Lighthall Yacht Charters

Awesome customer service!
I scattered my dad’s ashes October of last year and was given a card with longitude and latitude numbers in them. It was very very sentimental to me. Somehow, I lost it and couldn’t find it anywhere… so I called lighthall and spoke to Krista. Krista told me to email her and she will check the records. After several emails back and forth, she found my dad’s record and generously mailed me another card with the records in it!
Even after the ceremonial service, they are there to help me retrieve old records. I can’t thank you guys enough Lighthall! Great communication! Definitely recommend! By the way, the scattering was a pleasant experience too.

We can’t thank Lighthall enough for the amazing service they provided for my brother-​in-​laws burial at sea. They were respectful of the occasion and went far beyond our expectations.

We had the best experience with Lighthall Yacht Charters! We chartered a 6 person boat for a burial at sea. Stuart, our captain, was amazing! He was so friendly and kind. He is from England and has many many years of experience. We could really tell he enjoys what he does. He even let my husband (and niece, who’s 6) drive the boat. He gave us rose petals to throw out with the ashes and happily played the cd I brought for the occasion. He even gave my brother some herbal drops being that he is prone to getting sea sick. They worked and my brother was fine! I can’t say enough about our day– it was a beautiful, memorable, perfect day and we will remember it forever.

Literally one of the best places I’ve ever given my money to.
My father died suddenly and I live across the country. Krista was extraordinary – kind, compassionate, and enormously understanding. She bent over backwards to get me two boats (off-​season! last-​minute!), going back and forth with me on days to make it work. Trust me, I was a nightmare client – changing days and boats back and forth as I heard from various relatives and friends, uncertain on when and how many could attend. Krista was a SAINT. And everything was totally affordable.
On the day of, everything went off flawlessly. The skippers were on time and the boats were gorgeous. Seriously, they’re wonderful yachts – I want to live in one. My skipper, Jon, was not only friendly and sweet, but very compassionate. Scattering my father’s ashes was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and they made it as painless as it could possibly be.
They let me choose the place to do it, were enormously patient during our informal ceremony (did NOT rush us in our speeches or scattering of flowers), and even made sure to circle back around once we were done so we could take photos of the flowers floating on the sea.
At the end, Jon (the skipper of my boat) let my boyfriend «captain» for a few minutes and even gave me a little tour of the boat. It was so incredibly compassionate. He used to own the boat and had sold it to Lighthall, but he still got to skipper it sometimes, and you could tell he had real fondness for both the boat and his job.
Thank you guys. If I ever live out there again, without such a sad errand to perform, I am definitely going to do their sailing lessons or other tours.

This is the second time my family and I have used Lighthall Yacht Charters for memorial services at sea. The first time was in 2009, for the scattering of my mother’s ashes and today for my father. Krista, Scott, and Stuart were great. It was a beautiful day, with calm waters, and no wind, perfect for our occasion. Krista was easy to work with on both occasions and was even able to take us to the same coordinates for my father’s services as we had gone for my mother. They are professional, easy going, and make sure your experience is a pleasant one. This was exactly the way my parents wanted to be remembered and I couldn’t think of a better way to do so. The yacht comes to a slight cruise while the ashes are scattered over the sea and flowers petals following the ashes and ending with the eight tolls of the ship bell. Very tranquil and beautiful moments to remember.
I plan to contact Krista again to coordinate another trip but this time for other services. They offer team building, celebrations, sailing lessons and much more. They are flexible with dates and times and reasonably priced. I can’t wait to coordinate a different adventure with them in the future.

Our time with Lighthall was for a scattering at sea. It was a beautiful day last December (an unexpected blessing), but a very sad, emotional time for our family. Our Captain was Jon, and he was just wonderful. He engaged us with an unusual sensitivity for the situation; sympathetic but not overbearing. He helped make a painful time less so. The boat was nice and clean, and Jon was very accommodating in allowing us the time we needed. Glad that we trusted Lighthall with our special day.

We had a wonderful sunset sail with Lighthall Yacht Charters. They were very easy to communicate with, book with, accepted cash or credit cards and right on time for our sail.
My group of four really enjoyed the private environment. There was no silly music or (forced) polite conversation with strangers. We got to rest, relax, sip the wine we brought and listed to the wild skimboard birds tap their wings agains the smooth sea.
Our captain Scott was a great sailor, very knowledgeable and a pleasure to spend 2 hours with on a Saturday evening.

Officially obsessed with this. I took another trip out on the bay again. Scott was the captain the second time. Wonderful man! He knew all about the ocean and the sea life. He was great with my little brothers running all over his boat. They are flexible and kind. I now dream of sailing… seriously.

The co-​captains for over 18 years of Chardonnay II branched out on their own to offer private sailing lessons and charters in Santa Cruz. They are the epitome of professionalism and confidence with sailing resumes that instantly put you at ease among some gorgeous private sailing yachts. Very reasonable prices and memories we’ll never forget. We’ll keep coming back as long as they’ll have us! Great for corporate events, team buildings, etc.

We are back from the Santa Cruz Harbor. the remembrance ceremony for my mom with Lighthall Yacht Charters was totally awesome. It was a beautiful calm day on the water… seals, sea lions, dolphins and sea otters were within sight of the sailboat the entire trip… we sailed to a spot called The Cement Ship Wharf at Rio del Mar Beach… this was Mom’s favorite place to fish and sun on the beach… the skipper drove the boat in a figure 8 design (infinity symbol) just in front of the pier while the granddaughters scattered rose petals over the surface of the water… the skipper then stopped the boat while I placed Mom’s ashes in the water… he rang the boat’s bell 8 times… maritime tradition for passing of a loved one… then, a moment of silence, it was awesome… very nice! Scott and Krista you guys were awesome,
A BIG Thank You from Irene’s Family.

We just returned from a wonderful trip with Lighthall Charters. The other reviews are for fun times, but we used them to scatter my mother in laws ashes at sea. The entire time we dealt with Lighthall everyone was extremely nice and sensitive to our needs. John went out of his way so we could go scatter her ashes on her birthday which meant a lot to my husband. Captain Eric even had me steer for a bit which livened the mood and put everyone at ease as we left the harbor.
A ways out from shore they cut the engine and point into the wind. It’s quiet except for the water lapping against the boat, seagulls and the wind. It was a beautiful day and the whole process exceeded our expectations.
We’d highly suggest Lighthall to anyone.

IM ON A BOAT!
I wanted to take a couple of close friends out to sea for my bday. I did a TON of research looking for the right company for this excursion. I confidently chose Lighthall Yacht Charters because of the friendly interactions with Krista (email/​phone), and she even helped to budget the trip to fit my price range.
The day of the trip was a Sunday, and a nice change of weather with the sun shining (where has the sun been all summer???). We weren’t sure which dock to go to so we went to the office to ask, but the door was locked. I called Krista and she told me to go to dock C. By the way, I suggest carpooling with people and pitch in on a meter. It’s 3 quarters an hour. We did a 3 hour tour from 3−6PM.
The boat was the perfect size. Since regulations mandate no more than 6 passengers on the boat, it was extremely roomy! There were 2 bedrooms inside, a bathroom, kitchen, fridge/​cooler, etc… The outside had two comfy benches, two princess seats, a beautiful sail, and lots of cup holders!
The feature that got me most excited was the ability to play my iPod through the stereo. Make sure you bring your AUX cord though! the speakers are on the inside and outside of the boat, and the volume gets looouuudddd! Party time!!!
Our captain, Jon, was SO AWESOME! he let us all steer the boat and encouraged us to sit up on the «princess seats» which had the most amazing views! We drank some beers, had some cake, and brought chips and other snacks.
Overall, this was the best bday party idea EVER :)
I highly recommend this company for their rates, personalities, cleanliness, fun, etc…, and don’t forget to tip your captain ;)

Very reasonable pricing. Captain was professional and very friendly.

After several phone calls, I decided to go with Lighthall Yacht Charters due to their customer service. They were prompt with getting back to me and were a pleasure over the phone.
Me and the family went out to sea for approx. an hour. The boat was nice and clean. We had Captain Eric who was professional, educated, and very nice. I am usually one that is afraid of water but given his experience, we all knew we were in good hands.
Overall, the price was good and we would definately be giving them a call the next time we need to charter a yacht.