haven charters

Just returned from 4 days on the water in Carpe Diem and it was wonderful! My wife and 3 younger folk (22, 15 & 12) made up the crew and we experienced all of: 1) 2 beautiful beam reaches across the Chesapeake, 2) 2 "diesel" crossings of the Bay in glassy conditions, 3) fun sailing in the Magothy River and 4) watching a spectacular thunderstorm over our little sanctuary in Swan Creek.Overall, it was a very rewarding experience and the Beneteau sailed like a gem!Thank you Haven Charters (David and Jacki)

We hadn't sailed in a long time and wanted to take our 20-something boys out sailing for their first time. Haven Charters were very patient and supportive/helpful even when we changed our itinerary. They were able to find us a wonderful skipper to re-train us...the skipper even called the following day to make suggestions where we would find the best sailing! We rented a 37' Beneteau that had all of the modern conveniences one could need...and then a few extras! The boat was clean and well equipped. We look forward to returning...after a few more refresher lessons. The marina is well equipped with clean showers/heads, a pool, good restaurant, play area for kids.

My fiance, Bryan, and I chartered Carpe Diem, a Beneteau Oceanis 32, with his sister and her boyfriend this past weekend. Although ASA 101-104 certified and owners of a Southern Sail Skipper 20, this was our first charter (preparation for our upcoming Honeymoon charter in Greece!). It could not have been a better experience. Our charter was from Friday-Monday. Haven Charters was gracious enough to allow us to board the night before. We arrived rather late and managed to find the boat only a couple slips up from the first dock - in retrospect, we should have asked in advance where it would be. As others have noted, the air conditioning was much appreciated. Friday morning, we met with Dave from the charter company. He gave us a thorough review of the boat and answered all our questions. Bryan and I decided to go out for the day to get a feel for the boat before the other couple met us that evening. The channel was well-marked and charts were provided. The wind was light (under 7 knots) but we were still able to sail, albeit slowly. That evening, we provisioned at the local grocery store, less than a mile down the road. They had everything we wanted except pita.The next day, we set off for Annapolis, 16 nm away. After clearing the shoal near Rock Hall, we raised the sails. Both the roller furler and the main furler worked smoothly and were very easy to handle with one or two people. The wind was SW shifting to SE, from about 10 knots to 23 South of the Bay Bridge. We reefed the genoa at 20 and had no problems; our cruising speed was between 6-7 knots. Getting into the Annapolis Harbor at approximately 4:00 PM on a Saturday was crowded but clearly marked. Per Dave's recommendation, we slipped at the Yacht Basin Marina. At $2.75 a foot, it wasn't cheap, but it was a great location and we were glad to be walking distance from a happening area with lots of restaurants and shops. The marina was easy to find and we were happy to have the showers (and AC again!), but next time we would probably get a mooring right outside the marina for half the price and call a water taxi to pick us up. Checkout Sunday morning was at 11 AM. Thunderstorms were predicted for late afternoon, so we left a bit early. After debating about going to the Magothy River and exploring or heading over to Chester River back on the Eastern Shore, we decided to choose the prudent option of Chester River since worse weather was expected on Monday and that way we would be closer to Rock Hall. Sailing was excellent, with wind S/SE from 20-30 knots. We reefed both sails and kept an average of 6-7 knots cruising speed. The boat handled beautifully and we didn't feel overpowered at all. As we headed into the Chester River, we turned on the motor to navigate the smaller channels. Our anchorage destination was Queenstown, as it was the first recommended anchorage in the river and would allow us to be closer to Rock Hall the next day than if we went further upstream. The cruising guide warned that the channel was very narrow, but we decided to be very careful and risk going in at low tide since thunderstorms seemed likely. We monitored the depth closely and followed the channel exactly, and didn't have any problems with our 4'3" draft, although it did get very shallow. Once inside, there was one other sail boat anchored in a beautiful, secluded safe haven. We dropped anchor and didn't have any problems dragging. The thunderstorms held off and it was so idyllic everyone decided to go for a swim. We fought the current to a little sandbar, about a quarter mile away, then floated home and cooked dinner. It was a beautiful night. The thunderstorms could be seen at a distance but we didn't get more than some rain.The next morning, we pulled anchor, left at high tide, and sailed for a bit before the wind died and we motored back to Rock Hall. The sky stayed clear until the late evening. We had no problems refueling or dumping the holding tank. The day was so warm we decided to go for a swim in the pool before taking showers in the private, individual and very clean bathrooms at Haven Marina. We were originally told to be off the boat by 5, but since it wasn't going out again until Thursday Dave said to take our time. We ended up departing around 4. Everyone enjoyed the weekend and agreed it could not have been better!A couple other things:- We did not have any problems turning on the engine the entire trip - worked like a charm!- Backing up into the slip was a bit tricky, especially on the last day when the wind picked up, but we took Dave's advice on how to best get in and everything worked out fine.- The boat was well-provisioned, with everything you would need in the galley, including some spices and cooking oil, some basic cleaning supplies, etc. We brought our own towels, pillows, and sheets. - All instruments on the boat seemed in good working order. No problems with the radio, stove, fridge, head, sails, etc.- Haven Marina is SUPER nice. There are bikes to rent, a swimming pool, a restaurant, a boat yard, games, etc - we would DEFINITELY go back.

we rented the Carpe Diem and found the boat in good condition all things working well and had a great four days on the waterif you want to have a nice weekend sailing these are the people that can provide the equipment to get it donethanksMark and Cindy

We have chartered from Haven over the past 20 years - very reputable and friendly charter company. There is a new boat in the fleet - Eos. We have been on this boat several times - Eos is a fabulous boat for 2 to 6 people. It's a 2012, sails beautifully, huge cockpit and all of the comforts of home. The A/C is a blessing on sultry nights. I highly recommend this boat if it is available.

So there wasn't anything on here, so I figured I'd do a more broad review of a recent trip I took with my girlfriend.First, let me say that we chartered a sailboat from Haven Charters ([--]) in Rock Hall, MD. I live in DC so it took us about two hours to get out to Rock Hall, but the drive wasn't bad.The charter was very "no muss, no fuss." It was my first time chartering, but I really can't think of anything that they could have done better to make this fun and easy. Their weekend rates can be a little costly (though comparitively inexpensive compared to a lot of charter places I looked at on the Bay) but since we took it out for a week, it was only about 40% more than if we had just done a weekend.We took the boat out on a Saturday morning and cruised around the Bay for a bit before going up the Southern River, just south of Annapolis a bit, and docking at the Selby Bay Yacht Basin. The guy that was running it, Bernard, was terrific. He took great care of helping us get settled. I believe the fee was $.75/ft, so we paid something like $25. A great deal compared to the other places we went to.That night we were treated to a terrific lightning storm. It didn't start raining for about an hour after we first saw the lightning, so Jen and I just sat in the cockpit having some Yeungling and watching the lightning.The next day we cruised around a bit more then headed into Annapolis. We docked at the Annapolis Yacht Basin. That was a bit expensive at $2.00/ft, but we were right downtown, so I guess the tradeoff was pretty worth it.We went to Kyma restaurant on Monday night, and I cannot recommend this place enough. It was probably one of the all-time best meals I have ever had, period. The place is owned by Jose Andres, who is a pretty big DC chef. I've been to some of his other places in DC and am always impressed. Kyma is a greek/spanish fusion small plates restaurant. Terrific service from our waiter Guy, and I highly recommend the calamari appetizer. Bottomline: go there.We took off from Annapolis on Tuesday morning and headed out into the bay again. We docked at Pohickney Point on Tuesday night and ended up staying until Thursday. It was a pretty picturesque place, but it did cost $1.50/ft, which I thought was a little expensive considering there was no place to get food anywhere around there. We were running pretty low at that point so had to order some pizza from a place in town about 6 mi away. But they do have a pool and nice clubhouse that we were allowed to hang out at.The last night we anchored on the NE point of Kent Island. It was a gorgeous night, and it being a Thursday, there wasn't a lot of boat traffic. We just made some dinner, had some beers and watched the sun go down, a beautiful night.So to sum up, great fantastic amazing trip. Highly recommend Haven Charters and Selby Bay Yacht Basin. And if you are in Annapolis GO TO KYMA!!![I'll try to load some pics in here later]