Sunday, September 21 dock by 4:30 PM return 8 PM

Enjoy a Sunday evening wine tasting and dinner cruise on the San Francisco Bay. Sip the Best of the Best varietals of wines while enjoying the last of the summer sunsets.

Each winery will pour up to four varietals and offer informative and educational information about the wine you are tasting. You’ll sample from California wineries serving top red and white wine varietals from Napa, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Temecula and Orange counties.

Feast on rack of lamb with port reduction fig sauce, honey glazed ham, spinach lasagna (vegetarian) Greek salad, fruits, various cheese from around the world, finished with flourless chocolate cake for dessert.

Book your tickets online now because space is limited!

Wow, a beautiful sunny day on the bay with a forecast of 90 degrees!  Amazing!  We started off by leaving Sausalito with a yacht filled with crew, barbeque supplies, food, flowers and games early in the morning…at 7 am to be exact!  The entire crew was excited about the beautiful weather and being on Angel Island helping the group to enjoy their team building activities and a fantastic lunch.  We arrived at Angel Island at 7:45 am and dropped the chefs, game manager, and two servers off on the Island to set up the picnic area.  The rest of the crew continued on to Pier 40 in San Francisco to pick up the guests.  The yacht looked beautiful with custom flowers by Lisa Brown at FloraLisa and burgundy table cloths.  The brunch on the yacht was also fantastic with smoked salmon, capers, croissants, bagels, cream cheese, jams, fresh fruit, and fresh juices.  We boarded 102 guests who arrived via private shuttle arranged by our management.  The guests were welcomed aboard by our Captain and owner, Gerry Robertson.  The guests had a fantastic brunch service while cruising to Angel Island and were treated to fantastic views of the Bay Bridge, San Francisco city line, Golden Gate bridge, Alcatraz, The Richmond/San Rafael Bridge, and Angel Island.  Some guests even played bingo on the cruise over!  The full premium open bar was a real hit and we had shots all around!

We docked at Angel Island and 102 guests disembarked excitedly onto the Island.  They were greeted by our game manager and chefs.  Right away, about 20 guests picked up a game of volleyball, some picked up badmitten, and others began games of croquet.  About 20 minutes after arriving, the barbeque lunch was served.  The menu was customized with our Executive Chef, Jared Seaton to fit the groups individual tastes before the event and included gourmet cheeses, specialty breads, different types of barbeque skewers, three different salads, and a variety of other items.  We also had plenty of ice cold water on hand for the warm weather.  The guests enjoyed their wonderful lunch under bright blue skies on picnic tables beautifully covered by our staff with white coverings.  The benches were also covered for the guests.   As lunch was concluding, the team began introducing themselves and telling each other a little about their individual job.  It was wonderful to see at least three quarters of the group participating in this!  Others went on hikes and eventually the volleyball net was taken down to make room for a fun game of cricket!

After two and half beautiful hours on the island, it was time to begin our cruise back to Pier 40.  On the way back we served wonderful truffles and petit fours for dessert and the bars opened up again.  On the way back we saw some wonderful sights and were treated to a whale sighting!   We also dipped into McCovey cove where a baseball game was going on.  What a wonderful way to end a great team building day!

]]> http://empressevents.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/empress-events-hosts-stanford-team-building-cruise-to-angel-island-may-2008/feed/ 0 Captain Gerry http://empressevents.wordpress.com/2008/03/08/new-avalon-re-model/ http://empressevents.wordpress.com/2008/03/08/new-avalon-re-model/#comments Sat, 08 Mar 2008 05:12:00 +0000 Captain Gerry http://www.empressevents.com/?p=84 ]]>

On February 15th 2008 Empress Events started a long awaited re-model of their classic 1971 65 ft Yacht “Avalon”. The Yacht has been plying the San Francisco Bay and California Pacific for over 30 years. The Yacht Avalon was purchased by Bay and Delta Charters 10 years ago and delivered by Captain Gerry K Robertson and his son Bradley Lee Robertson from San Diego.The extensive work includes a complete New Bar. The Main Salon has been changed to allow sit down dining for up to 30 guests. Also this week Wednesday 3-6-08 the yacht is out of the water for the annual Coast Guard Inspections. Any one interested in coming by to see the boat out of the water is welcome to come by. Don’t worry you don’t have to do any painting.

Are you planning a party and looking for a great and unusual venue for a Wedding Birthday Party or Corporate Event? I have just the idea you want to know about. Yacht Charter or Boat Rental. Yachts are available for great rates through out the world. Here in the San Francisco Bay for example there are several yacht charter company’s.

Of course the big daddy is Horn blower. They have been around longer than all the others and obviously have done something right. But don’t just sign up with out looking around.

I happen to be partial to a company in the north bay called Bay and Delta Charters or Empress Events. The people that own the company are great and family owned and operated since 1989. You will be presented with incredible food and service when chartering one of their yachts. They have two boats which will accommodate as many as 150 guests on one boat. They are very well kept clean and fresh inside and out. Starting with the company’s smaller yacht The Avalon she is a classic 1971 wood boat with fine mahogany wood blended with teak to make a real feeling of yester year. She can accommodate up to 49 people for cocktails dinner and hors doeuvres. It has plenty of room inside and outside on the front part (bow) and the top (fly bridge) and even set up for overnight stays. The bigger boat is the newest on the bay built in 2002 and boosts new flat screen TV, dance floor, and two separate bars.

The Yacht Empress can accommodate up to 149 guests for cocktail/hors doeuvres reception and up to 130 guests for buffet or sit down dinner. Both boats have great music sound systems and The Empress can accommodate full bands. So when you are planning that next family get together reception or what ever give them a try.

Join Empress Events for a gourmet seated dinner and a premium cash bar this Valentine’s Day, 7-10pm. Just $99 per guest. For more information, Download our Valentine’s Day Cruise Flyer. Contact Us to purchase tickets.

The amps are plugged in. The sound check is complete. The fans are high-fiving and back slapping at the bar. But if the four women ready to rock the room as Zepparella go backstage, they’re going to need life preservers.

And they won’t be the only things rocking the San Francisco Bay Music Cruise.

The swells coming through the Golden Gate inject a whole new rhythm into the music mix. Gretchen Menn knows it well. Menn is the guitarist, “the Jimmy Page” of the all-woman Led Zeppelin interpretation. The waves add another dimension, she says.

“I don’t play anywhere near as drunk as Jimmy Page,” says Menn. “The unsettled footing really helps with that.”

Menn isn’t backstage. She’s hanging out by the back deck with everybody else. A nightclub on the water, the weekly Sunday cruise out of Sausalito is a more intimate experience than the average musical venue. At Zeparella’s early June show, the band and its loyal fans could not have been closer.

Anna, “just Anna,” is the vinyl-slacks-clad lead singer.

In her platform boots, she’s not so sure about the rolling decks, but she likes the up-close-and-personal contact on the cruise. “It’s like a living room,” she says. Even if it is a little early for Zepparella.

“We consider this a morning gig,” says the Robert Plant stand-in. “Anything that happens before 9 p.m. is clearly a morning gig.”

The fans don’t mind. Zepparella, four women who surrender nothing to the legendary British band, have a loyal following. They’re lining up on the dock when Capt. Brad Alvis directs them to “Raise your right hand and say ‘I’m going to have a goddamn good time!’”

Todd Arend is quick to take the oath. He’s more of a headbanger than an old salt, but he’s clearly excited about his first hard-rock cruise. “There’s no stage to keep us apart,” he proclaims.

That’s the kind of band loyalty that keeps the Sunday night cruises afloat, says Gerry Robertson, the owner of the charter company. Robertson has a long history in and around the music business.

“With the bands we get on board, most of the time they have a following,” Robertson says. That following can vary, a lot. The week before Zepparella, the band was the Mother Truckers. “We do everything,” Robertson says. “We do rock. We had the country guys on last week. Then we get these big band sounds.”

Robertson’s musical pedigree goes back to the early 1970s, when he was a roadie and ran the production company for Santana. Later, he participated in Journey’s germination, but the music business couldn’t compete with the sea.

“I bailed out and I went sailing,” the 56-year-old said. “I got on my sailboat and just took off.”

Last year he brought the two worlds back together. The Sunday music cruises started in the spring of 2006. Robertson likes it. Even if the dancing can be tricky. “It’s fun because you’re kind of moving around,” he says of his nightclub. “The boat’s doing its thing and everybody’s kind of doing their thing.”

Zepparella are clearly doing their own thing with Zeppelin’s rock ‘n’ roll as the Empress pulls away from the dock in the late afternoon. The deck is not crowded and the fans are mostly ensconced in the leather couches, but the fists are raised and pumping when Anna brandishes the mike for “Communication Breakdown.”

“Come on G!” she shouts to Menn as the guitarist fires up the frets on her Jimmy Page-authentic sunburst Les Paul.

It goes on like that. Zepparella is a high-energy show.

Towards the bow, four middle-aged women, the ones who brought a Ziploc of ear plugs, are bobbing with the boat and the bass beat. Paul Margarit, who boasts he has seen Zepparella “at least 50 times,” alternates between the air guitar and the air drums.

Steve Borne came in from Fresno for the show.

“This and shopping at Ikea,” he says.

Susan McCabe, a 54-year-old “lunch lady” from Martinez, never heard of the band but she’s enjoying the show. “Anything with a boat and water and I’m there,” McCabe declares. “A bar helps.”

It’s a typical response, the captain observes. People leave a lot behind when they leave the dock. “Bam! they get on a boat and all of a sudden they’re a celebrity.”

Whatever celebrity status Zepparella can claim – and among their “posse” it goes deep – it all dissolves when the volume comes down for dinner. They’re waiting in the line at the buffet with everybody else for the ravioli and chicken.

The boat brings the fans and the band together. “As the booze hits, more stuff is going to happen,” Anna declares, steadying herself on an overhead beam as Zepparella rips through “Livin’ Lovin’ Maid.”

The cruise goes on. They hit the high notes. The dance floor fills up for “D’yer Maker.” They ease up to the dock with “Whole Lotta’ Love” at full volume.

The band rocks.

The boat does too.

Source: by Rick Polito, Marin Independent Journal, Link to original article

What an incredible way to spend the afternoon. My guests for the KABOOM Cruise said they had never been to a better event. Great food very friendly staff and views that inspire awe…and well guess that’s what living in the bay area is all about.
–Gerry, Link to Yelp review

These guys have bands every Sunday through October I think…..they do private and public events, including 4th of July! What a way to see the fireworks!!
I have been 2x – once for The Mother Truckers (July 5th @ SweetWater Mill Vallley) and Father’s Day.
Both times AMAZING! FAB Service! –Kari, Link to Yelp review

Many of us have danced in night clubs and dance studios, but not necessarily on a dance floor surrounded by the ocean.

I am referring to a mini-cruise on the luxury yacht “Empress”. It is part of a Sunday afternoon live music series where guests spend several relaxing hours cruising the San Francisco Bay, while enjoying live music, dancing and dinner.

I was aboard on their first salsa dance event, and I can say that it was a delightful experience. The main reason: CANDELA! A dynamic salsa band under the direction of singer/conguero Edgardo Cambon , a popular artist who has been treating the S.F. Bay Area to his salsa and Afro-Cuban Jazz sounds for the past 20 years.

To my delight, Edgardo played the title song from his CD “Madre Rumba, Padre Son”. His intro playing the conga drums filled the place with energy. As the trombones picked up he sang the song that tells the wonderful history of salsa that translates : “ Salsa, you cannot forget, that your mother is la Rumba, and your father is el Son”.

The guests had fun dancing non-stop. What a sensation is dancing on the water!

Special thanks to my fellow dancers Omar,Raquel,Michelle, Hector from Santa Rosa, and to Raquel Hermosillo and her lively group of friends from accross the dance floor. Also to my sister Elena who came up from Los Angeles to join in.

Source: by Jimmy Arhon, Salsazon, Link to original article

SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) – With daylight-saving time kicking in this weekend and the first day of spring just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to get out on the Bay. The Sausalito-based company Bay and Delta Charters provides a fun and easy way to do it, with a new series of Sunday concert cruises on the Sausalito Empress.

The vessel is the newest charter boat on the Bay, says Capt. Gerry Robertson, owner and founder of Bay and Delta Charters. “It’s 90 feet, and it’s really nice. We’ve done a lot of work on it. We’ve spent way more money on it than we ever wanted to, to get it to be really nice.”

With concerts booked every Sunday (from 4 to 8 p.m.), the “Music on the Bay” series promises to be a great, inexpensive way to spend an afternoon on the water. The schedule kicks off this week featuring the Bay Area Beatles tribute band The Sun Kings.

“Tribute acts are still really popular these days, and they’re a lot of fun for our clients,” Robertson says. “Our customers come, and they recognize the songs. People that liked, whatever, like Pink Floyd, or Led Zeppelin.”

Bands slated to perform later this season include local Pink Floyd cover artists House of Floyd, the all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band Zepparella, and Heavy Petty, covering the songs of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

“Private charters are where the money is in this industry,” Robertson says. “The music cruise is like a PR deal for us. Ultimately, we don’t really make a lot of money off this music cruise thing. It’s more like a PR program than anything.”

A musician himself, Robertson likes to think of the concert series as a way to promote his charter business, while giving something back to local bands: “I like to see bands that have a little bit of a following, or that I’ve heard are kind of up and coming. There’s a few new characters out there that look really promising, that may go make something happen. … That’s kind of what we strive for.”

Whether guests attend for the music or the cruise itself, they can expect to be treated to a buffet-style dinner and gorgeous views of the Bay.

“We do a whole Bay tour: Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz — people really seem to enjoy it. … Whatever somebody wants to see, and whatever their schedule is, we try to make it available to everybody. The music is mellow enough that anybody could come and enjoy it.”

Among the upcoming acts: Sunday, The Sun Kings; March 18, Freddy Clark; March 25, Heavy Petty; April 1, The Ravens; April 8, House of Floyd; April 15, Uncle Leo’s Rock and Roll Road Show; April 22, Unauthorized Rolling Stones; and April 29, Candela.

Source: by Dan Apczynski, The Examiner, Link to original article