Sailnow

The facts : — $ 189 sail Boat ride for two.400% more expensive than other sail boat rides I’ve purchased on groupon. — Boat fits 6 passengers. The boat was small for 6 adult American passengers. Although Jonathan let us sit by the mast (depending on conditions + his approval) %60 of our time was spent in the cockpit which was pretty cramped. Jonathan kept having to walk over us to get to certain places of the boat. Yes, there was space in the cabin but when you’re on a sailboat you don’t really want to spend time in the cabin, you’d rather be outside smelling the fresh sea air. — 1 skipper, no crew: Jonathan kept asking us to perform tasks on the boat, flip this switch here, pull this rope there, turn this knob here. Although these tasks were menial, this was not my idea of someone taking me out for a sailboat ride. — boat ride was 4 hours long (refer to a map of the bay area for this part of the review): we left Point Richmond at 10am and sailed in between there and tiburon for about 4 hours. A majority of our time was spent sailing in the middle of the bay with a view of the San Rafael bridge to starboard, a foggy bay bridge and treasure island to port, and our bow facing Tiburon and Angel island. We pretty much stayed in the same area for about 2.5−3 hours. The last 1 – 1.5 hours were spent getting to the middle part of the bay, turning around at Tiburon and going back to port. Make sure you bring food and water because it is not provided on this trip — which I am not complaining about, but to give you some perspective the other sail boat ride I purchased on Group On for $ 40 for two people had food, coffee, and Mimosas! It is a good thing Jonathan is funny and easy to talk to because the boat ride was pretty much a get to know everybody around you. I’m all for getting to know folks but my goal was to have a nice day with my girlfriend, which we still did because we made the most of it.
Jonathan,
Please purchase seat cushions for future guests. Thank you for the great experience.

We went for a 4 hour bay cruise with SailNOW and Jonathan this weekend and we had an amazing time! Jonathan is a very nice, super friendly, and really knows his stuff (been sailing since he was 12). I highly recommend going out on the bay!

Our family went out with Jonathan last weekend and had a fabulous time! What a perfect way to see the bay. We even spotted some seals and dolphins. Jonathan was very knowledgeable about the area and provided excellent commentary on our voyage! Great conversations, great views and great weather! Looking forward to the next time we set sail!

This was our first time sailing. I’m glad that I chose to sail with Captain Jonathan. He is very professional, kind and fun. We had a great time sailing in the bay. The only regret was we didn’t see any dolphins… Probably that’s the reason we should go again!

What a great experience! I took my girlfriend out on a cruise with SailNow with the Groupon deal and I enjoyed every bit of it. Jonathan is definitely extremely knowledgable about sailing and is very sociable. We went around the bay and got an amazing view. We even saw dolphins at one point!
Booking a date online was easy. The process is detailed on his website. Before our scheduled date, he even emailed and called me to let me know about the details and to make sure I brought everything I needed (ex. sunscreen). Jonathan is great and very honest about his business. Highly recommended.

We had a great time sailing with Jonathan. We didn’t take a lesson, just showed up with some food and drink, kicked back, and enjoyed the trip. Highly recommend.

There are many places around the Bay to learn about sailing or sharpen your skills, but Sailnow and Jonathan Ganz is in a special category. Jonathan focuses on all the proper fundamentals and builds these into as advanced a sailing session as you can handle. Jonathan has a US Coast Guard license (100GT) and an encyclopedic knowledge of boats and the bay.
My wife and I have been sailing for many years but decided to spent a day on the water with Jonathan to sharpen our docking and anchoring skills. I have completed a US Sailing bareboat certification class and done a couple weeklong trips in the Caribbean, but wanted to practice close-​quarters maneuvers, docks and anchors. After acquainting us with all aspects of his (well-​maintained) boat, Jonathan took us out and gave us a good day of practice and instruction. We anchored for lunch, navigated the docks and marina, and got lots of practice with docking, propwalk, dock lines, etc.
I would recommend Sailnow and Jonathan for any level of sailor who wants to learn more. There may be many choices for people who can teach you the basics, but only someone like Jonathan and Sailnow can help you build your skills up to become a truly serious sailor.

My wife and I and another couple got a 2-​day sail lesson with Jonathan off Groupon.
Jonathan was very very knowledgeable, fun and really let us all participate in sailing the boat. He let all of us take the helm, trim sails and even dock the boat. It was a lot of fun and I would recommend it to anyone who wanted to take a basic sailing lesson.

My family and I had great morning sailing with Jonathan. He was very prepared and walked through all the safety procedures, took the time to explain how the boat worked, especially to my very interested 11 year old boy. He had both my 11 year old and my 15 year old girl engaged in sailing, showing them how the wind interacted with the sail. On the trip from Richmond we saw Saucelito, Angle Island, Treasure Island, Berkley, the Bay and Golden Gates Bridges, Mt Tam in the distance, and of course the SF skyline. All and all, even with light winds and a chilly morning, we had a great time and my kids are definitely ready to get out sailing again. I would not hesitate to book another trip with

So I decide to do something different on my birthday… and Sail Now wins the coin toss! I’m very much a novice to the world of sailing, but Jonathan pretty much made it unintimidating and enjoyable. A quick tip, arrive early. No cell service in the area. But who needs interruptions when you’re doing something worthwhile? Take away? You sail for the love of it, and this is what Jonathan is about. We loved his wealth of knowledge, interesting stories, practicality and down to earth attitude. I wouldn’t mind going again. Sailing SF Bay can be complicated, but he makes it very manageable.

Jonathan took me and five friends sailing this past weekend in the Bay on a roundtrip tour from Point Richmond to Alameda, and, apparently, I have no sea legs whatsoever. But Jonathan was very calm, reassuring, and supportive, and he’s obviously very knowledgeable about sailing, his boat, and the Bay Area.

Serious sailing, at least on SF bay, is not something to be approached lightly or half-​heartedly. If you want to be casual about your sailing then its best to find an experienced friend and just crew a lot until you get some skills.
I’ve been sailing on and off on the bay for the last 30 years. It can be lovely and it can be frightening. A few years back, I decided that it was time to pick up my game. I looked into formal training and took (and continue to take) formal lessons and certifications so that I can do full on overnight charters.
Along the way you meet people. You don’t really get a position teaching people how to obtain valid skills and certifications without being a good sailor. But there are sailors and then there are sailors.
What sets Sailnow apart from the bunches I’ve met is that the owner, Jonathan Ganz is not only a REALLY HIGHLY QUALIFIED Captain but he is actually a good guy who is a patient and skilled communicator. Stormy, my wife and crew, has been taking classes alongside of me so that we can make a competent team. Stormy is not the enthusiast that I am. It may be in part that she gets seasick. Stormy loves working with Jonathan. He explains things to her an coaches her in a way that she can relate to well.
It doesn’t hurt that Sailnow has a great boat, the Excalibur. It doesn’t hurt that Sailnow is economical compared with other learning experiences around the bay.
I’d sail with Jonathan and Excalibur any time.