San Diego is known for its sunshine and palm trees, its smiling faces and endless activities, but every so often we get some rain and it’s as if the whole city shuts down. Drivers start honking, walker’s start running as raindrops fill the empty streets. I, personally, love our San Diego sunshine however a little storm every now and then keeps things interesting. Plus, who doesn’t appreciate a movie day indoors every now and then, “Captain Ron” anyone?

Well Monday February 13, after my morning in; checking through emails and changing the world while the sky churned colors of dark grey, our open “house” event was still a go for 5pm. I had been receiving so many inquiries lately to see the boat, from wedding planners to Concierges to interested friends, that I figured an organized night out on the catamaran, dockside, would be the way to go.

I had various calls throughout the afternoon, “Are we still on?”, “Does the catamaran have cover?”, but pressed on despite the stormy day hoping for the best. “The event is still on, and we have plenty of cover”. When I arrived at the boat to prepare for our event, (like make sure the stateroom beds were made rather than piled with various accessories) the rain poured down as I stayed inside our main cabin, staring out our windows wondering what fate had in store.

4:15pm Monday afternoon, just 45 minutes ‘til showtime, and there was a break in the clouds. (and so, I took a picture…)

Alison Fuller, from Stella and Dot, arrived to set up a display of jewelry in our main cabin, just an added bonus for the evening’s walk through. Stella and Dot, a boutique style jewelry company based in San Francisco, has become one of the 500 fastest growing companies of today. Their fun pieces have been featured on Gossip Girl, the Today Show, and in magazines such as In Style and Lucky.

As our open “house” guests showed up on the catamaran, they were able to try on pieces or even make a purchase seeing as it was the day before Valentine’s Day, and what better gift besides Chocolate or a catamaran ride, agreed?

As the clouds cleared and guests showed up (way to go guys, our guests showed us that some people in San Diego do still get out despite the storm!), we snacked on salmon and had a glass of wine as the Aolani catamaran was shown off in all its entirety.

If you are interested in Stella and Dot Jewelry, check out their website at www.stelladot.com
If you would like to inquire about hosting an event onboard the Aolani Catamaran, email us today at info@aolani.cc

What a year it was for the Aolani team. Whether we were on a San Diego yacht charter, at a local hosted marketing event, or volunteering in our community, we were always having a good time..and that is why we do what we do, as a family.

My parents, Bruno and Cindy Schwarz, started up our company in late 2001 after realizing they could do what they love, and get paid for it..and for all of us, that’s our goal too, right? If we can find something we are passionate about, we will excel at it because it brings us satisfaction. Being out on the water almost every day, or at least around a crowd who appreciates it, is what I was born into and therefor I love it. This is exactly what I want to be doing, what we want to be doing, and so as we reavaluate our goals for the new year, we are satisfied with what we do and therefor are easily motivated to continue to make the business stronger, because we believe in it.

We couldn’t have asked for a better way to start off our new year, with a charter. This wasn’t just any charter, we hosted a wedding…one of our many favorite types of charters. What is neat about a wedding is that it brings all kinds of people together, family and friends, to celebrate the union of two people that decided what they have is great enough for a lifetime. I love that I get to be a part of so many of these unions on our beautiful catamaran, and photograph them as they take the leap of faith. Capturing the smiles and the joy brings me joy, so I wouldn’t have it any other way..especially when the couple you are photographing is Sherri and Spencer.

Sherri came to visit the boat over the summer, to take a look at what we had to offer. After taking Sherri and her Mom on a tour around the catamaran, I talked with her for a while about the layout of the boat and promised her a day she would always remember. I can promise this because I know the business my family runs, and we don’t let anyone who comes on our boat walk away with a complaint. Our first priority is our customer, and we take that seriously. Trusting me, Sherri took her first leap of faith on our boat that day, and booked a date. Let the planning begin…

Fast forward a number of months and January 1,2012 had arrived. Sherri and Spencer were already staying at the Sheraton Harbor Island Hotel & Marina, where we are located, so they conveniently walked down to the boat once the guests had all gotten onboard. Sherri looked different then the first time I had met her, as she was now in a beautiful long cream colored wedding dress, with a bouquet of calla lilies in hand. As they stepped onboard, the moments were photographed then once Captain Stephen gave his safety talk, we were ready to set sail.

We motored out of the harbor, past the Cabrillo Yacht Club and Tom Ham’s Lighthouse and out into the San Diego Bay. Here we hoist our main sail, then begin our route down to the San Diego Skyline. Sherri and Spencer were ready for the ceremony, as was our Captain, Stephen, who provided the ceremony for them, and so it began. Reminders of love and selflessness were given, as well as direction.. ”You may now kiss your bride”.

After everyone clapped and cheered, champagne was passed around to the guests and the music of Natural Vibrations played the song “You and I”, with the lyrics” You and I could never part, ‘cause I’ve loved you from the start, just so you know”.

We sailed down to the Maritime Museum of San Diego where historic ships are maintained including the Star of India, the HMS Surprise, the Californian tall ship, and a B-39 Submarine. We then made our way past the USS Midway, where we waved to guests onboard the carrier who were excited to see a happy wedding couple onboard with us. The feeling was mutual.

As we continued past the Fish Market Restaurant of San Diego, one of our favorite places for Happy Hour after we go for a sail, we sailed by Seaport Village where we saw the Red Bull “New Year No Limits” ramp being deconstructed after the jump that was made on New Years Eve by Levi LaVallee, a professional Snowmobile racer sponsored by Red Bull Energy Drink, as well as Robbie Maddison, an Australian professional motorbike stuntman. Both LaVallee and Maddison successfully completed a jump across the harbor area at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina. LaVallee brown a world record by launching 412 feet, while Maddison jumped 378 feet on his motorcycle. The event happened just hours before midnight on New Years Eve, hence the event’s title, New Year: No Limits. It was exciting to see the ramp, especially after knowing what had happened there just hours before sailing by.

As it was nearing sunset, it was time for us to catch the view and so we sailed north back toward our slip at the Sheraton Harbor Island Hotel and Marina. As the fog moved back over the tip of Point Loma, we saw the sun set in the distance, lighting up our city in shades of yellow and gold; a suitable backdrop for a glittering skyline. As we docked and took the last minute group pictures, we said our goodbyes to the couple and their families. However, we never really say goodbye, it’s more like see you next time.

And so, like I said, we started off our New Year in a great way, and know that the best is yet to come. We’ve got lots of exciting events coming up soon, so be on the watch. After all, it’s a new year, and there are no limits.

Cheers,
Lindsay Schwarz
Aolani Catamaran Sailing

Wow! Talk about an exciting day on the San Diego Bay! If there are a couple phrases we overuse at “work” when we’re out sailing, one of them is “no complaints here” and another one is “there is always somethin’ going on in this bay!”. Today was a perfect example of the latter, hence I’m writing a blog post about it.

So, we had two charters today, both with a sales company that sells legal paperwork to car companies..pretty unique right? Well, 200 of this companies top employees were given a trip to San Diego as well as different options once they got here. The two sails we had today were with many of those employees, and both groups sure chose a great day to go sail because there were quite a lot of photo opportunities.

By the time our second charter of the day set sail we headed straight to the middle of the bay, where the America’s Cup catamarans were out sailing, getting in their last practice before tomorrow’s San Diego America’s Cup Race begins. It’s quite an exciting time for us here in San Diego, as the long anticipated event will begin tomorrow morning, bright and early.

A little history on the America’s Cup: the prestigious trophy is awarded to the winner of the America’s Cup match races. A match race is a race between two yachts. The Cup trophy was originally awarded way back in 1851 by the schooner America. A fun fact about this race: the America’s Cup is the oldest active trophy in an international sport. True story. What’s so exciting about this race is that it is usually held in waters far from here, while this year it will be hosted in the U-S-of-A, right here in San Diego, California and we couldn’t be more excited.

As we sailed through the bay, Coast Guard came alongside us to inform us of our boundaries while the Cup boats were our practicing. We were sure to keep our distance as we watched as a group of 24, most of us with camera in hand. Now that’s a picture I should have captured. Here are a few shots from their last trial day:

After watching the practice runs, we sailed back, near the aircraft carrier #70, USS Carl Vinson, as they were setting up for this evening’s Carrier Classic. This first ever event has just ended, as I write this post, and the North Carolina Tar Heels have just won this one of a kind event- a first ever college basketball game onboard an aircraft carrier- in celebration of Veteran’s Day. With thousands of troops onboard, model and actress Brooklyn Decker, retired professional point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers Magic Johnson, and even our President of the United States, Barack Obama, it was quite a night to celebrate.

After sailing as close as we could get to the USS Carl Vinson, it was just about time for us to be heading back to our home port at the Sheraton Harbor Island Marina. As we pulled in, dockside, our guests began to gather near the stern of the boat as they were preparing for their exit, and a gentleman came up to me. After shaking my hand, he says with wide eyes and a dramatic smirk, “must be nice”, and I thought to myself..you know what..it sure is..but here’s the catch, I don’t take a single day for granted. My family has served this nation and my friends currently serve this nation, and for that I am forever grateful.

With that, Happy Veteran’s Day, folks, and I hope to see you out on the water this weekend for the 34th ever America’s Cup Sailing Races.

-Lindsay

Happy Fall to all! The last time we visited our Aolani Catamaran blog page was early February just after Ashley and Drew had taken their leap of faith, in marriage, on our catamaran on a cool but beautiful winter eve. Fast-forward seven months and though much has changed, much remains the same. And with that, let’s get up to date.
It is now early November in San Diego and with our first day of fall behind us, it’s hard to believe that another summer on the Aolani Catamaran has come to a close. Luckily our summer was warmer than last years, wait..did we even have a San Diego summer last year? Either way, not to worry, we’ve always got blankets on board.

This summer was filled with fun, as summer is when we host mainly families onboard the catamaran whether it’s for a snorkel charter up to La Jolla Cove, searching underwater for the bright orange Ghirabaldi, or for a 25th Wedding Anniversary on the boat where we sailed through Glorietta Bay and over by the Hotel Del Coronado, where the couple had first met just a number of years back. This summer we held meetings onboard, sunset dinner cruises, surprise birthdays and even surprise engagements. We’ve celebrated with Retired Navy Pilots who came to celebrate .. well, the fact that they are now retired. We’ve shared laughs with the kids who jump off the boat and into Glorietta Bay , tears with families who lost a loved one as we help spread ashes out in the Pacific Ocean , and even an occasional karaoke song in our main salon room. Just two weeks ago, we held a beautiful wedding onboard with an Indian family who decked out the catamaran in bright yellows, oranges, and pink. We danced with them to the sounds of their bollywood themed playlist, until our cheeks were sore from laughing. What fun we get to share with all of you, and we remember each one. No charter is the same onboard the Aolani, and we cherish that. As long as you are having a good time, then we are too. That being said, we couldn’t imagine doing anything else in the world. We feel blessed to be the only catamaran in San Diego that charters, and therefore want to share it with all of you. So, come sail with us and we will make sure you have the very best of time as San Diego is full of life, and we couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Even now as I write this post here on my computer, dockside on the Aolani Cat, the Navy’s Blue Angels are flying overhead in acrobatic ease as they welcome citizens to the annual Coronado Speed Fest, where vintage cars from across the country come to race on a spectator friendly 1.7 mile course at Coronado’s Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI). There is always something going on in this great city of ours, and we get to experience so much of it from the very bay we sail through almost daily. Whether it be watching the military train in the San Diego Bay, cruising by the Aircraft Carriers, or making a marine life charter out of it and searching for dolphins in the bay, or blue whales a few miles offshore.. there is always something to see, and we want to show you, so again, we would love if you came and sailed with us.

In closing, keeping in mind that we began this business in late 2001, we feel blessed and fortunate as a family to have had the opportunity to share the Aolani Catamaran with so many wonderful people, and to see so many smiles as you leave the vessel with what seems to us like pure satisfaction. Your happiness is ours, as well, and we look forward to many more years to come of sailing with you.

As I recently graduated college to move home to San Diego, the great city that I grew up in, and work on and for the Aolani Catamaran Charters and with my family, I can certainly say with absolute certainty that it is truly good to be home.
I look forward to seeing you, meeting you, and having a great time with you out on the water.

Live Aloha,
Lindsay Schwarz
Aolani Catamaran Crew and Family member