What started as a business idea 20 years ago has now become a 77-foot reality for Curt Crain, owner of Glendale-based Crain Painting. Crain purchased his dream boat in August and will open the sails of SailMilwaukee this May, a company that will take groups of up to 12 people on tours of Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee shoreline.
The dream boat is named Altair and is a ketch-rigged luxury sailing yacht. It was built in 1982 in New Zealand by Export Yachts and designed by naval architect Don Brooke for one of the company’s owners.
“When I saw it, I realized it was the boat,” Crain said. “A boat like this is rarely seen on the Great Lakes.”
Crain did not disclose the price of the sale but said if the boat was built today, it would cost upwards of $3 million.
Altair features a mahogany pilot house with teak and holly floor and eye level views from two settees or bench seats, a main/dining salon, a service bar; guest sleep accommodations for eight people, a full state of the art kitchen, a utility room with a washer and dryer, private bathrooms and showers for each of the three stateroom and an entertainment system and desk in the master stateroom, flat panel televisions and audio/visual accommodations for presentations.
“The concept is a small, exquisite, exclusive opportunity for people to entertain on a boat that has never been on the Great Lakes before,” Crain said.
Crain, a licensed captain, looked for three years before settling on Altair. The boat is currently harbored in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and will set sail on its journey to Lake Michigan in April. Once it reaches Milwaukee, Altair will be housed at McKinley Marina.
Crain hired a full-time captain and two crew members to be in charge of Altair’s voyages and partnered with Thiensville-based Shully’s Catering Inc. to cater events, which could include anything from sandwiches for lunch to a four course chef-prepared dinner when requested.
SailMilwaukee plans to appeal to businesses looking for a unique team building or meeting space, family and friend reunions, weddings and renewals of vows, fireworks displays and weekend trips to destinations on Lake Michigan.
The boat will be available for rentals from June through October. Scheduling, availability and more information about Altair is available on the company’s Web site, www.SailMilwaukee.com.
Although interested parties can customize their experience on Altair, SailMilwaukee put together some package options. A two-hour sail with breakfast or lunch on board costs $3,000 plus catering. A four-hour afternoon, dinner or evening cruise ending in a fireworks show costs $5,000 plus catering.
Suggested trips include sailing to Racine, Port Washington or Sheboygan for dinner or receiving Altair in Chicago to entertain clients or guests for a special function. Costs for trips like these are yet to be determined, however a weekend trip to Door County for six people is set at $15,000 plus incidentals.
Crain is looking to appeal to sea lovers, boat lovers, Wisconsin lovers, Lake Michigan lovers and people who are looking for a once in a lifetime opportunity or a unique setting to impress a potential client, Crain said.
Corporate service workshops are already available aboard Altair with topics including: Strategic Planning, Creative Thinking, Group Problem Solving, Team Building/Optimize Performance, Building Communication and Trust, and Leadership Building Assessments.
The delivery cruise from Fort Lauderdale will launch the first week of April and take Altair through half of the Great Loop, a circumnavigation of Eastern North America by water, Crain said. The entire loop is about 6,000 miles. Crain plans to sail from Fort Lauderdale to New York harbor; up the Hudson River to the Erie Canal; through Lake Erie to Lake Huron; through the Straits of Mackinac and down to Lake Michigan.
The group plans to be in Milwaukee at the end of the second week in May, Crain said. When Altair arrives at McKinley Marina, it will be open for tours by appointment only.
“We live in a 360-degree city and we can only see 180 degrees of it,” Crain said. “People should be able to see the city and now they will be able to see it from the water.”
