We're Starting a Sailing Charter Business! (And How It Kinda Just Happened)

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So... Jodi and I are starting a business. A sailing charter business. On Lake Minnetonka. And honestly? It wasn't even really our idea.

Let me back up.



How This Actually Started

Last summer, with BlueJ in her slip at Wayzata Yacht Club, we were out sailing pretty much every chance we got. You know us - if there's wind and I'm not at work, we're on the water. And apparently people noticed.

First, BlueJ is always been popular for a background for engagement photos. But recently photographers have been reaching out, asking if we could take their clients out for a more active photo shoot. We were happy to, and they were happy to pay us for that. And then people started asking around - where you can charter boats on Lake Minnetonka, and we've had a couple of professional friends point them in our direction, purely word-of-mouth. So I set up a short FAQ document to share with them. We agreed on a price and everyone had a blast.

These weren't obligations - they were highlights of our summer. Sharing our love of sailing with people who'd never been on a sailboat before, or seeing someone's face when they realized they were actually steering a boat across Lake Minnetonka... that stuff never got old.

The Christmas Conversation

Over Christmas break, Jodi and I were talking. About all the fun we had doing the informal charters, and if we should take the next step.

"We should just make this official," one of us said. I honestly can't remember who said it first, but once it was out there, we couldn't stop talking about it.

Why not formalize this? We have the boat. We have the credentials (I've got my USCG Captain's license, plus RYA certifications, plus US Sailing instructor cert - basically I've got more sailing licenses than anyone actually needs). We have the time. And most importantly, we genuinely want to share this with people.

Lake Minnetonka doesn't have a sailing day charter. Like, at all. We checked. There are the yacht clubs, sure. But they don't charter. And you can rent pontoons and ski boats all day long. But if you want to actually go SAILING on this beautiful lake? There's no one offering that.

"Well," we said. "There's about to be."

What We're Doing

We're calling it BlueJ Charters (creative, right?), and we're keeping it simple. For now we have two main offerings:

Four-Hour Day Charters ($400 for up to 6 people) - This is the full experience. We meet at Wayzata Yacht Club, we sail wherever you want to go, we can stop for swimming if the weather's nice, you can bring food and drinks (we'll even provide the wine), and if you want to learn to sail we'll teach you. If you just want to relax and let us handle everything, that works too. Your charter, your choice.

Two-Hour Photography Cruises ($200) - This one started because a professional photographer asked if she could charter the boat for a client shoot. Turns out, a sailboat makes an AMAZING backdrop for senior pictures, engagement photos, prom pictures... basically anything where you want dramatic lighting and a beautiful setting. You bring your photographer, we position the boat, and you get photos that are absolutely unique to Lake Minnetonka.

We're also doing sailing instruction for anyone who wants to learn. Some people charter with us once and decide they want to learn to sail themselves. Perfect! I'm a US Sailing certified instructor, and honestly, teaching sailing is one of my favorite things to do.




The Boat (Obviously)

BlueJ is perfect for this. She's a 26-foot Beneteau First 260 Spirit - built in France in 2001, designed by the legendary Groupe Finot. She's fast, responsive, stable enough to feel secure but lively enough to be exciting. That electric blue hull is impossible to miss on the lake (people literally wave at us from shore). And she's got that modern sailing yacht aesthetic that just looks RIGHT.

Plus - and this matters - she's the perfect size. Big enough to comfortably hold 6 people plus Jodi and me, small enough that she's nimble and fun to sail. You're not on some massive yacht where you barely feel the boat move. You're ON a sailboat, heeling in the wind, hearing the water rush past, trimming sails, maybe taking the helm if you want. It's the real deal.

Already Booked for Summer

Here's the wild part: we haven't even officially launched yet, and we already have bookings for the summer.

Remember those word-of-mouth charters from last year? Well, those people started telling OTHER people. And people have already found the website and Facebook page. And we've setup Google Business and Yelp accounts.

The response has been amzing. In a good way. People are EXCITED about this. Lake Minnetonka is this amazing resource right in our backyard, and apparently a lot of people want to experience it from a sailboat.

What Makes This Special

I think what's different about what we're doing is that this isn't just a business for us. I mean, yes, it's a business - we have insurance and liability waivers and a website (sailbluej.com if you want to check it out) and all that official stuff. But fundamentally, this is about sharing something we love with people who want to experience it.

We're not trying to run a fleet. We're not trying to scale to 50 charters a day. We have one boat on Lake Minnetonka, and Jodi and I are the crew, period. If you charter with us, you're getting us - the people who have sailed BlueJ for years, who've raced her competitively, who spend our winters in Florida sailing our other boat Northern Lights, who genuinely cannot imagine a life that doesn't involve being on the water.

You're getting our knowledge, our enthusiasm, our carefully maintained boat, and our absolute commitment to making sure you have an incredible time.

The Season Ahead

We'll be running charters from late April through late October - basically Minnesota's sailing season. We're based at Wayzata Yacht Club, which is this beautiful, historic sailing club on the south shore of the lake.

Our schedule is flexible. We don't have rigid time slots because sailing doesn't work that way. Want an early morning sail before the lake gets busy? Great. Sunset sail? Even better. Midday adventure? Let's do it. We'll work around your schedule.

And if you want to learn to sail? We can do that too. I've taught a lot of people over the years, and there's something incredibly satisfying about watching someone go from "I've never touched a boat" to "wait, I'm SAILING this thing?!" in a couple of hours.




Why We're Doing This

Jodi and I have been sailing for... well, a long time. Decades, actually. We've owned multiple boats, sailed all over, raced competitively, earned a bunch of certifications, and honestly sailing is just part of who we are at this point.

But here's what we've realized: the best days on the water aren't just about US sailing. They're about sharing it. Teaching someone to sail. Seeing someone's face the first time the sails fill and the boat heels and they realize "oh THIS is what sailing feels like." Watching a couple get engaged on the bow. Helping a photographer get shots that are literally impossible anywhere else.

That's the stuff that makes us want to keep doing this.

So yeah, we're starting a business. But really, we're just making official what we were already doing anyway: taking people sailing, sharing our love of this incredible sport, and showing off Lake Minnetonka from the best possible vantage point—the deck of a beautiful sailboat.

If you want to sail with us this summer, reach out! We're booking now for the season. And if you're reading this thinking "I've always wanted to try sailing but never knew how to start"... well, now you do. Come sail with us.

— Clay & Jodi

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