May 1, 2017

Meet Darryl Hanus of Windward SeaVenture in Clear Lake

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Darryl Hanus.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I first started sailing when I got out of the Marines in 1995. At that time, I purchased a Compac 16 in which I fumbled and bumbled my way around Clear Lake, teaching myself to sail. As confidence grew, I wanted to move up to bigger boats. This is when I came to know Windward SeaVenture. My first formal sailing lessons were at Windward SeaVenture, a yacht charter and sailing school on Clear Lake. Capt. Gene Swan, the then owner of Windward SeaVenture, was my instructor. Over the next few years, I worked for Windward SeaVenture as I went to school at Texas A&M University at Galveston. After Graduating in 1999, I was talking with Gene about purchasing Windward. Around that time, I was contacted by a college friend who asked me to come teach sailing in the Caribbean for a company called Broadreach, an outdoor adventure program for teens. Needless to say, I left for the Caribbean and missed my first opportunity to own Windward SeaVenture. After working for Broadreach I got into public education. I was a public-school teacher for thirteen years, teaching sailing for Windward and Broadreach in the summers. In March of 2015, the then owner of Windward SeaVenture mentioned he had found a proposal I had made showing interest in buying the company and inquired if I was still interested. Burnt out of teaching in public schools, I said yes. In June of 2015 my wife, Laurie, and I purchased Windward SeaVenture. Since then, it has been a pleasure for us to provide the Houston area with the ability to participate in and enjoy the sailing lifestyle. We are glad to offer many opportunities to provide people the chance to get out on the water including birthdays, anniversaries and weddings, team building & corporate events. We are also an American Sailing Association (ASA) certified sailing school offering beginner to advanced sailing lessons. Our sailing lessons provide people the opportunity to get involved with sailing on a more personal level with family and friends. We love getting to know our customers and look forward to seeing them every weekend. With the high speed, high stress world we live in, it is rewarding for Laurie and me to see people’s relaxed demeanor after spending a day on the water.

Has it been a smooth road?
For the most part, it has been smooth sailing! As neither of us have ever been business owners, we have had to learn a lot. We had a steep learning curve initially on bookkeeping and all the business end of things. We also have and continue to try to navigate through the ins and outs of marketing and social media platforms. On the sailing end of things, we have not had many challenges. I have had exposure to many kinds of boats and quite bit of experience in operating sailboats and doing maintenance on a variety of boats. I know my limits of what I can and cannot do as far as maintenance. When I get to a point where I am at that limit, I have great resources around the area to call for advice or help. Overall, I would say we have been very pleased and feel very fortunate with how things have gone so far.

So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Windward SeaVenture story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a sailboat charter company operating out of Kemah, Texas. We offer bareboat and captained charters, sailing lessons, private dinner cruises, and corporate team building events. We also provide for private ceremonies such as engagements, weddings, anniversaries, and ash scattering services. We have multiple boats for charterers to choose from currently ranging from 28′ to 42′ in size. We are an ASA certified sailing school offering beginner to advanced sailing lessons. We give discounts to our ASA students on charters for a year after taking sailing lessons.

Our boats are all privately owned, so we are also a sailboat management company. We clean, maintain & manage the boats for the owners. The benefit for boat owners is to offset some of their expenses of owning a boat. The other benefit for owners is their boat is always ready and available for them to go sailing.

We are most proud of our customer service and this is what sets us apart from others. We provide quality boats that are always clean and working. Even some of our older boats are in excellent condition simply from being well taken care of. We want to provide the best service for our boat owners and customers alike by keeping all of the boats in superior condition.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
One of the advantages of this industry is its flexibility. As the economy fluctuates and the price of yachts continues to rise, bareboat chartering and charter management becomes more appealing for both boat owners and charterers. In slower economic times, sailors who may had previously taken trips to charter and sail in the Caribbean or other parts of the world will come to us to sail locally, saving the airfare and travel expenses. Boat owners will also look for avenues to offset the expenses of boat ownership and put their vessels in our charter management program. In prosperous economic times, more people are willing to explore and do the things they’ve always wanted, like learn to sail, or buy a boat. Even in prosperous times, there are many advantages for boat owners to have their boats in our charter management program.

With the ever rapidly increasing population of the Houston area the future looks bright. Each year we have new Houstonians who come to the Clear Lake/Galveston Bay area that say they never knew the area had so much to offer. We look forward to continue exposing the area and offer great experiences and opportunities for Houstonians and visitors alike to enjoy the sailing on Galveston Bay.

Contact Info: