Boat Show Season

admin — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:21:36 +0000

Bay Breeze will once again be “selling snake oil” at a few of the areas best boat shows! At the Chicago and Grand Rapids shows were giving away a 4-Day Live-Aboard Sailing School Course and a Day of Bareboat Charter plus t-shirts, coozies and other cool things to impress your friends with!

Chicago Strictly Sail, January 28th – 31st, is the grand-daddy of indoor shows. Big boats and small boats, hardware, seminars and everything sailing related under one roof. Located at Navy Pier, its a great venue well worth the trip. Buy tickets online and get a free magazine subscription. We’ll be at booth #158 again and we hope to see you there!

Grand Rapids Boat Show February 17th – 21st, is also a fun event and a great way to shake off the winter blahs. Located at the Devos Place, come for the show and then check out GR’s excellent downtown scene. We’ll be in booth #333 pushing our sailing-ways on passers-by trying to make converts out of motor-boaters!

Quantum Sail Design Open House - Saturday March 5th 5-8pm – One evening only, this a good ol’ grassroots gathering of anything sailing in Northern Michigan. Jack Klang will also be there with his interactive seminars on docking, sail trim and other important topics. Its a great place for sailors or anybody with an interest in sailing to network together. Located off Three Mile Road at 1576 International Drive, TC 49686. Or call 231-941-1222 for more details or directions. Free food and beverage so stop by!

Boat Show winners - to qualify to win one of our Boat Show Give-Aways you have to be at the show and put your name in the drawing. Winners are announced on this web page two weeks after the show. IF SEE YOUR NAME, CALL OR EMAIL TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE! AND THE WINNERS ARE…

Free 4-Day Live-Aboard Sailing Course (ASA 101/103)

Katie Whikehart. - Chicago, IL

Free 1-Day of Bareboat Charter (when you charter 4 days or more)

Steve & Maureen C. - Brighton, MI

Your choice of a Free 4-Day Live-Aboard Sailing Course or 1-Day of Charter

Anna S. - Allendale, MI

These folks have won their choice of a:

Free Sleep Aboard (the evening before your charter starts) or…
Free Skipper Refresher (up to 4 hours of sailing refresher for those qualified to bareboat charter) or…
Free Bay Breeze T-Shirt (call or email with your size and address) or…
Free Bay Breeze Beverage Coozie (call with your mailing address)

Michael C. - Bourbonnais, IL
Rick & Monica V. - St. John, IN
Linda W. - Chicago, IL
Leonardo S. - Green Oaks, IL
Cindy H. - Wheaton, IL
Margie S. - Naperville, IL
Lynn M. - DesPlaines, IL
John S. - Union City, IN
Patrick B. - Delano, MN
Tim K. - Chicago, IL
Tom D & Annette S – (thanks for the inquiry! Call or email us when you can!)
More Grand Rapids show winners will be posted soon! Check back!

Welcome “Second Wind”

admin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:00:32 +0000

Bay Breeze is very pleased to announced the addition of a nearly new 2007 Hunter 41 Deck Saloon “Second Wind” to this years great line-up of sailing yachts. You won’t find a better equipped yacht or more comfortable yacht to accommodate your crew! Check out the specs on this beautiful boat and call us today to reserve your charter dates!

BBYC Goes to Hollywood

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:36:35 +0000

Six Bay Breeze boats were used this fall in the filming of “A Year In Mooring“, starring Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama, Glory Road, and a bunch more). The films producers selected the boats primarily to be used in the background while docked at the Bower’s Harbor Yacht Club Marina. The boats selected were West Wind, Midnight Magic, Wild Goose, Windfall, Magic Flute and Betty Ann. “Magic Flute” can be seen sailing off into the sunset in one scene and “Wild Goose” is in the lighted boat parade scene. If you get out your magnifying glass, you can see us, Dave and Kristen, a couple of specks on board in the distance – our big Hollywood debut. Most of the filming has been done in the Bower’s Harbor Marina (which is a private marina that normally doesn’t allow transient traffic in case you’re wondering why you haven’t been there!). It’s a beautiful setting and will be a great plug for the area when the movie debuts. Check out more pictures on the Bay Breeze Community photo share.

Work Release 09: Puerto Rico to St. Thomas

admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:29:01 +0000

This year’s Bay Breeze Work-Release excursion was a success launching 8 boats for our warm-water partner company, CYOA Yacht Charters. Eventually nine BBYC staffers and friends rendezvoused in San Juan, Puerto Rico to prep and launch 8 boats that were hauled for hurricane season in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Six of the boats were delivered to St. Thomas by CYOA Captains who flew in, the last 2 boats were delivered by Bay Breeze staffers but the reward was that we were given 5 days to explore the islands of Culebra and Culebrita along the way. We orginally planned on including Vieques in our cruise but soon realized that there was too much to see. Known as the “Spanish Virgin Islands”, these islands are half way between St. Thomas and Puerto Rico and resemble what the USVI and BVI probably looked like 30 years ago with uncrowed beaches and an “off the beaten path” feeling. We did cruise in early November and recommend that if you want to avoid the crowds, avoid cruising on holiday vacations as this is when the local Puerto Ricans make the short trip over and fill the anchorages! Check out the pictures feel free to comment or better yet, share your pictures if you’ve been to these great places.

The Spanish Virgin Islands

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:55:12 +0000

Soon the Bay Breeze boats will be tucked away under their winter covers and much of the staff is heading south to spend a few days on a working vacation with our partner charter company CYOA Yacht Charters which is based in St. Thomas. Each year, CYOA hauls their fleet out for hurricane season in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. That means each year after hurricane season the boats need to get splashed and brought back to St. Thomas, which is about 50 miles as the crow flies. Many Bay Breeze captains, instructors, boat tech guys and other assorted boaties (including yours truly) will be spending a few days in the boatyard prepping the boats but the reward is that we’re spending some time exploring the Spanish Virgin Islands of Culebra and Vieques which lie between PR and STT. They are the “islands less traveled” in the Virgin Islands because they are somewhat out of the way for most charter bases. But CYOA is conveniently located to access this amazing cruising ground. Photos and stories will come in mid November. In the meantime, its back to winterizing the fleet here in TC!

Fall Sailing

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:06:57 +0000

New Website

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:01:19 +0000

Putting a fresh set of sails on the ole site

Great Lakes Yacht Charters

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:32:48 +0000

Bay Breeze has been providing yacht charters on Northern Lake Michigan since 1983. It’s not only our business, it’s our passion. We continue to provide the best charter fleet on Lake Michigan to cruise the harbors of Northport, Charlevoix, Elk Rapids and Little Traverse Bay area to name a few. Our fleet is maintained to reflect our commitment to our clients. With more than 20 years experience, you can be assured our charter fleet will surpass your expectations and our crew will ensure your satisfaction. Check out our charter fleet online for spec sheets and photos of the boat that interests you.

Not a sailor? No problem. Our award winning American Sailing Association (ASA) certified sailing school can take your from rookie to experienced. Check out our sailing school section for information on how to become a confident sailor with Bay Breeze.

“The best check out I have ever seen, we have chartered the world over and BBYC checked the WHOLE group quickly and thoroughly. Very well run and friendly crew.” – Paul T. Brighton, MI

Great Lakes Sailing School

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:28:19 +0000

Welcome to the Best Sailing School on the Great Lakes. Our passion is sailing and our goal is to share the knowledge and feeling of being under sail. Bay Breeze Sailing School provides a 23 year history of introducing sailing to over 4000 sailors to date. Below you’ll see a sample of our course offering but be sure to check out a complete listing of all our courses.

Beginners (and a great refresher course) – for those just wanting to “test the waters” we have two-hour and weekend courses. If you’re a little more committed, our most popular courses are the four-day and week long live-aboard courses.

Intermediate – we offer bareboat charter certifications and catamaran cruising courses if your looking for experience on a larger boat or if you want to make a seamless transition to a catamaran.

Advanced – long distance passagemaking, nightime navigation and safety at sea are all aspects of our advanced coastal cruising courses. You’ll develop the confidence necessary for long-distance cruising.

Classroom – throughout the winter we offer navigation, radar, weather and GPS classroom courses taught with the latest computer simulator software.

Award Winning School – our roster of instructors speaks for itself. Eleven certified instructors keep the classes fresh and lively. Our private marina facility will give you piece of mind and a comfortable atmosphere to learn. We’re not the biggest and we don’t want to be. This is what makes Bay Breeze the choice for you.

Bay Breeze was recognized as a “Top Twenty” sailing school in the country 2005.
Awarded Sailing School of The Year Central Region for 2004 by the American Sailing Association. Bay Breeze was the ONLY Great Lakes School recognized in the top twenty.
2006 brought two more recognitions for Bay Breeze, two instructors on our roster have been named “Outstanding Instructors” for the 2006 season. Congratulations to Dan Spyhalski and Dave Williams. Thanks to our instructors and graduates for being instrumental in our accolades.

Top Ten Reasons Why We’re The Best!

Roster Of Instructors

“We appreciated the last minute help with obtaining an instructor for an extra half day. Your staff of instructors was great. Very professional, we learned a lot in a short time with them.”- Gary K.

Sales & Management

admin — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:41:59 +0000

Worry free and affordable yacht management is available for your yacht in the best cruising grounds the Great Lakes has to offer. We’ve been managing yachts for over 25 years and look forward to assisting you.

If your in the market to buy or sell, visit the Brokerage page for a great selection of new and pre-owned yachts.

Yacht Management Programs
Brokerage Listings
Catalina
Beneteau
Hunter