Terms and Conditions – Private Sailboat Charters

CSC will charge a deposit at the time a booking is made, and then no more than 10 days in advance of the charter CSC will use the same card to charge the full balance of the charter due to CSC. Charterer agrees to allow card to be charged for all balances and any scheduled or incurred fees.

If CSC cancels your charter due to conditions (not if Charterer cancels, but if CSC cancels), the amounts charged by CSC are refunded and there is no future obligation. You may change your reservation within the same boat class one time without fee if you do so more than 10 full days in advance. Since changes/cancels made by guests less than 10 days in advance often result in additional costs or underutilized capacity, there are change fees for changing (rescheduling, changing date/time/reducing length of charter of group size, etc.) charters less than 10 full days in advance, and for all cancellations made by Charterer, which cannot be waived. Reductions in group size that may change rates may be done free of charge up to 48 hours in advance if said reduced group rate is available/allowed on that date and time. Cancellations more than 10 days in advance are subject to fees as listed below, and shorter notice cancellations and changes are also subject to the fees below. Change fees for all cancellations and rescheduling less than 10 days in advance are charged as a percentage of retail cost before discounts (not to exceed agreed upon final price), and cannot be waived regardless of circumstance:

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Special events (2023: July 1-4 any time, July 29 daytime, and Aug 18-20 daytime), have double the cancellation/change fees listed above (but shall not exceed the full cost of the scheduled charter), and are subject to a minimum cancellation fee even if more than 10 days in advance of $200 for Sailboats, and $300 for Power Boats.

Chicago Sailboat Charters (CSC) will decide if your charter will be cancelled or delayed due to current conditions and approaching systems using the current and predictive radar, as well as the marine forecast and actual observations for the intended/probable area of charter. We do sail in some scattered showers (feel free to take cover during showers), but not persistent rain. We will not begin a charter during an electrical storm, moderate rain, or if we believe that such approaching conditions will be unavoidable during a charter by altering course or returning to harbor. We ask you to think of it like a ballgame, a little rain during a couple innings, or delaying the game, doesn’t ruin the whole game. If we are delayed by conditions (1 hour maximum for standard charters, longer for special events dates), we ask you to come aboard and start the party (at no charge while on hold at dock), while we watch conditions and radar to see when/if it will clear. This decision will be made by CSC as early as we are certain, and you will be notified immediately if we determine that the charter should be delayed or cancelled. In general, charters are not cancelled in advance of sail time unless we are certain that we will not charter based on the above criteria. While the weather forecast (advance or even hourly) may say there is a high chance of rain, this is very broad and may not affect the time of your charter or the area where your captain may sail, or could only result in a delay of your charter. If you do not show and conditions do allow for a sail, this will be considered a no-show and the no-show fee will apply (sorry, we just don’t want to be left standing on the dock with an empty boat that could be out on the water for a good time). Special Events and reservations longer than 3 hours, since they are longer than our standard charters, may have some sailing during more inclement conditions for some short periods if it is believed that the conditions will not persist. Charters between 9am and 5pm on Fri-Sun of Air Show weekend will not be cancelled for showers if planes are still flying (but will be delayed for electrical storms).
For all charters, CSC reserves the right to cancel charters if CSC believes that the conditions are not suitable, even if you and the captain believe they are. If Chicago Sailboat Charters cancels your charter (not if you cancel or no show), your payments will be refunded and there is no future obligation.

Partial charters are charters which are shortened due to current or expected inclement conditions, or circumstances beyond our control. Our goal is for every charter to be a perfect sail, but sometimes safety and comfort force us to shorten a charter. Partial charters are charged a prorated fee.

Waves and strong wind are sometimes a part of sailing. The captain will take into consideration current conditions, trends, and forecasts in order to decide if it is safe and reasonable to sail. Though it is not common, if you are prone to or are worried about motion sickness or sea sickness, please do not book a sail, as it is often logistically impossible for charters to return early due to seasickness discomfort or illness except due to the distance from the harbor you may be at any given time. In some cases, it may be advantageous to sail in more wave protected areas (such as South of Montrose Point, or behind the off shore breakwall around Navy Pier and Monroe Harbor. Charters will not be cancelled is such protected sailing is reasonably comfortable. In the case of larger waves and Special Events, some charters may have departure harbor changed to DuSable or Monroe in order to more easily sail in protected areas.

You may bring alcoholic beverages (please avoid glass), but any passenger consuming alcohol must be at least 21, and passengers assume legal consequences due to illegal drinking of alcohol. Should you become intoxicated, or show up intoxicated, the captain reserves the right to deny service or return the offending individual/group to the harbor. No rescheduling will be available and no refunds will be issued for charters shortened or cancelled due to intoxicated guests. It’s nice to enjoy a few drinks while out for your sail, but intoxicated individuals create unsafe and uncomfortable conditions for all. We want everyone to have a fun, enjoyable, and memorable sail.

Please let us know the number and ages of children that will be on your sail. so both you and we know what to expect. We also need to make sure that there is a reasonable number of adults for the number of children on board.

On very rare occasions, unforeseen events (e.g. changing weather, unexpected maintenance needs, etc.) may cause us to delay your charter for up to 1 hour. If your charter is delayed more than 1 hour, it will be considered cancelled. We will only delay your charter if we believe conditions will clear and allow us to sail within that hour. Since charters may be delayed up to 1 hour, please only make a reservation if you are able to return up to 1 hour later than the scheduled return time. If you choose not to wait for the possible start of a delayed charter and conditions do allow a sail within 1 hour, this will be considered a no-show and the corresponding fee will be charged.

Glass (except for wine/champagne bottles) is not allowed. Dark liquids and sauces are not permitted (e.g. red wine, tomato sauces, grape juice, etc.) except on our sporting class sailboats. Illegal substances are not allowed.

Under NO circumstances are illegal substances permitted on board. Any passenger bringing illegal substances on board will be held responsible for all damages that may be caused by such action, including but not limited to: entire cost of vessel due to confiscation by authorities, loss of income due to vessel down time, liability for injuries, legal fees incurred by all parties, etc… Our captains are bound by U.S. Coast Guard Rules to immediately report all possession of illegal substances to authorities, who will meet us at the harbor or even board us on the water to take further action.

Swimming is at your own risk. Please tell us in advance of your charter if you think you may want to swim. The captain reserves the right to not allow swimming based on conditions and the situation, and swimming is only permitted during full daylight hours. Should you decide to go swimming, you acknowledge that you assume all risks. Any adult that gives a minor in his/her care permission to swim is solely responsible for the safety of said minor. At least one adult guest per child in the water must be present. Strict adherence to the captain’s guidelines must be followed or your charter may be ended early with no refund. We don’t mess around when it comes to safety. We suggest that if you plan to swim more than a quick dip, that you reserve a minimum of 3.5 hours for sailboats, and 3 hours for power boats.

Should passenger actions or behavior make the crew feel that safety is compromised, other guests are made to feel uncomfortable, or that they are unable to focus on sailing the boat and maintaining safe conditions, the captain reserves the right to deny service and/or return the offending individual/group to the harbor. No refunds will be issued.

We make every effort to assure that our website is clear and accurate, but we are only human. Chicago Sailboat Charters will correct (as they are found or reported), but is not bound to any rates, pricing, or scheduling, that is a result of errors, omissions, or software problems on this or any other website used to determine pricing, rates, or scheduling. Emailed confirmations are also subject to review for errors.