The Sailing Academy

From Tennessee to the Chesapeake. Sailing Academy has fun experienced Mariners to get you started.
Got the lesson as a gift but will definitely come back to learn more.
Lots of fun and great people. Arrive a little early and meet your mates. Great expletive so close to DC.

We had a nice time on the water… but that was it. The sailing instruction and lesson was very minimal. Though the instructor was nice, I felt that I could have learned more about how to sail by reading a beginners guide online. Not worth the money.
Also, unrelated– the boat and office smelled so strong of mildew I literally almost passed out.

Please be aware of this merchant’s cancellation and refund policy. When they say you have to give them 48 hours notice to cancel, they really mean it. I ended up in the hospital on my sailing date, so naturally I wasn’t able to give a 48 hour notice, and there was no sympathy. I ended up losing my purchase price for a sailing voucher and was not allowed to reschedule. I called them three times (and left messages) on my sail date to let them know I was very sick, but they never answered their phones. It wasn’t until three days later (and a subsequent email to them) that they finally contacted me. The owner called me and said that she hires an outside captain for sails, and supposedly that captain had already paid, so she «could not afford» to allow me to reschedule or refund my money.
This whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth. They could have allowed me to reschedule, or given me a discount on another sail, or at least something that showed interest in getting a new customer and showing some sympathy for these unusual circumstances, and I would have been raving about how amazing this company is, and telling all my friends and family how totally awesome they are. Instead, they told me that losing my paid sail was a «cost of being sick,» and they they as a company «could not afford» to let me reschedule. The irony is that the profit they gained from keeping my $ 89 (which yes, per the terms and conditions of the contract, they were legally entitled to do) could have been a fraction of what I ended up spending with this company as a highly-​satisfied, repeat customer. I guess this is just they way they have elected to do business.
I purchased the sailing voucher because of the great reviews on Unilocal,and they seems to be great instructors with a lot of satisfied customers, which is great. I have no doubt that these people love sailing and that you’ll probably have a good experience with them. But just be forewarned — if you end up in the hospital, you’re not going to get any sympathy from them.

I bought the Bloomspot deal and thought it would make a good date — the wild sea (bay), learning together or making mistakes and laughing at each other. It was perfect! There was actually another couple on the boat with us who also had the same idea. Captain Jeff was naturally funny and kind to our amateur sailing abilities. I would just improve how to get to the office location.

I am sailing away. set the open course for the virgin seas!
My neighbors and I went sailing this weekend with the Sailing Academy. The weather was extremely hot, but the water was really calm so we mostly laid out. I did get motion sickness for about half of the trip so I would advise students to take Dramamine before the go. Our instructor Jeff was very knowledgeable and friendly. He answered all of our questions and had great tips and fun stories. Our day of sailing was fairly brief and he allowed us to do various task like steering the wheel, raising the sails, etc. Its a good experience for beginners but might be a little boring for the advance.

Had a great experience with the Sailing Academy last season. They made sure it was a fun experience for everyone on board. I look forward to another sunset sail the next time I’m visiting friends in DC!