MAINSAIL CHARTERS & RESEARCH, LLC

Sailing Instructions & Charters

 Environmental Research

Have you just gone out and on a whim bought a new or used sailboat because it looked to be fun and enticing?  
Have you just realized you know nothing about sailing? 

Main Sail Charters & Research LLC (MSC&R) Instructors will work with you to arrange and provide you with instruction on your newly purchased sailboat.

SAILING CHARTERS & INSTRUCTIONS

 

MainSail Charters offers sailing aboard DreamCatcher, a Hunter Passage 42, out of Holiday Hill Marina, Mayo Maryland on Weekday and Weekend Charters as  well as the late afternoon/evening sunset cruises where you can sit back and enjoy the Chesapeake and sail home into the sunset.  Charter rates are $100.00 hour, minimum of 4 hours and a maximum of 6 hours.  Late afternoon/sunset cruises are three hours.  By arrangement, longer sails can be arranged to include overnight stays.

MainSail Charters & Research, LLC can provide new sailors or interested individuals an exclusive means for  exploring, cruising or learning to sail on the Chesapeake Bay.  Charters and Instructions are aboard The Sailing Vessel, “Dream Catcher”  which is berthed at Holiday Hill Marina, on Whitemarsh Creek off the beautiful Rhode River in Mayo, Maryland on the upper part of the middle Chesapeake Bay.  

For directions to our Port-of-Call, click here: Holiday Hill Marina.

All Charters and courses of instruction are requested to book at least two weeks in advance.  A tour of the sailing vessel DreamCatcher may be arranged.  All Charters and Courses of Instruction require a deposit equal to one-half the total fee. Deposits are to be received one week prior to sailing or taking a course and are non-refundable except in exegent circumstances.

MainSail Charters Instructional Courses

Your Personal Boat Instruction.  Sailing on your personal boat, our Instructors provide you with knowledge and the ability to allow you to learn your boat.  We will work with you to help you to gain confidence and knowledge of your boat, how it sails and how it feels underway.  MSC&R can provide you with instruction using our Introduction to sailing program package, or working with you, we will develop a course of sailing instruction that is best suited for your particular need. 

More intense and detailed instruction may be provided depending on the level of knowledge you are seeking. 

The “WOW! That’s a Big Boat” charter is a learn as you go Chartered sailing trip aboard Mainsail Charters and Research sailing vessel “DreamCatcher”.  Designed for those who have sailed small boats, this charter takes you through the intricacies of a large sailing vessel as you charter sail the Chesapeake Bay from the Rhode River on the western shore  of the Chesapeake Bay.

More intense and detailed instruction may be provided depending on the level of knowledge you are seeking. 

In either type of instruction basic topics will include:

Working together as a crew and communications among the crew,

Basic sailing terminology that is used on the boat, as well as some non-sailing terms which can substitute for that new language you are trying to acquire 

Reviewing parts of the boat

Rigging

Boating safety - at the dock and safety at sea 

Leaving the dock or mooring

Points-of-Sail

Going from point A to point B to point C and doing so no matter what the direction or condition of the wind. 

      General knowledge of the rules of the road

     Navigational Markers

Piloting and Navigation.

Man overboard procedures will be taught as well.

Practical and written exams are given during the course

A copy of the course curriculum may be found here.

RATES: 

Your Personal Boat Instruction” :  $100.00 per hour

“WOW! That’s a Big Boat” :  2 days - $450 per person. 
Minimum of 2—Maximum of 6 students per class 

Sailing Charters:  

$100.00 / Hour, Minimum of 4 Hours / Maximum of 8 Hours - Up to 6 Persons Maximum

Sunset Cruises: $100.00 per hour, 3 hours. (Call to inquire for times as these vary depending on the time of the year.)  Plan however, for most cruises to begin between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm

Fall Cruises:  See the colorful splender of the Chesapeake in the fall. Get out your cameras for the reds, yellows and oranges of late September, October and November -  Special rates of $75.00 per hour,  Book 2 hour or 3 hour voyages.  This is not a sail expedition but an exploration by water of the beauty of the fall foliage in the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the YMCA Camp Letts areas.

 fall 1    fall 2    fall 3   fall 4                         

*********************************************************************************************************************************

MainSail Charters Payment Schedule:  When you sign up and are scheduled for your charter or sailing course, you will be asked for a 50% deposit at the time. The remainder of your balance is required 5 business days prior to the start of your course. You may pay by check or through PayPal for both the deposit and the full rate. In the event that you must cancel, you will receive a full refund provided that you notify us 7 days in advance.  

Discounts of 25% on all rates are given to Military, EMS, Police and Fire Service Personnel and Students

All boat Captains are United States Coast Guard Licensed with extensive sailing resumes

Want to Pay by PayPay?  then look no farther than here.  When using PayPal, please select from below for payment to MainSail Charters & Research, LLC.  

  For More Information, call or write:

Captain Bill Ganzer, (USCG OUPV License #:  1170224)
MainSail Charters & Research, LLC
1216 Travis View Court
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879

Phone: 240-401-4464
E-mail: CaptainBill@starboardbeam.com

MainSail Charters & Research, LLC

******************************************************************************************************************************************
The Captain & his Crew

       captain and crew  captain

*******************************************************************************************************

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES?

With over 30 years of experience in the Environmental Profession, experts can provide you with many of the answers you are seeking concerning environmental matters.  Specializing in Regulatory Compliance issues, MSC &R, LLC personnel can help you to find answers to questions about NEPA, Threatened and Endangered Species requirements, Fish and Wildlife issues, Cultural Resource Management and Historic Preservation matters.

Call, Write or e-mail
Captain Bill Ganzer, (USCG OUPV License #:  1170224)
MainSail Charters & Research, LLC
1216 Travis View Court
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879

Phone: 240-401-4464
E-mail: CaptainBill@starboardbeam.com

MainSail Charters & Research, LLC

********************************************************************************

Middle Chesapeake Bay Sailing and Instruction

Are you interested in Chartering or Sailing Instruction in the middle Chesapeake Bay area, away from the hustle and bustle of Annapolis?  If so, then Beam Reach & Beyond, with their Morgan 42 center cockpit sailing vessel “Wayward Wind” is the place to go for mid-Bay Sailing.  Sailing lessons and Charters are out of beautiful Solomon Island near the mouth of the Patuxent River.

In affiliation with Beam Reach Beyond  we can arrange charters or sailing instruction for the 2010 Sailing Season.  Call or e-mail us for more information.

Courses and Charters with Beam Reach Beyond include:

BASIC CRUISING (Course Level 1)

ADVANCED CRUISING (Course Level 2)

CRUISE the CHESAPEAKE (Course Level 3)

CHARTERS:  4 hour minimum/6 hour maximum; 6 person maximum

HOME Safe Boating
Clouds      Sailing Schools
Cultural Resources Search Engines
Geology and the World of Rocks and Minerals Useful Tools
Holiday Hill Marina Weather
MainSail Charters &Research, LLC
Sailing & Charter Information

                                          Navigation