Frequently Asked Questions for Sag Harbor Charters:

What to Bring

Starlight is well equipped for your charter.  To make the most of your time, however, there are some things you may want to have for your enjoyment.  Some of the basics are sunscreen and sunglasses, a towel and bathing suit if you plan to paddle board or swim and whatever food or beverages you’d like to bring that aren’t being catered.

Starlight has a full galley of cutlery, serving trays and cups.  Please feel free to bring your own plasticware, but guests are also welcome to use the full resources of Starlight’s galley.

Catering

We can email menus from specific spots for catered lunches and snacks.  We also work with provisioners who can stock Starlight with whatever you want on board.  Guests make arrangements directly with provisioners and caterers so there is no confusion on food and drink.  Please let Captain Toby know if you’d like to explore these options.

Parking and Arrival

Starlight leaves from the mooring field in Sag Harbor.  Transport to and from the boat via the Sag Harbor Launch is included.   The launch leaves from the Town Dock on Long Wharf, which is half way out Long Wharf on the left (windmill) side.  The launch leaves right from the bottom of the ramp.   Please try and be about 15 minutes early and call or text me (917-399-0686) when you’re at the dock so I can have the launch pick you up.  Parking is best down Bay Street past the American Legion where there are no time restrictions.

Where we go

Your day trip will focused around the beautiful scenery of Shelter Island Sound, Gardiner’s Bay and the Peconic Bay between the North Fork and South Fork of Long Island.  How far we go and what we do depends on the length of your charter.  There are great swimming spots off Mashomack Preseve in Shelter Island, Smith Cove directly across from the Shelter Island South Ferry, West Neck Harbor and Cedar Point.  All of these are within reach during a half-day charter.  During your full day charter, we can venture further toward the North Fork wine country or Sunset Beach.   On a half-day charter, we can chose to venture out into the middle of Gardiner’s Bay for a lovely sail. On a full day charter we can usually make it to a nice spot of Gardiner’s Island to anchor.

There are many spots we can go to on your sail around the area.  The above are just a few.  Please don’t hesitate to discuss options before your charter based on your interests.  Also, recommendations will be made upon wind and tide on the particular day you charter.  Being flexible is always the way to have a better time when sailing.

Weather

Check the weather before your charter and feel free to ask questions.  There are great sites to check such as weather.com, accuweather.com and weatherunderground.com.   If you want to get really involved in wind prediction and navigation, a real useable skill for sailors, check out sailflow.com.  If storms are predicted for our trip, we’ll pick another date to head out or make other arrangements.

Gratuity

It is customary to tip the captain and/or crew 15-20% when chartering a sailboat. Did you have fun? Let the crew know here. The bulk of the crews compensation for charters oftentimes comes from tips.

We hope you have a wonderful day and experience aboard Starlight!  Don’t forget to review us on Yelp and TripAdvisor.

Thank you!