Nelson Sailing Center Comments |
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| Date Submitted: | August 31, 2009 |
| Sailing School: | Nelson Sailing Center |
| Location: | NJ - Island Heights, United States |
| Classes & Instruction: | 9 out of 10 |
| School Facilities: | 4 out of 10 |
| Accomodation: | 4 out of 10 |
| Cost & Expense: | 6 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | No |
| Review: | Good Instruction, but Facilities could be better Two ASA courses taken at Nelson's Lake Drive Island Heights NJ. Instructors were excellent. The classroom facilities are being rebuilt as of 9/09 and classroom instruction is offered in a trailer. The second course was a three day combination of basic coastal cruising and bareboat chartering. The instructor was excellent and the 35 ft. Pearson perfectly seaworthy and the sails were in good condition. Unfortunately it rained the first night which revealed leaks over my bunk which made it difficult to sleep. There were five adult men on the boat including the instructor, luckily one student lived near Nelson's and opted to go home the first night, and the instructor stayed with a friend the second night, otherwise the accommodation would have been very tight. As it was, once it began to rain on the first night two students who opted to sleep in the cockpit had to come into the main saloon and spent the night sleeping while sitting on one of the bunks. The third bunk was so small it was really impractical for an adult man. The Pearson's stove wasn't usable for some reason, though I was later told there were alcohol and propane systems on board. It probably would have been better to eat out the first night as well as the second. As it was I heated Friday's dinner, which I was responsible for, in the instruction trailer on a couple of propane camping burners. On the first night we moored in the haul-out slip which didn't have any lighting. I thought stepping on and off the wheel guide steel rail was dangerous in the dark and rain, but Gordon Nelson, the school owner said there is a finger dock alongside the haul-out slip which we should have moored to. Nelson's is rebuilding the office and instruction building but in the meantime there's a fair bit of construction debris strewn near the haul-out slip, again presenting a potential hazard. There's no lighting from the haul-out slip to the shower and toilet facilities and even though I had a flashlight I slipped stumbled into a 6 inch deep pool of water I didn't see. After the weekend I emailed Gordon Nelson, copying my fellow students, telling him I didn't feel the facilities and the shortcomings of the Pearson were worth the $700 dollar charge. He called me and said no other student had complained and said I was the proverbial "bad apple", and my complaints were unwarranted. He also threatened me with a libel action if I contacted the other students again. All in all a good sailing and instruction experience, but interacting with Nelson's owner was painful. |
| Submitted by: | Patrick O'Connor 62 year-old :: Male Reviewer :: Philadelphia PA |
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