Thanks CherylMW4 for your review and feedback. I am sorry that your sailing experience with us was disappointing to you. We greatly appreciated your input as well as input from all of our passengers. Your input is important and it will receive top priority as we address any positive or negative sailing experiences.
On your cruise as well as many cruises this year and last year, we have sailed without the mainsail. Had we sailed the main, it would have not made much difference, because we had very little wind and our boat speed was less than 2 knots.
We ask all of our passengers to sign a waiver so that they would understand the inherent dangers of sailing. The US Coast Guard advises that everyone should wear a life jacket when on the water. According to a Coast Guard publication… "One-half of all recreational boating fatalities happen in calm water. These fatalities occur close to shore and are caused by drowning. Also, in most cases, life jackets are stowed on board, but not worn. And all are unexpected. The U.S. Coast Guard recommends that you wear — not just carry — a life jacket while boating." However, our policy is that if you leave the cockpit to go onto the deck, you MUST wear a life jacket. Children under 12 must wear a life jacket AT ALL TIMES.
I am very sorry that the life jackets were uncomfortable, but our U.S. Coast Guard Approved Type 1 Offshore life jackets, are designed so that in the event of a passenger going overboard, conscious or unconscious, the life jackets will turn you face up to increase your chance of survival.
In the unfortunate event of a person going over board, the first mate is the spotter to identify the location of the person and to make the captain aware that the Man Over Board (MOB) maneuver is in effect. This is why a first mate is on the deck with you regardless of the wind speed.
Our mission is that our passengers’ safety will always come first as we provided them with a unique, wonderful and memorable sailing experience on the bay.
Thank you once again for your review and input. We hope that in the future, we will have a chance to share with you why so many of our passengers love sailing on the Chesapeake Bay. When you come back, please bring some wind with you! (smile). Hope to see you on the bay.
