Meet John Valente | Yacht Captain & Charter Coordinator

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Valente and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
To consider myself a “colleague” instead of a “competitor.” The professional maritime tourism industry in San Diego is a small community of boat and yacht owners, captains, and professional crew. Yet, San Diego is a top U.S. travel destination with a world class bay drawing nearly 32 million visitors in 2023 who have spent an estimated $14.3 billion according to the San Diego Tourism Authority. This is in addition to the over 3 million people residing in San Diego County.

Realizing that not one charter operator could possibly serve the celebration needs of all those people. I decided to reach out to other charter operators and create a collaborative private yacht charter network where we can all refer to each other the business that we can’t handle ourselves. This allowed us all to provide the best customer service by not having to hang up the phone on anyone that we couldn’t accommodate on our own. This provided each of us with a network of partners that we can refer our guests to and make sure everyone can make meaningful memories on a private yacht on San Diego Bay.

What should our readers know about your business?
This whole thing started as a series of “happy accidents.” I honestly did not start by setting out with a business plan or even an idea. It was about recognizing opportunities and being receptive to taking risks…. while having fun doing it. In a nutshell, I bought a used “fixer upper” yacht on Craigslist for very cheap. I put a little money into a few repairs and made it seaworthy for my friends and family. A couple years later, I upgraded and fixed up the newer one to look nice. The friend that helped fix it up was impressed enough to suggest that I start chartering it. That was the light bulb moment that started it all.

I created a small website to maybe do a few charters per month, to just help pay for gas and expenses. On occasion, I would receive calls from guests that were looking for something other than what I had to offer. Instead of hanging up the phone and saying, “Sorry, I can’t help you.” I reached out to another charter operator and asked if I could refer customers to them. Of course, that was appreciated, and I was able to take care of the customers with what they were looking for. I added that boat and subsequently a few others to my website offerings until I started receiving calls from other charter operators asking, “Hey, I saw your website. How can I list my boat with you?” Gradually, our business grew to where San Diego Bay Cruises now owns three different charter boats and represents approximately 25 others around San Diego Bay.

There were many challenges along the way in starting and maintaining a successful charter operation and network. We discovered it was an expensive business to maintain and operate safely. The prices of marina slip rates are constantly increasing, gasoline prices rising, maintenance costs, insurance, and keeping up with all the appropriate safety regulations and licensing requirements. We also discovered that there were a lot of charter operators in San Diego that weren’t operating under the same rules and not being as diligent about safety standards.

Throughout the years, I’ve made myself available to other aspiring yacht charter operators and coached them through knowing what’s required to be able to safely run a yacht charter business. Some people have asked me, “Why do you want to train your competition?” Again, with millions of residents and visitors to San Diego, there’s enough business for all of us if we play fair. Ultimately, whether a guest charters with San Diego Bay Cruises or someone else, I want them to be able to celebrate life’s milestones with the assurance that they’re going out with a safe operator. It only takes one unfortunate incident to make others reluctant to participate in an activity if they don’t feel safe.

People should know that if they call on San Diego Bay Cruises to celebrate a birthday, bachelor or bachelorette party, graduation, corporate event, or whatever… they’re dealing with a business that has integrity and is going to make sure they are going to have the time of their lives, safely.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The first thing I’d do is invite them aboard Bella Luna Yacht and take them on a cruise around San Diego Bay. All along the way, I’d point out all the incredible points of interest, bars and restaurants to eat at, hotels and resorts to visit, and shops to peruse.

We would start by filling a cooler with sandwiches and snacks from Harbor Island Liquor & Deli get on board at Harbor Island West Marina. Coming right out of the Harbor Island channel, I’d point out the Bali Hai restaurant, home of the world famously potent Mai Tai, right on the water’s edge of Shelter Island. We’d continue on toward Point Loma to drift around the Everingham Live Bait barge for a great photo opp of the colony of California sea lions and aquatic birds that hang out there.

After getting their selfies with the sea lions and birds, we cruise the perimeter of Coronado Island, starting with North Island Naval Air Station and seeing if there are any active aircraft carriers in port. Cruising past the Naval base, I would show off the beautiful multimillion-dollar homes along the Coronado shoreline as we approach the shopping village and restaurants at the ferry landing. Beyond that, we’d cruise right under the Coronado bay bridge and into Glorietta Bay. As we loop through there, I’ll point out the Hotel Del Coronado and all the beautiful yachts at the Coronado Yacht Club.

We’ll come out of Glorietta Bay and ride the length of the bridge toward the US Navy Pacific War fleet of ships and then through the bridge again as we head toward the San Diego city skyline again. We’ll dip in and out of the different areas and points of interest along the city skyline starting with the San Diego Convention Center and PetCo Park.

From there, I will point out Joe’s Crab Shack, the Rady Shell Amphitheater, Seaport Village, the Fish Market restaurant which is right next to the famous Kiss Statue. I like going directly along side the USS Midway aircraft carrier and then playing the Top Gun theme song, “Danger Zone” as I throttle up and take off past the bow of the Midway. We’ll continue drifting along to the Portside Pier restaurants and Maritime Museum ships like the Star of India, HMS Surprise, Californian, and San Salvador. The last thing I’d point out before heading back to the dock would be the Cohn Group set of restaurants on the tip of Harbor Island; Coasterra, C Level Lounge, and Island Prime steakhouse.

Once we’ve completed our cruise and returned Bella Luna back to her slip, I’d spend the rest of the week going to as many of those destinations and restaurants as we could manage in only a week’s time. But, we’d sure have some great memories trying it.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe thanks to all the charter operators, captains, and crew that have taught me about the maritime tourism industry, consulted with me as resources of knowledge on how to host a successful business on San Diego Bay, and the comradery they have extended over the last dozen years we have worked together.

Website: http://www.SanDiegoBayCruises.com

Instagram: @bellalunayacht

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Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bella-luna-yacht-san-diego