she’s a red-haired Irish lass). The upshot? Together we came up with this amazing idea…to host a Bringing Back Venetian Night cruise.
Get ready to party –Italian style. We’re Bringing Back Venetian Night!
Come cruise on our Free Spirit luxury yacht (far more comfy than a gondola). Lake Michigan will be our canal. The magnificent Chicago skyline our Venice (but not sinking into the sea).
You’ll dine on a delectably decadent Italian buffet and enjoy a premium open bar. And there WILL be fireworks…from Navy Pier…..but fireworks nonetheless.
Head Gondolier, Captain Joe Donofrio (yes, we ARE Italian) will make sure you have the best viewing spot on Lake Michigan.
Sound like a dreamy way to spend a summer evening? Yep. That’s what we thought!
Over 50 people enjoyed a scrumptious Middle Eastern buffet from Dawali Mediterranean Kitchen, decadently delish cupcakes from The Goddess & Grocer and icy cold drinks.
There was music and dancing and door prizes from places you’ve always wanted to go. And as the cruise ended, each guest left with an “OMG! Look what’s in here!” goody bag filled with coupons for Cubs tickets and pizza tours and restaurant specials and more.
If you missed it, you missed a great time on Lake Michigan. But we just might have another tweetup cruise before the summer ends. So you’ll get another chance. In the meantime, here’s a video from JenChicago.
Thanks to the Bui Brothers and Zacuto for creating and sharing this time-lapse video. This video was shot in May on an evening Lake Michigan and Chicago River cruise aboard the Gypsy Spirit.
Very cool shots of going through the Chicago locks, cruising the Chicago river, amazing sunset and our world famous Chicago skyline. Check it out.
Last post, we talked about how much better the weather has been this summer than last year.
This week, we’re happy to report that the number of charters is far better as well (although a little less rain would be fine!).
The economy is still far from strong, but we’re seeing a definite increase in the number of corporate charters. New companies as well as many returning clients are cruising with us, and Joe and I are happy to see old friends and meet new ones.
Our Free Spirit and Gypsy Spirit are also busy with far more private events than last year. Lots of parties are booked on weekends with graduation, birthdays, and wedding-related celebrations.
But we still have room for you and your friends! Including some Wednesday and Saturday nights that are open for Chicago fireworks cruises.
So if you’ve been thinking about how much fun it would be to be out on Lake Michigan watching our spectacular fireworks shows (it is!), now’s your chance. Call us to see what dates are open. And then you can send us a note like this:
“Hi Angela! Thanks again for last night. Everyone had a wonderful time!”
Best Regards,
What a difference from last year at this time. That’s when Joe and I ran out to buy extra blankets cause it was SO cold on the lake….even though our yachts are heated!
We dug up a picture of some of the guests on Theresa Carter’s (The Local Tourist) charter last June that she won in our drawing. You’ll see that her guests are celebrating decked out in red fleece. Yes, it was summer in Chicago! They still had a great time on her birthday cruise…. but how much nicer to be cruising Lake Michigan when the weather is warm and beautiful.
Speaking of beautiful….the forecast is looking really fabulous for cruises. Mid 70s, a few 80s and a lot of those little sun icons we love so much.
If you’ve been thinking how much fun it would be to round up a group of friends and spend three hours on a luxury yacht cruising Lake Michigan, this is the perfect time. You don’t need a large group. Our smaller yacht, the Gypsy Spirit, holds up to 50 people, the perfect size for an intimate gathering. The Free Spirit is our larger luxury yacht that can accommodate up to 120 guests. But you don’t need that size group to book a cruise.
And you don’t need a special occasion to enjoy the spectacular Chicago skyline from a yacht on Lake Michigan. Although we do lots of parties and weddings and meetings, we also do “no special reason we just love to be on a yacht” charters.
All you need is some nice weather and some friends you like to be with. We’ll take care of the menu and drinks and make sure you and your friends are happy campers sailors.
Our Saturdays are pretty booked (although we do get periodic cancellations so if you have a special date in mind, always give us a call). But we’ve got some Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons (talk about a super way to relax on a Sunday!) and some weekdays here and there that are open.
To see some more of our happy sailors (most out on deck without blankets!), check out our photo gallery.
Celebrate the start of Summer on our first Fireworks Cruise of the 2010 season.
Join us on the luxurious Gypsy Spirit for three hours of relaxing fun on Lake Michigan.
Enjoy a mouthwatering American Style Buffet and icy cold drinks as you take in Chicago’s spectacular fireworks!
The forecast is looking fabulous for the weekend. So round up some friends, and don’t wait too long to sign up. The Gypsy is an intimate yacht and spots go fast.
For tickets, information and to buy now, click here.
Our last post was about building your network. This one is to help you do that. Well, it’s a suggestion actually….
A colleague of ours and fellow Lincoln Park Chamber member, Bob Wasserman, is an uber networker. He probably attends 4-6 events a week. He decided he wanted to do a networking cruise for one of his groups. And we thought, “what a super idea! “
So we’ve decided to host Lake Michigan networking cruises on Monday nights….which are generally pretty slow for networking events (and probably the only night Bob is free).
Our first Free Spirit Yacht Cruises after work Networking Voyage is on Monday, May 24th.
We’ll cruise on the Free Spirit, enjoy a yummy Sailor’s Delight Deli Buffet and network in a relaxing, comfortable setting – on a luxury yacht cruising Lake Michigan and taking in our spectacular Chicago skyline.
Three hours. $45. Includes food and wine/beer/soda bar.
Sound interesting? Sign up or get more info here. And feel free to tell your friends!
We’ve been doing a lot of networking lately. For one reason, it’s a super affordable way to market, and in this “still coming back” economy, we’re all pretty conscious of what we’re spending.
But we also like to network because we enjoy meeting new people. It’s one of the reasons we love what we do cause we’re always welcoming new clients and their guests and friends aboard one of our Free Spirit yachts.
During season, we don’t have much time to actively network. We’re busy with yacht charters – working on weddings and parties and corporate meetings. So we have a limited window of time in which to get out and do some face-to-face connecting.
Membership in these organizations and groups allows us to build new relationships within the Chicago business community and also market our services to an international audience.
Still, the bulk of our business is corporate charters. And more and more businesses have discovered that yachts are a perfect venue for meetings, entertaining clients, and hosting company outings.
We dug up a picture of some of the guests on Theresa Carter’s (