UNSOLICITED EMAILS FROM STUDENTS

Hi Captain Joan! I just wanted to say thank you for a great class! I had a great time and learned so much. Excited to keep learning and very interested in signing up for the ASA 103 & 104 in Lake Superior.

Hi Joan, This has been an outstanding learning opportunity and a fantastic sailing experience all around. Thank you!

Hi Joan: just want to thank you for a fun and informative class. I’m really missing being on the boat with you and the other students. I can’t wait to get on my 23’ O’day and refine the skills you taught me. I will definitely sign up for another class next June.

Hello Joan, A couple of things…I have been meaning to reply to you to say thanks again for the awesome class in Bayfield last month! I learned a lot from both textbooks but most from sailing and discussing the many questions a beginning great lake sailor has. I wish I could be in the ASA 106 class next week but my schedule is too crazy.

Thank you so much Joan, it was a wealth of knowledge. I’m excited to get to my boat this weekend and practice what I have learned! It was also great getting to know you better, you made the experience awesome and I can’t wait to continue taking lessons with you!

The class was really delightful, I know that I learned a great deal. Our sailing group have already been discussing the next stage lessons in the British Virgin Islands.

Hi Joan: I’ve been meaning to write and thank you for a great sailing lesson experience. Both Matt and I were impressed by the breadth of your knowledge, diligence and teaching skills. I look forward to seeing you soon to take that gol dern test.

Thank you so much for your kindness, patience and professionalism. I intend to continue to gain Sailing experience. I will keep your email and hope our paths cross again.

I had a great time and learned so much about the principles of docking. I am grateful that I could be taught by you. Thank you.. It was a great class and I highly recommend it to anyone.. thank you for your commitment and dedication to teaching us to be better sailors.

Thanks again for the sailing lesson. Jerry and I agree that we learned a lot, and had a lot of fun too. I am now determined to get my sailboat down to the Cities next summer.

I have to say the quality of Sail Away Sailing School (You and Claudia) has been top notch. Thank you.

Thanks for the excellent instruction. We both learned and enjoyed the time on the water. I look forward to owning my own sailboat and learning to do cruising.

The class was great. I learned a lot and Chris is a very clear, encouraging instructor. Thank you!

Chris did a great job, the weather was perfect and we had the added bonus of no speed boat noise due to the high water levels. I would be interested in finding out more information about future classes.

Hi Joan It was a great two days of sailing in Duluth. Learned so much and can’t wait to use my new learned skills. Attached is my form for the BVI’s in 2020. I look forward to the adventure and learning.

Hello, Joan, I thoroughly enjoyed our 3 day check-out this week. Even though I’ve been sailing 50 years, I learned a lot that will make future cruises and charters safer and better for all aboard. You do a marvelous job at teaching the many skills needed to run a boat.

Thanks Joan! I have been sailing like mad since our class on my 23 Oday when I can. I use so many of the skills I learned from the courses that I can’t even list them all! I really appreciate you and the classes I took. Take care and thanks again!

Joan hello. Just wanted to thank you for the class. You’re an awesome instructor and a nice person! I learned a ton. My confidence level is lifted a few notches- so merci bien!

It was a real pleasure to meet you and have the opportunity to learn under your tutelage. The last four days were wonderful. You really are a wonderful instructor. Thank You for everything I learned this past week. I am now looking at the 105 class. Did you say it would be “on line”? Thank You again

Hi Joan, I just wanted to let you know that my wife and I enjoyed our sailing experience. I wrote up a little blog post about it with pictures which you can see here. Thanks for the experience!

Thanks again from Candace & me for the great sailing lessons last week….we both learned a lot and feel much more at ease with our boat on the water. I thought that you were a very good, patient, but firm teacher and appreciated your insights into our boat and how we were handling it. We wish you the best for the rest of the summer classes and for your continuing work to attract more people to sailing.

I was sailing this weekend and I remarked on how much I have learned from you! So many things, including the preventer, jibing properly, hoisting sail, steering a course, docking, safety, all kinds of things! …thank you for making such a big difference in my enjoyment of sailing. It really has been life changing! I had the boat heeled at 20-30degrees Sunday in a decent breeze and my girlfriend said “wow, you were always nervous when it heeled this much now you are searching out the wind”! I am very grateful for the knowledge and skills you imparted on me. Thank YOU!

We had an awesome time with you this weekend. Ryan and I both learned a lot! I hope we get to go sailing with you again soon. You are definitely a great source of knowledge and experience that we can learn from.

Thanks again for the amazing experience of learning to sail. Even now after we are done I almost don’t even believe it was real. I had such an amazing time and learned so much from you from techniques and terminology to tips and advice. I really appreciate all of your patience during class and making it a wonderful experience for me and the rest of our group. Thanks again for introducing me into this new world of sailing. I’m look forward to many, many years of sailing based on everything we learned in this first class. Hopefully I’ll see you at the race on the 13th and if not, happy sailing in the future!

Hi Joan, Me and Alecia had such a good time yesterday. Thank you so much. We look forward to taking more classes with you. 🙂 Thank you again!

Dear Joan, Thank you for a wonderful sailing class! Jane and Conrad and I all had a great sense of accomplishment as well as a lot of fun.

Hi Joan, Thanks for being such a great teacher, sailing mentor and sailing career council. I look forward to more and greater sailing adventures.

Hi Joan, Thanks for a great class! It was very educational and enjoyable.

Thanks so much for leading us in the intensive Small Boat Instructor Training course this summer. It was indeed intense, and in a good way. It was much more than I expected, with a thorough review and expansion of sailing skills communicated in a personal style that is firm and challenging while at the same time builds confidence with warm and friendly encouragement. The amount of experience you have with students of all ages was plainly evident as you reviewed with us the approaches for teaching the range of students we will encounter, from grade school kids to seniors. But most of all, I appreciate how you embody the joy of sailing. Even with the exhausting schedule, each day I began and ended the day with more eagerness to get back out on the water and try more of what we were learning. Even now as the winter weather comes in, I can’t wait for the spring and the opportunity to get out again and to pass on what I have learned, both the skills and the enthusiasm, to new sailors.

Joan, thank you so much for your help yesterday. Your expertise and teaching are unparalleled. We both feel so much better after your instruction.

Just back from Abaco, Bahamas, where I spent 5 days on a 36 monohull with one friend. We had a super time, with warm weather, no crowds, and plenty of wind….. Mis-read some markings (actually, a couple of marks were missing) and we ran aground on a falling tide, so we got some experience with kedging off. All-in-all, an excellent trip. … So many of the things that you taught me during our “refresher course” came in handy, in particular: -Practice turning the boat under motor -Amounts of sail to use under different weather conditions -Heaving to when we needed a break from the action -Marking the anchor chain, and taking along gardening gloves to handle chain We would love to take the racing course next summer. Please keep us on your mailing list.

As someone who started to sail later in life, I’m glad that I found the Sail Away Sailing School/Upper Minnetonka Sailing School. Captain Joan and the other certified instructors are truly expert sailors and teachers who enjoy sharing their passion for sailing with students of all ages. The sailing curriculum at the Sail Away Sailing School/Upper Minnetonka Sailing School is based on proven educational objectives of the American Sailing Association, and the instructors emphasize safety, theoretical knowledge of boat handling and sailing conditions, and most importantly, on-the-water performance, in making the sport of sailing accessible to all students. From Lake Minnetonka to the crystal blue waters of the British Virgin Islands, the Sail Away Sailing School/Upper Minnetonka Sailing School makes sailing, racing, and cruising safe and fun!

Thanks!!!! Had such a great time, Jeff is a great teacher. Despite only sailing these past two weekends I am definitely falling in love with the sport.

Hello Joan I attended and passed the ASA101 led by Jeff. I’d like to share that I had a fantastic experience. I am really happy and enjoyed the training. I really enjoyed Jeff’s teaching style, his patience and broad knowledge about sailing, boats and trips. He really helped me to get a few steps further on my sailing journey.

Jeff was a great instructor for 101! I really enjoyed the class with him! Thanks again!

Hi, I just passed sailing 101 with Jeff. He was awesome and it gave me the confidence to take my boat out solo last weekend! I am interested in continuing with classes.

Joan, We had a great experience with Jeff last week.

Hi Joan, Class was great and Jeff was a great instructor!

Thanks much and thanks again for everything, it’s been a real treat going through these courses with you 🙂

Joan, I want to thank you for running an excellent program. Jeff is a terrific teacher. We couldn’t have been more pleased. Thanks to Jeff’s patient teaching my wife changed from hesitant to enthusiastic. We would definitely recommend your program to anyone. I think the same would be true for Steve and Barb. Thanks again for a great experience and special thanks to Jeff! We are already talking about next steps so you will likely hear from us again Best wishes for much success to both of you.

Joan, First of all, I really enjoyed 101 with Jeff. He was a great instructor and I had a lot of fun; especially Sunday with the good wind.

I had two children in the North Oaks classes with [Byron]. They had a wonderful experience and hope to repeat next summer.

Captain Ric was mature, obviously very experienced as a sailor, and most important a very patient, personable, and empathetic teacher. He treated every member of our group as if we mattered and acted as though instructing us towards our success was his only concern. Captain Ric was extremely professional and made us feel ok about our lack of experience. We all thought Captain Ric was one of the best instructors any of us has had in any subject. Captain Ric took a picture of the three of us by the boat at the end of the last day and emailed us a copy, this was a nice touch. We all went from having never sailed a boat to being able to maneuver a 23 foot sail boat through the man over board drill by the end of our two day course. We all learned how to command the crew, tack, jibe, heave to, run down wind, and how to rig the boat. It was a great success and we couldn’t imagine a better fit for us. My wife and I will definitely be returning in 2021 to complete our 103-104 combo class to gain the ability to charter larger boats for ourselves. We’re glad to be sailors and can’t wait to go to the Apostles or the British Virgin Islands and rent our own boat to cruise around with.

Hey, there—What a perfect weekend for sailing! We had a great time and Captain Ric was a superb instructor. I hope our paths cross again soon,

We had a great experience with Sailing 101. Although we had prior sailing experience, we are happy to have added heaving to, man overboard, rules of the road, and basic docking to our sailing toolkit. Our instructor, Jay Biggs, was patient, knowledgeable, and humorous!

Hi Joan, I passed my class 101 class today with Jay. I’m so happy. I learned so much these last two weekends and had a great time.

Hey Joan! Claudia was an excellent teacher, I definitely learned a lot. We’ll absolutely need to do a match race!

Hi Captain Claudia, Will, Marley, Sasha, and Mike had the most wonderful time! We can’t thank you enough for sharing your time and experience and making it so FUN! Will, especially, was charmed and is shopping daily for his own used sail boat…. Thank you again for a positively lovely day–it was all we’d hoped for and more! Kindest regards, Mike & Sasha