Frequently Asked Questions

This is probably the number one question asked, and for the most part, no, it will not rain on you. Every single day in Charleston during the spring, summer, and fall months is forecast to have a 30% chance of rain. Thunderstorms will pop up on occasion, but we only have to cancel less than 1% of our charters. If you are contemplating booking a charter but see the forecast is not looking absolutely perfect, book anyways, as it will most likely be a great day. Too many times people wait until the day before to see if the forecast improves, and then it’s too late as others have booked or crews have made other plans. Last-minute charters are difficult to put together. In the rare instance that you are the 1% charter that we must cancel, we can either reschedule or give a full refund.

You do not need to have six people to sign up. The price is set for the boat, not the number of passengers aboard. However, we are limited to 6 passengers max. Half of our charters have just two passengers. We do not add other people to your group.

A camera is a must-have item! You might also want to bring binoculars, a hat, sunscreen, and towels if swimming. You are also welcome to bring beverages and snacks on the boat, including alcoholic beverages. We do provide bottled water and sodas.  The sailboats have refrigerators and freezers onboard, you can bring a cooler if you want, soft coolers work best.  The motoryacht Kismet provides two large coolers with ice for all your things.

Summer is hot, but some may desire a long-sleeved shirt to help keep the sun off and we will ask you to remove your shoes to keep the boats clean.

During the winter, dress in layers with comfortable and casual clothes. Definitely bring a warm jacket or sweater because sometimes it can be a bit cool on the water. All passengers should wear soft-soled tennis shoes only. No boots or high heels, please! (For safety reasons, passengers that are not wearing proper foot attire may be asked by the captain to remove their shoes.)  We do have heat and blankets on all our boats.

If you need to cancel or reschedule your trip, we require that you notify us a minimum of 7 days prior to your charter date for a full refund. If a reservation is made within seven days of the charter date, a 50% refund will be given. No cancellations are allowed within 24 hours of departure. If we cancel because of bad weather at the captain’s discretion, we can offer to reschedule or refund if rescheduling is not possible.

If you enjoyed your experience and thought we went above average for levels of service, feel free to tip. Gratuity for your captain or crew is not included* in the tour price and is discretionary; 18–20% is typically recommended. Keep in mind that the most of the crew’s wages are based on tips alone; the crew is not only the yacht captains who are responsible for your safety but also your servers and tour guides. They work extremely hard to make your time on Fate the best experience possible!

*Sailing charters of 3 hours or longer and all charters on Kismet include a base gratuity of 16%; additional gratuity is accepted.

Cancellations due to weather are at the discretion of the captain at the time of the charter. If we must cancel your trip because of unfavorable or unsafe weather or ocean conditions, you’ll be given the option of rescheduling. If we cannot reschedule, we will give you a full refund.  We always show up regardless of the forecast and see what the weather is at the time of the charter, we cancel less than 1% of our charters due to weather so more than likely it will be perfectly fine to sail!

Although we can sometimes take last-minute same-day bookings, we highly recommend that you make a reservation in advance. If you plan to go during the major holidays or events, we recommend calling a couple of weeks or months in advance.

We do provide bottled water and soft drinks consisting of Coke products, you are welcome to bring along your own snacks and drinks including alcohol or have it catered. Catering options are available at www.caviarandbananas.com. For safety reasons, we ask that you do not bring glass beer bottles; wine and champagne bottles are allowed.

Yes, they do. The United States Coast Guard considers every person, except for the captain and crew, as a passenger. Small children require supervision by a parent or guardian at all times and must be capable of remaining calmly seated for several hours. We do not recommend bringing children under 7 on charters for longer than 2 hours.  On the motor yacht Kismet, all kids 12 and under ride for free, we don’t count them in the passenger count for pricing but they still count as passengers so we still cant go over the legal passenger capacities set by the Coast Guard.

Unfortunately, no. United States Coast Guard regulations require that we take a maximum of six passengers per sailboat and yes this includes children and even babies. This law is taken very seriously, and no exceptions can be made. For larger groups, we recommend chartering our motor yacht Kismet, which can legally take up to 23 passengers in your private party. www.charlestonyachtcharter.com

Yes, our yachts are clean, well maintained, and fully insured for charter. we have the largest and nicest sailing yachts available for charter in Charleston. The vessel meets or exceeds safety requirements set by the United States Coast Guard with on-board equipment that includes Type 1 personal flotation devices (life jackets) for every passenger, an approved sound-producing device, fire extinguishers, flares, a VHF radio, and an approved ring buoy. They also meet equipment, operation, and pollution prevention regulations established by the Coast Guard. Vessel captains possess a valid license issued by the U.S. S. Coast Guard including current CPR and First aid training.

The majority of our guests don’t get seasick (99.999999%). In fact, we have had only two guests since 2009 get sick. But concerned passengers could bring products that contain ginger, such as ginger cookers or ginger ale, because they have been known to help calm an upset stomach. Be sure to take the non-drowsy type, as we have had guests sleep through an entire charter.

Recommendations are provided for informational purposes only. Please consult your physician with any questions regarding a medical condition.