When Barbara Duncan of Los Altos was looking for a place to have her wedding reception Aug. 5, she wanted a venue beyond the typical banquet hall.
“We were trying to think of wineries and stuff, and we wanted to try something different,” she said. “So we said, ‘How about going out on a yacht?’”
On the big day, the newlyweds and 75 guests dined on beef tips and chicken aboard the Sausalito Empress, a 90-foot yacht operated by Bay and Delta Yacht Charters of Sausalito.
“Being out on the bay certainly is a wonderful experience,” said Duncan, a human resources director. “We just had the most gorgeous day.”
While many yachts are available for charter around the Bay Area, few yacht operations can arrange a waterbound event – including full onboard catering, musical entertainment and bar service – for large groups.
Bay and Delta occupies that niche with a handful of other companies, such as Hornblower Cruises and Events and Commodore Events.
Not only is the business essentially recession-proof, but Bay and Delta is looking to expand.
“We’re a really rare business,” said founder Gerry Robertson, 55, of Novato. “It’s a matter of how good we are at PR and getting people to talk about us.”
Robertson, a former music promoter, started the company about 15 years ago. His first yacht was the Avalon, a 70-footer with three staterooms, a bar and dining room and an open flybridge on top. It can handle 49 passengers.
Earlier this year, the company added a second yacht, acquiring the 90-foot Sausalito Empress for $1.5 million. The yacht, which accommodates up to 150 passengers, has two bars, a dance floor and a large dining room for formal events.
Now the company is working on plans for a boat that can handle 300 passengers or more, and hopes to have the yacht by next year.
“There’s a large need for a larger boat on the bay,” said Andrea Winslow, Robertson’s daughter and business manager.
While Robertson, a certified captain, runs the boats, Winslow runs the office – handling sales, marketing, payroll, personnel and accounting.
She arranges for food, beverages, disc jockeys, linens, china and any number of special requests from the clients.
Because Bay and Delta is a smaller operation than a company like Hornblower, based in San Francisco, Winslow tries to offer a higher level of personalized service.
“They did an absolutely fantastic job,” said Robin Shostack, 31, of Mountain View, who booked a social event for 40 people two months ago.
“A lot of it was Andrea. She was really responsive and really helpful. Anything I asked for, she was willing to work with us. She never took more than 15 minutes to call me back, and she made the whole thing really easy.”
Winslow, a 31-year-old Novato resident, says about 80 percent of the business is currently corporate events and the rest is weddings. But she expects that to change next year because weddings, which book up to a year in advance, are just beginning to fill the schedule of the new Sausalito Empress.
“For next year, it’s probably going to be 50/50,” she said.
Bay and Delta employs three captains, one executive chef and numerous part-time chefs, waiters and bartenders. Rates for catered events range from a little as $75 to $150 per person and beyond, depending on the package.
“It’s not uncommon for people to spend $200 per person,” Robertson said.
The company also offers a weekly “Music on the Bay” cruise on the Sausalito Empress. The cruise, which runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Sundays, features live music, a buffet and drinks for $40 per person.
Between the two yachts, Robertson estimates the company runs more than 300 cruises a year.
“We’re out here pretty much every day,” he said.
Source: by Gary Klein, Marin Independent Journal, Link to original article
