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The Harborage at Ashley River Marina does not allow charter guests to park in their parking lot, doing so may result in a ticket or towing. Below are a few options to consider:
OPTION 1 : Ride Sharing (Uber/Lyft/Taxi) directly to The Harborage at Ashley River Marina: (33 Lockwood Drive, Charleston, SC 29401)
You can get dropped directly to The Harborage at Ashley River Marina (33 Lockwood Drive, Charleston, SC 29401). Be sure to tell your Uber/Lyft/Taxi driver to “drop you at The Harborage at Ashley River Marina and not Safe Harbor Charleston City Marina” (They often take guests to the wrong marina so it’s worth mentioning this. If they bring you to the marina that has a gas station as you pull in, they brought you to the wrong marina. Feel free to call or text me before letting your Uber/Lyft/Taxi leave to confirm you are at the correct marina.
The captain will meet you in-front of the building in the parking lot 10-15 minutes before your Experience start time .OPTION 2 : Drive Yourself in Your Vehicle
The Harborage at Ashley River Marina does not have visitor parking, so do not drive to The Harborage at Ashley River Marina. If you drive, you must park at The Courtyard by Marriott Charleston Waterfront (35 Lockwood Dr, Charleston, SC 29401). The Marriott Courtyard is the yellow hotel and they charge $10 for parking. Go up the stairs to the front desk to purchase your parking pass.
After you park and pay, walk up to the sidewalk along Lockwood Drive. With the Marriott Courtyard behind you, take a right on the sidewalk. You should see a green “Calhoun Street” sign about 20 yards from the Marriott. Walk towards the green Calhoun Street sign and you’ll see the blue “Harborage at Ashley River Marina” sign which is my marina.
The captain will meet you in-front of the building in the parking lot 10-15 minutes before your Experience start time . -
They have a saying here in Charleston: “If you don’t like the weather, wait a few minutes!”
Our forecasts nearly always call for rain! Don’t let that keep you from booking — it often doesn’t rain and when it does, it is brief! That being said, we recommend booking your charter early on during your stay in the area. That way if we do need to reschedule, we have later days to do so.
If you do see inclement weather on your forecast, please assume that the charter is on unless you hear otherwise from your captain. We are always watching the radar. If there is a chance of thunderstorms/lightning/excessive wind, the captain will reach out to you a couple hours prior to the scheduled charter time. A lack of wind may result in leaving the sailboat motor on.
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The captain will meet you in front of the grey three-story building in the marina parking lot 10-15 minutes before your charter start time.
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That’s very kind of you to ask! Gratuities for excellent service are common in the tour business – and, moreover, greatly appreciated by our hard-working crew. If your Captain and Mate have given you an exceptional experience, they will be grateful and thank you for recognizing it with a tip/gratuity! Standard tips in our industry are 18-20%. We accept tips in any form that is easiest for you, including cash or Venmo. The captain and crew split all tips 50/50.
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The bathrooms are located on the second floor of the grey marina building. We recommend using these bathrooms before meeting your captain. Feel free to request the marina bathroom codes from your captain. There is a head (boat bathroom) onboard, but it’s similar to a camper bathroom.
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Generally it is a few degrees cooler on the water. Spray from the water may get you wet, but you will not get soaked. A light jacket, hat and sunglasses are a good idea. I recommend closed shoes over flip flops. You can go barefoot but there are a million things to jam your toes on.
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All charters will start with a 15 minute safety speech once all passengers are on-board. While the boat is setup to be sailed single-handed, if you and your group would like to get involved (raise a sail, hold the helm, etc) I’m happy to oblige. If you prefer to sit back and relax that is fine too.
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Feel free to bring any snacks or drinks (alcoholic or nonalcoholic) that you would like. As we aim to become better stewards of our waterways, we are moving away from offering one time plastic water bottles so we ask that you bring water bottle for us to fill up for you to help us reduce our environmental impact. While our team will not be drinking or providing alcohol, adults 21 years or older often bring alcohol and we encourage our guests to relax and enjoy the outing with a beverage. Please avoid bringing any glass aboard (think cans and boxed wine, not bottles) and always be responsible and respectful to other guests. If you plan to bring Champagne, we will happily open it for you but we ask that you bring plastic cups. We have plenty of room below to keep your beverages chilled. Bringing a small cooler is totally fine, but no need to bring large rollable coolers to the boat. Please note: the Captain will request ID from guests as needed – no drinking is permitted by anyone under age 21.
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We more than happy to plan a perfect charter for you and your group by adding on catering, photography packages, or even a private chef. Please reach out to us directly after you book and let us know what you have in mind. For special occasions, we recommend giving us a couple weeks notice to ensure we can schedule these additions to your charter. We can’t wait to create the perfect experience for you!
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Cancellations or Rescheduling will only take place due to weather.
Customers will receive a full refund or credit in case of operator cancellation due to weather. No-shows will be charged the full price.
