SailTime – Annapolis

We really enjoyed our four hour sailing course. Captain Gary was knowledgeable about sailing and a lot of other interesting things. He explained how various things work and let us do as much or as little as we liked. We were absolute beginners, so it was fun just to see sailing in action and to be part of it. Our one mistake, which was not SailTime’s fault, was not bringing food or drinks (we brought water, but beer or wine and snacks would have been more fun). So pack some provisions if you go for the sailing class!

Signed up for the 4 hour course with a Living Social deal. If you have had ANY boating experience, you will be bored. If you are looking for an afternoon on the water to just sit and relax, you may enjoy this. There was not any real sailing instruction just small talk with fellow sailors for 4 hours. We did not have Gordon and after reading the other reviews, I wish we would have.
Just an fyi, read the fine print. My friend got called in to work at the hospital and wasn’t able to get a refund. To reschedule would cost $ 50.

My 5 girlfriends and I went out on a Sunset Sail with Gordon. He was so welcoming and fun. We had an absolute blast and can’t wait to do it again. We brought drinks and food– which I would recommend since 3 – 4 hours is a while on the water. The boat itself was extremely nice and comfortable. He had a stereo system that we could hook our phone up too, a mini-​fridge, restroom, and outlets to charge our phones (you know it’s important!) I highly recommend SailTime and try to get in with Gordon if you can!

Sailtime, especially Sailtime Annapolis is without a shadow of doubt the best, relaxed, cost effective way to sail. My wife and I enjoy sailing together and this is a great program with great boats, great people and a great location. The Annapolis branch is run by Gordon who is extremely knowledgeable, professional, friendly and is always there to help. His Captains are equally patient, friendly and informative and provide a great service in training on any aspect of sailing without the pressure. The boats are always maintained and cleaned, if there is something wrong with any of the boats, it taken care of. If anyone is reading this and considering joining Sailtime take it from me it’s worth every cent regardless if you are a member or owner.

My goal in this review isn’t to rave about fractional sailing, in general. IF you’re reading this, you’ve already come to the conclusion that it’s an excellent, cost-​controlled way to get on the bay.
Given that I am sold on fractional sailing, I want to rave about this particular port of SailTime. Location: check out a map. In a matter of minutes from leaving the dock, you’re in open water, hoisting sails and shutting the motor off which is which is the whole point! Equipment: We sail the Hunter 36, and it is an excellent boat for casual, family-​style sailing. I can single-​hand it, but especially enjoy when it’s my wife and me out sailing together. The boats are VERY well maintained, cleaned reliably each time (by the sailor before you), and have all the ancillary equipment you need for overnighting. It is so convenient to pull into the slip, do the checklist of squaring things away, cleaning up after yourself, and walking away without thinking about the boat until your next sail time. Which leads me to my greatest compliment, and that is the management of the fleet at this SailTime port. Gordon is EXCELLENT. He’s a good communicator, he’s often right there at the marina to answer a question or resolve an issue, and he gets it that his job is to ensure you enjoy your sailing. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine the fleet manager copping the attitude that you are the lucky one to sail one of HIS boats, but this is not Gordon. Quite the opposite, he is service-​minded. One late Fall day, when everyone’s crowding the marina to get their boats hauled out, the dock area was too crowded for my comfort in getting the boat out. I called Gordon, and he came right down, asked a few people to nudge their boats this way or that, then he skippered the boat out (with just inches to spare) and hopped off at a nearby dock and we went sailing. Beat that!
To summarize, sailtime annapolis affords me all the pleasure of sailing without all the stress of maintaining a boat.
Update: I meant to add that when we first joined SailTime, we needed to get ASA certified, and we used SailTime’s sailing school. Captain Gary (an instructor for SailTime) was AWESOME. We felt very prepared for sailing the Hunter 36 once we had completed our training with Captain Gary.