Hi all; long time lurker first time poster on this thread. Have learned so much from this forum so a big thank you to all of you.

I am planning a bareboat charter with some friends through Moorings in May and will be reaching out for itinerary advice in subsequent posts.

I first wanted to write a review on Fair Winds Sailing School that my buddy and I did last May. This is to both help inform people that are thinking of taking that sailing course/trip and also send a message to ownership that it is not acceptable to run a business in the manner in which that business is being run.

First let me say that I can find almost no reviews on this sailing school which in itself is odd given there is virtually a review about everything on the internet. So it was based on faith alone that I decided to book with Fair Winds Sailing School. I admitted to my friend on our way down to St. Thomas that there was a 50/50 chance of an actual boat being in Red Hook! Happily there was, unfortunately the trip was not all it was hyped up to be.

Certification
In terms of learning, apparently they got their ASA certification stripped from them so they teach a curriculum that is modeled off of the ASA curriculum but you will not be certified. For me this wasn't a big deal as I already have a basic keel boat sailing certificate here in Canada which I took back in 2010. But for others thinking of taking this course the certification is not recognized. Definitely the practical knowledge, navigation and bare boating essentials are taught and I learned a lot in 6 days. I learned how to untangle a line from the prop! I learned how to retrieve a dingy while underway! (early man overboard drill!) I learned that important D clamps for securing said dingy to a rope so that it can be fastened to the boat don't float!, etc.

The boat – Belle Vita
The boat is a probably a 2005 R&C 44' Leopard that has seen better days. The masthead fly wasn't calibrated correctly so you had to mentally adjust for this when figuring out wind direction, the speed indicator was broken so you couldn't see the effects of sail trim on speed, the car for the starboard jib sheet broke which limited our ability to sail on the port tack ( I finally had to jury rig a line to prevent too much strain on the stopper), and one of the heads kept getting plugged which one of the other students kept having to fix. We jokingly told him he should send an invoice to the owner!

Itinerary
The web site says that you can set your itinerary with the captain and other students upon arrival. This was unfortunately not the case. The itinerary was set and unfortunately meant no Virgin Gorda and North Sound. It did mean that we were able to visit, Norman Island, Cane Garden Bay and Jost Van Dyke. Cane Garden bay was definitely my favourite. To be fair the itinerary did have to be adjusted slightly as the SFD channel was quite rough with 25 knot winds.

The Captain
I really liked the captain. He reminded me of Al Pacino from Scent of a woman (WHOO-AH!). However, and I think the captain would admit this as well, he was getting a little old for a week course with four landlubbers. Also he didn't have a lot of experience on Cats so wasn’t able to teach us the finer points of sailing a cat and proper sailing trim. This was not his fault, I understand. The original captain quit on Fair Winds and the Captain was doing this as a favour for the owner as he couldn't find a replacement.

Management/ownership

This is where the most trouble occurs. Originally our trip was schedule for in April but due to the original captain quitting it had to be rescheduled. After a lot of effort on our part and some additional costs it was like pulling teeth for Fair Winds to compensate us and with a lot of attitude! But the real issue is that I heard from the captain later that Fair winds refused to pay him! This was due to some mixed reviews and with the issue from the car breaking and the need to get extra water that was used in fixing the head. Apparently this owner a reputation for not paying his captains and or nickel and diming them and this is one of the reasons that the original captain suddenly quit.

To some up, did we achieve our objective? Yes, both my buddy and I feel comfortable with the idea of chartering a catamaran in the BVIs, we have learned and practiced the basics for a safe and fun cruise. So objective achieved. Could it have been better? Yes! Would I recommend to others? No, based on what I experienced and what I heard on ownership I would stay away. Try other schools.

Sorry the post was so long. Hard to condense further. Anyway hope to interact with the community on other posts, there will be a lot of advice needed on my end as I prepare for my first bareboat charter. Maybe I will see some of you down there in the beginning of May.

Cheers,

Thanks for taking the time. Guess I can see how they got their ASA certification taken away.

Certainly glad we did our certifications with Virgin Island Sailing School !!! Yes, we had a couple of small issues too but nothing really major.

And I too can see why they lost their ASA certification. It's awful that the captain wasn't paid though.

Thanks for the review !!! I am sure it will help others who might be seeking advice on sailing schools.

Thanks for the review. This agrees with what I've heard from friends and acquaintances. I went to Rob Swain Sailing School based on some of those negative comments. I don't post second hand info, so thanks for the writeup. Its something that interested sailors can read and decide for themselves.

Cheers, RickG