What About the Weather?

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 Sailors pride themselves in rugged individualism and being mentally tough enough and prepared to handle any and all kinds of weather. For trans-oceanic crossings it is the weather beyond the horizon which provides the X factor; the lure of challenge, testing tenacity and wherewithal to meet and conquer the unknown. Out there, ALL weather, by definition, is “acceptable.” It has to be. One has no choice but to accept it and deal with it. That’s what you sign up for when sailing offshore.

For fair weather, introductory, shorter day sails and island hopping such as we provide, often to young families on vacation and the otherwise uninitiated, the mindset is quite different. Unlike true blue, off-shore heroes who throw all fate to the wind, daring to rely on and test their own ingenuity and self-confidence, our  ST t"survival" has more to do with mundane, land-based, economics. Your having a good time and wanting to come back with more of your friends is our bottom line, the focus of our intent and measure of our wherewithal. This depends on your overall enjoyment and appreciation of the unique, "big boat" sailing experience we provide and to a large degree, alas, the weather.

In this light, sailing being an outdoor, recreational sport, we share your concerns about the weather and wanting to know what happens if the weather "turns south" or becomes questionable right around the time of your scheduled sail? What does it mean, "questionable weather?" How bad is bad enough to cancel? What are the weather conditions that define that line in the sand?" Who decides and when?"   

In today’s world of on-line, readily available and increasingly accurate, continuously updated weather conditions and forecasting, here are our parameters of “quantifiable“ weather data which we feel, along with the captain's experience and determination, help to transparently reflect/define sail charter industry standards of "acceptable" sailing weather:

For shorter (up to 4 hour) sails:

    1) Wind: 8-20 knots with gusts not exceeding 25 knots.

    2) Cloud cover not exceeding 85%

    3) Chance of rain not exceeding 45%

    4) Not raining dockside and visibility is at least 1/2 mile at time of scheduled departure.

From 4 - 8 hour sails:

   5) Chance of rain not exceeding 50%

For Overnights:

   6) Chance of rain not exceeding 65%

The above mentioned (6) criteria are guidelines that help us establish safe and enjoyable parameters for sailing that must be evaluated and dovetailed by the captain with more specific input from your planned sail. To find this transparent data as it pertains most readily to local (Menemsha, Martha's Vineyard, MA) weather, we rely on and recommend to our patrons the following website:

https://www.wunderground.com/weather/us/ma/menemsha

IMPORTANT!! Please note.

Without Rescheduling Insurance or Cancellation Insurance, it is the captain's call, not the charterer's, to decide, dockside and at the time of scheduled departure, whether or not a sail is to be cancelled. If such be the case, that a sail is cancelled by the captain for weather, and a mutually agreed upon rescheduling cannot be determined at that moment, then all money paid towards the sail will be refunded.  

Although we can't control what the weather will be like on the date and time of your scheduled sail, we can and do provide certain options, weather contingency plans, unique to the industry, that give you more control over the weather you DON'T want. Such options allow you to book ahead with confidence, lend peace of mind leading up to the sail and leave you more prepared to make effectively better choices in the  limited time frame of your vacation.

So with regard to your weather concerns, not to worry. We've got your back. We're here for you (and because of you.) After so much planning and anticipation no one expects you to put a smile on your face and pretend you and your group are having a great time paying to go sailing in the rain ..... or when there’s no wind. (Lots of luck with that, btw.) 

In the unlikely event the captain determines there is not enough (or too much) wind to sail or because the %chance of precipitation is too great and warrants cancellation, then all money paid towards the sail will be refunded. Hopefully, there will be opportunity for rescheduling. (Another reason, btw, for you to book a sail towards the beginning of your vacation.)

Even with the above listed parameters, outdoor people realize that weather is incredibly nuanced and means different things to different people under different circumstances. Too much wind or saltwater spray or sunshine for one of your guests

Obviously on a much different scale on a half day sail,  scaleWeather has always been the X factor that makes sailing what it is.   ..sailing is all about the weather and the different effect it has on human comaraderie....... It is the lure we seek to prove our own salt, to help give us purpose and a reason for being.  .......

Perhaps it is this aspect, the challenge of dealing with and surviving the unknown, with resourcefulness and improvisation, with deadfast discipline and determination and vigilance, that gives sailing its universal appeal. Most people enjoy going to the beach not just to cool off and swim but for a sense of adventure and spiritual uplifting, to be able to look outto experience where land meets water and to look out over an expansive, open horizon to put things back into their proper perspective to make right. Sailing, getting out on the water (that covers 94%of the planet),  with unlimited fuel supply, the wind, leaving us to our own devices, determination and camaraderie, being able to go anywhere we set our minds to going, takes this same, healthy feeling (of going to the beach) to the next level.
With sailing, the weather is the unknown. It is the lure of 

“Too much” wind or salt spray or sun for one individual in your party could mean “not enough” for another. Maybe there’s too much sun for Auntie Frailty’s liking. Too bright. Too cloudy. Too cold. Too much chance for rain. Not cloudy enough. Etc., etc.  (We’ve seen and heard it all.) It’s very tough to please everyone.  Look, we get it. We're on your side. No one (least of all the captain) wants to pretend that sailing in the rain, or worse, in thunder and lightning squalls, (however "memorable"), is fun, never mind worth paying for. Or that sailing with no wind is doable. (Lots of luck with that btw.) 

We don't try to deny any of this. The good news is that here at Sailing Martha's Vineyard you don't have to either. When it comes to working around inclement weather we are happy to offer several mitigating and beneficial options.  

First of all, rest assured, once in our system, if an acceptable and similar date/time slot is unclaimed and still available and you would like to switch over to it.......it’s yours provided the captain confirms that such a switch would be warranted by the forecast. 

Keep in mind that although the general accuracy of weather forecasting improves greatly with each passing year, a ten day forecast is not nearly so accurate as a 3 day forecast or, respectively, as up to the minute, short range, doppler radar forecasting. As one gets closer to the time of scheduled sail departure the more accurate the forecast and the easier it is to make a weather-based decision. In this regard we ask our patrons to be patient; switching too soon to another date could prove to be counter-productive. As any experienced mariner knows, some of the nicest, most inspiring sailing follows right after the passing of a front in a typical and common summer squall.

For this we require the captain’s blessing, final say, when she/he decides, right up to the moment of scheduled departure, for any trip cancellation or postponement and for any reason she/he so states and deems necessary. Without such blessing of cancellation all trips are considered to be “on” and as scheduled.

With that blessing, however, if we can’t find a another time slot within an acceptable time frame to your liking, we guarantee all your money back. 100% refund.

To go one step further, we’ll even throw in (hold for you on our calendar), free of charge, a second, “back-up” time/date slot for your sailing event should the original event get cancelled by captain for any reason.

CANCELLATION INSURANCE

And finally, or closer. For an additional 25% of the cost of your sail you may add-on purchase (up to 3 days in advance of your scheduled sail) our unique cancellation insurance that allows you to opt out of the sail at ANY time for ANY reason, regardless of what that silly old captain thinks. You can tell him where to go. You want out and you want your money back now! 

But before we get into that, it is of utmost importance to understand and agree that, weather meaning different things to different people, the captain and only the captain will have ultimate say as to whether or not a trip is officially cancelled BECAUSE OF the weather. First of all, you can rest assured that the captain, "Admirable Nick,"  doesn't like sailing in inclement weather either. Not when he doesn't have to. Not when it's possible to schedule around bad weather. After a lifetime of sailing professionally, he's put that macho stuff behind him. He's mellowed, OK?  He's older now, wiser. In fact, he's a wuss. 

One should know there have been plenty of events cancelled by him in spite of the charterer and guests having wanted to sail. What's a quick passing summer squall if followed by a beautiful rainbow?

Weather means different things to different people. oo much wind for one could be no enough wind for another. Aunie Frailtty 

So, for all this,  he capain an d not the paying charterer gets to decide and has final say as o wheher or not he sail is on or off. Furthermore, he hoods ha right (of deciding) up to he last minute of scheduled departure.  

On the other hand, (as many of our guests have come to learn), thinking positively and too spontaneously, with car legally parked, picnic cooler in hand, showing up last minute on that most perfect day for sailing with no reservation can be chancy too. You might find the captain aboard and ready to go all right but committed instead to another sail for another party. Not yours. Or, there might be an available, one hour, "uncommitted" time slot for sailing “MT-105” but not the 1/2 day you were hoping for. Or, with no party scheduled, there's a good chance the captain won't be so readily available to drop everything he or she had planned to accommodate your last minute, "perfect day" sailing request. For this reason, 90% of our customers, already having dealt with the frustration of the logistics of organizing the event, ultimately throw fate to the wind/weather gods and opt to book in advance. 

Cancellation Insurance with peace of mind

We pride ourselves for having one of the most resilient, consumer friendly cancellation policies in the indusry, where you, as patron, are given the ability and flexibility to choose the weather of your liking for the group you have organized to go sailing. After all, who knows better than you the conditions you are looking for? "Acceptable," "desired" weather means different things to different people for each and every charter group. Too much wind for one member of your party might be not enough wind for another. ) What happens if half way through the sail it starts to drizzle....or sleet ...or thunder and lightning? Who wants to sail with that added risk? Then again, maybe nobody cares. The age of your friends or family, the duration of sail, their sailing experience with day or night sailing, their desire to be included, the temperature, the wind, the % chance of rain, their tolerance of salt water spray ..... these are factors that must be considered and weighed....by you.  

When it comes to nature and planning around the weather, nothing is completely guaranteed,  Try as we might as humans tto counter tthis, the irony is that for exactly this reason, Nature's unpredicabiliy, we, as humans, wanting to feel more alive and more "on the edge,"  are lured away from more stable, comforable air conditioned settings we build for ourselves towards things more nattural and  less predictable....like skiing down a mountain or getting out on the water for a sail... over the horizon. I digress.) sailing and  naur has acually But by combining improved and more accurate short and long term weather forecasting with current, state of the art, interactive, public, wi-fi calendars and other scheduling techniques, our re-scheduling policies give you more control over the planning of your event, reassuring you, and us, of its successful outcome.

A commitment that works both ways.

It is important to understand that when we hold a specific time/date slot for you and your friends to go sailing aboard “MT-105“ we are, in effect, necessarily, making that same “slot” unavailable to the rest of an inquiring public by taking it off the market, potentially reducing our own revenue share. In a short summer season this could prove very costly should our patrons’ commitment(s) be anything less than sincere.  For this we require a strictly NONREFUNDABLE deposit (typically 25% of the cost of the sail) to be applied towards the cost of your sail and/but forfeited by you should you decide FOR ANY REASON to change your mind and cancel and/or simply forget and/or FOR ANY REASON not show up for the sail that had been reserved for you and by your special request.  Only the captain, for ANY reason she/he deems necessary, has the right to cancel a scheduled sail. In such case, if, specifically, weather, crew or mechanically related, all money paid towards the sail shall be refunded unless a mutually acceptable alternative time slot can be determined.

For further information please go to “Terms and Conditions” and “Cancellation Policy” (that must be agreed to and confirmed by charterer before any deposit can be put down on any sail).

For his reason, a sail date/time slot can not be reserved for your party before the NONREFUNDABLE $100 deposit has been deposited in our account along with your confirmation  of having read and understood and agreeing to comply with the “Terms and Conditions” of our policy.

Insurance

    Weather

     Liability shift

On the brighter side, (pun intended), weather forecasting over the years has become increasingly more accurate. 

For what it's worth, here's a link to ten day weather forcasting for Menemsha, Ma.

Mission statements – You can tell a lot about a company by its mission statement. Don’t have one? Now might be a good time to create one and post it here. A good mission statement tells you what drives a company to do what it does.

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Sailing is all about the weather and human camaraderie. Ultimately, it is the weather that challenges us; using it’s wind to take us where we want to go and bringing us safely to port, testing to whatever degree our ingenuity, character, determination and vigilance. It is the weather that sets the backdrop and mood of the sail, that makes each sail unique with any given group, no matter how many times that same group comes back for more.

Comparing someone who’s never been on the water to someone fully acclimated, who’s just completed  a circumnavigation in, say, a 27ft sailboat, the meaning of “acceptable weather" becomes almost rhetorical. In crossing an ocean, ALL weather, by definition, is “acceptable”. It has to be. One has no choice but to accept it and deal with it; that’s what you signed up for, whatever Mother Nature wants to throw at you. Weather provides the X factor; the lure and challenge of meeting and conquering the unknown.

For fair weather, shorter day sails and island hopping such as we provide, however, the mindset is quite different. Unlike true blue, heroic, off-shore sailors who throw all fate to the wind and are willing to rely on their own self confidence to be able to survive any weather that comes their way, our "survival" (and your continued ability to sail with us) depends on how well we can help you pick out the weather of your choice.

People want to know and with good reason: "What happens if the weather 'turns south' or becomes questionable right around the time of my scheduled sail?”  "How bad is bad enough to cancel?" “Where's that line in the sand?" "Who decides and when? " Good questions all of them.sj