Northern Breezes Sailing School

I have been meaning to send you an email on the sailing trip to the BVI. I'm finally catching up now that Navigation classes are completed.I want to tell you how much I enjoyed the sailing classes in the BVI with Tom E. He was very professional in his duties as our instructor, treated everyone with respect even though we had a couple that didn't pass. They really did enjoy the sailing experience for the whole week. They were fun to be around, and I learned from Bob some of the navigation experiences he has had on other trips. Mark and I were more agile and could do lots of the necessary things to prepare the boat and perform many of the required tasks, so that helped us gain more confidence by doing things. Tom gave us directions to complete the necessary tasks, and with his experience he could relate some of the things that could go wrong if we did not perform them correctly. His experience was a valuable tool for our understanding how to handle the boat in different situations. He had a calm demeanor when things needed an explaination a second time, only in a different way, so we could understand what was expected.Joyce was very organized in her way of keeping the galley stocked and clean.Meals were great, and always prepared with speed.My compliments to you on your choice of leaders/instructors for our sailing and learning experience.I would love to sail with Northern Breezes again in the future as I learn more about the total sailing experience.Mark and I sat in the BVI Yacht Club after the trip, and we both talked about our next trip.Thanks again, It was a great experience and I am spreading the word in this area about my great memories and experiences.Hope you enjoy the pictures on the CD from my trip.I just found out on Saturday, a friend of mine will be putting his 21 ft Hunter on a lift in front of my place on Lake Kampeska this summer, so I will be able to practice my skills. more

I am writing after completing a recent Northern Breezes sailing course in Bayfield, Wisconsin (August 5-8, 2010). Along with a friend, I sailed on Aerie from Pike's Bay Marina and completed ASA 101 (test out) as well as ASA 103 and 104.It's fair to say that, based on your website and ASA information, I had high expectations for the courses. By the end of the course on Sunday, those expectations were exceeded - by a long shot.In particular, I want to commend our instructor, Tony Green. Tony called me in advance to verify my sailing experience as well as dietary needs and other requirements. He told us what to expect as we arrived at Pike's Bay and how the course would unfold, including contingencies for weather and our skill set. When we arrived on Wednesday evening, we got settled in and then went right to work on our boat orientation and 101 test.Throughout the course, Tony was very professional and through, with a good knowledge of local sailing conditions. He taught to our level of ability and was very flexible as we proceeded through the curriculum to accommodate a non-life-threatening medical emergency during our first full day of lessons. Tony was swift in his reaction and ensures the safe transfer of the injured crew to local EMS care, which he arranged for via radio as we were making passage back to the marina. He kept in touch with us the remainder of the day and made sure that we were prepared to continue the course on our return to the marina later that evening.In summary, I enjoyed the course tremendously and learned a great deal. I will recommend Northern Breezes (and Tony) to our sailing friends. We look forward to taking additional courses and chartering with you in the near future. more

Sorry it's taken so long to write to you. Unfortunately back in England the Caribbean seems a long way away.We are writing to thank you again for our great sailing holiday. We had a fabulous time sailing and certainly learnt a lot. We also had a lot of fun spending the holiday with all of you. Thank you for showing us around the beautiful islands and for looking after us more

We really wanted to say a huge thank you for the wonderful week that we spent with you learning to sail around the BVIs. From booking to our (very reluctant!) departure, we really couldn't have asked for any more. We both had an awesome time learning lots of new skills in a beautiful part of the world.Thank you very much for all your effort, advice, instruction - and being such good company... more

Thanks for the opportunity to crew on Adagio. It was a lot of fun and a workout! more

I, as a parent, felt very good that she felt so confident, feeling that "I can sail." Not a lot of camps do that. We were in good hands. The school was very quick to respond to things... the school was very accommodating. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to send my daughter yo your camp. We felt great with the equipment. Very great, very safe equipment. It was very new. I looked at some other schools and their boats just looked... old. They didn't look very safe to me. Your boats looked very safe. more

My wife and I had a great experience taking both the ASA101 course and the ASA105 Coastal Navigation course from Northern Breezes. Instructors were knowledgeable, patient and friendly. Took the on water portion in Minnesota and the facilities and boats were good. more