Blue Water Sailing School |
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| Reviewers Male / Female | Recommend Yes / No | Number of Reviews | Classes & Instruction | School Facilities | Boats & Courses | Cost | Total Average Rating |
| 5 / 1 | 3 / 3 | 6 | 6.67 | 8.00 | 7.50 | 6.83 | 7.25 |
| Date Submitted: | January 11, 2010 |
| Sailing School: | Blue Water Sailing School |
| Location: | FL - Fort Lauderdale, United States |
| Classes & Instruction: | 9 out of 10 |
| School Facilities: | 9 out of 10 |
| Boats & Courses: | 9 out of 10 |
| Cost: | 8 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | Yes |
| Review: | I've taken three courses from BWSS - all great! I first went to BWSS in 2001 for the week long trip that combined 101, 103, & 104 courses, and it was great! The instructor seamless integrated the material, experiences, and testing for these courses into one adventurous and meaningful experience. Two years later, I did the 105 & 106 combined in a similar week- great stuff again, and this time with a different captain, who was also a fantastic and inspiring sailor and instructor. Then two years after that, I took the combined Celestial Navigation 107 and Offshore passage-making 108 classes, a three week adventure from Ft. Lauderdale to St. Thomas, which inspired me to make sailing a part of my profession, as well as to buy a boat. I have recommended Blue Water Sailing School to several friends, and family too - everyone who has gone on my recommendation has had a great experience, and I will continue to send them business. I'm contemplating going to BWSS for some additional private instruction soon. Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | Drew 45 year-old :: Male Reviewer :: North Carolina |
| Date Submitted: | December 30, 2009 |
| Sailing School: | Blue Water Sailing School |
| Location: | FL - Fort Lauderdale, United States |
| Classes & Instruction: | 9 out of 10 |
| School Facilities: | 9 out of 10 |
| Boats & Courses: | 9 out of 10 |
| Cost: | 8 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | Yes |
| Review: | Learned so much AND had a lovely time Our instructor (Capt. Rick) was fantastic -- incredibly knowledgable and took the time to make sure everyone understood the logic/rationale and could use that information to make sound decisions aboard. The boat was great, provisions and meals were a fun part of life on the boat, the other two "students" were wonderful people and fellow sailors, and all in all we had a totally lovely time. The only disappointment was occasional lack of wind. Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | Cynthia 33 year-old :: Female Reviewer :: New York, NY |
| Date Submitted: | December 29, 2009 |
| Sailing School: | Blue Water Sailing School |
| Location: | FL - Fort Lauderdale, United States |
| Classes & Instruction: | 10 out of 10 |
| School Facilities: | 9 out of 10 |
| Boats & Courses: | 9 out of 10 |
| Cost: | 9 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | Yes |
| Review: | Excellent Instruction & Fleet; Much Improved Looks like the old instructors are no longer with BWSS. My wife and I took the Cat A Plus course (ASA 101, 103, 104 and 114) with Captain Rick aboard La Bamba, a 41' Lagoon catamaran. We had an absolutely wonderful time and came home feeling confident and having mastered the course work. From what we've seen, BWSS has made major improvements in their fleet and instructors; doing away with some of those who didn't go above and beyond expectations. Our intention is to return for the next round of courses. Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | MylesK 34 year-old :: Male Reviewer :: New York City |
| Date Submitted: | November 19, 2009 |
| Sailing School: | Blue Water Sailing School |
| Location: | FL - Fort Lauderdale, United States |
| Classes & Instruction: | 6 out of 10 |
| School Facilities: | 8 out of 10 |
| Boats & Courses: | 8 out of 10 |
| Cost: | 2 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | No |
| Review: | Poor Instructor, Too Much Money Did a course with Blue Water Sailing School in the Caribbean a couple of years ago and had a very poor experience. The instructor was grumpy and ruined the trip for me and my wife. We really didn't need to hear about his divorce and ex over and over again. Made worse by his learing at my wife the entire time -- quite uncomftable on a small boat. Comments [ 1 ] |
| Submitted by: | HobieSailor 46 year-old :: Male Reviewer :: Philadelphia, PA |
| Date Submitted: | August 20, 2009 |
| Sailing School: | Blue Water Sailing School |
| Location: | FL - Fort Lauderdale, United States |
| Classes & Instruction: | 4 out of 10 |
| School Facilities: | 7 out of 10 |
| Boats & Courses: | 5 out of 10 |
| Cost: | 7 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | No |
| Review: | Not Entirely Smooth Sailing with BWSS Like the other reviewer of Blue Water Sailing School on this site, my partner and I had a less-than-desirable experience in the Course A+ with BWSS out of Newport, RI, this summer. The course was a week-long, live-aboard school that led to 101, 103 and 104 ASA certifications. The good news is that all the instruction was focused on the tests for those certifications, and we were adequately prepared to pass the tests. We also gained valuable experience in coastal cruising and living aboard a sailboat. But the overall experience was often unpleasant, and much of what we experienced didn't seem to coincide with what BWSS advertised for this course. Like the other reviewer, we found our instructor often impatient, indifferent, and sometimes even dismissive of our questions. He was obviously knowledgeable about sailing and (I gather) very experienced, and we learned some valuable lessons about sailing and cruising. But he was not at all flexible or accommodating, very rigid in both his thinking and his practices, and rather uninterested in what his students thought or had to say. Moreover, he drank too much. Each evening after we anchored and settled in for the night, he initiated a cocktail hour, which began with some snacks while he prepared dinner and usually continued well into the evening (until 10:00 p.m. or so). He and one of the other students consumed an astonishing quantity of alcohol during these sessions with only modest help from the rest of us, including a half gallon of rum, two bottles of scotch, and 4 or 5 large bottles of wine over five evenings. (The rest of us mostly drank a few beers each evening, so we didn't do much to help consume the harder stuff.) At times our instructor became obnoxious after he was drunk, and one evening he displayed inappropriate impatience toward the students when one of the heads seemed to clog. (It was actually not clogged, which made his mini-tirade even more inappropriate.) He also spent a lot of time telling critical stories of students he had in previous classes. He was unprofessional and generally unfriendly. I would not sail with him again. I'd also add that although the sailing school is intended to be intense and requires students to work, I found it inappropriate and in fact even a bit insulting that we were expected to clean up the dinner dishes each night. At times we were treated like uninformed children who had to clean up before bedtime. I don't mind hard work, but we were told that the fee for the course included instruction and daily sailing exercises, all of which would end by dinner, after which we were on our own. That wasn't the case, and it made for an uncomfortable and unenjoyable time. Luckily, one of the other students was a good guy and very reasonable sailing companion. Otherwise, the week would have been unbearable. The upshot is that I achieved what I hoped to achieve (ASA certification) but I would not sail with Blue Water again nor would I recommend them to other sailors. Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | Frustrated 51 year-old :: Male Reviewer :: New York |
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