The Waterfront Center

‘Dave the incompetent and creepy girly-​man’ responded below with lies. By ‘public safety’ Dave must mean he called his girlfriend over and whined to her. Waaaaa. This horrid place would not do the most simple task to accommodate my 90 year old father back to our car!!! Special accommodations? We asked for a short ride back to the car as my Dad was having trouble walking. What a little spoiled jerk this kid is who runs this place. Why does Oyster Bay let a baby run this place? This kid needs a real job somewhere and maybe in 50 years can learn to work with others.
As far as returning, we would never seek to interact with him or the Lame Waterfront Center. What a liar! Months later we sought to charter a boat with a delightful private captain named Pete and his private boat but we unfortunately had to encounter again this Waterfront Center since they control this part of Oyster Bay. Captain Pete too was trapped with this Dave W. who he also loathes! Poor Pete! Free Captain Pete! I went out of my way to specifically have nothing to do with this Waterfront Center; you too should never deal with this place. It is shocking that they even exist given the level of incompetence. Read my review carefully and do not donate one penny to this incompetent and dangerous place. Do not bring children or the elderly. Dave’s lack of experience, lack of kindness, and basic life awareness ruins any potential this place could have. It’s as if he lives in his parent’s basement and has never had a job.
I hope he is fired and someone with a good heart and work experience takes over this visually appealing but poorly run waterfront.

We ventured into this gem in Oyster Bay, when we joined a sunset sail on the Cristeen and we couldn’t have been more impressed. The boat is a beautifully restored oyster sloop with volunteer staff as crew and they treated us to a wonderful history lesson combined with peaceful sail all along the harbor. Then, this past summer we registered for the Sailing 101 course and got probably one of the most professional and friendly instructors around. Alicia answered every question with both depth and breadth of knowledge, helped us apply what we were learning right on the boat, evaluated how were were doing and gave us practical advice on how to keep going with a sailing ‘career’. I couldn’t say enough good things about the place and feel so fortunate to have it right on our doorsteps.

We love this place.
We first discovered it last August (2012) when we went out on a sunset sail on the Christeen, which was absolutely fantastic and we had an amazing time. I still remember being impressed by how much our Captain knew about the area’s history and how friendly he was.
This year we discovered that kayak and paddle board rentals are 50% off on Fridays after 5pm. Amazing. So off we went last Friday to rent a double kayak. We had a blast. The staff is pretty friendly and helpful, even the younger guys who were launching the kayaks were happy to point out landmarks that would allow us to tell how far out we were and the approximate time it would take to reach them so we wouldn’t run over our time.
The kayak was comfortable and clean. Importantly, it was super sturdy. I was kind of freaking out because I can’t swim — like, I can’t even adequately doggie-​paddle — but I was completely okay once we got out into water.
The views were great. Our advice: load up on bug spray.
Life preservers are mandatory, and they were all piled on shelves and in a huge, smelly pile on the floor. They were clearly intended to be sorted by size, but it didn’t quite work out that way. Then again, it was the end of the day and they may have jumbled all together and have been tossed about by people returning them. Some smelled quite a bit funky.
We’re going out on another Christeen sail in a couple of weeks. Check this place out!

Just finished a great weekend in the 16 hour «Basic Sailing» class at the The WaterFront Center… seriously, could not ask for better weather or better instructors. We had it all in two days… conditions this weekend ranged from practically no wind, to perfect sailing wind, and then to a choppy 12 – 15 knots that required reefing the sails…16 hours in the boat, EXCELLENT learning experience! We really got lucky to have all of that in just 2 days… the only thing we missed was rain… and yes, as a previous poster noted… they do sail in rain. Since my goal is the sailing certification and later the cruising cert, I actually may go in some crappy weather weekend to learn what I need to know while I have a seasoned instructor to guide me.
They use 23′ Sonar racing boats with one instructor and 3 students. You know how racing boats lean with the wind (heel)… you get to do that enough that you feel comfortable knowing what is happening, how to maintain, and how to get out of it. (Yes… it is as fun as it looks).
I had been dreaming of living on a boat and finally realized the only thing holding me back was that I didn’t have the boat… so… bought one… despite having no sailing experience. The previous owner helped me sail it for the couple of hours from the old marina to the new and I scheduled a Coast Guard Safety class and then this Sailing class. After 16 hours of sailing this weekend, I am in very good shape to go out and SAFELY build my experience level. Going back in a month or two to take the «intermediate» class and then take the test for the sailing certificate. (allows you to rent sailboats at resorts). They also have a «cruising» class that I want to take before the end of September since sometime, sooner rather than later, I want to sail to Cape Cod.
For $ 300, it is a true bargain… they taught me enough that I feel comfortable with my boat. The place is ran professionally, everyone that I met was really friendly. There is a water taxi that makes getting out to the boat absolutely painless. They also have kayaks and stand-​up paddleboards… when the high winds kicked up, I was impressed with the way they were on the radios making sure that everyone on the water was accounted for and had a ride in if it was too much for them.
Make sure you take a hat, shades, and sun screen… 16 hours on the water is a lot. Trust me on the sun screen.

Being able to enjoy West Harbor at the WaterFront Center is one of my favorite summertime activities. I have been able to rent kayaks and stand-​up paddle boards, and have even participated in some learn-​to-​sail classes. The WFC is a great way to enjoy a usually difficult to access activity at a reasonable cost.

Ditto on the previous review.
I recently purchased a full day sail lesson for 2 ($ 195) using Groupon. After the purchase I happened to be at Harborfest in Pt. Washington and saw the Waterfront Center people who had a signup sheet and asked about Sail 101. She was unfriendly, bordering on rude. I immediately regretted paying $ 200 for their services. I scheduled the sail anyway since already paid. The weekend that I scheduled, NYC and LI were evacuating homes and shutting down services throughout the region due to the oncoming Hurricane Irene. I called the day before my reservation in order to reschedule in light of the storm hitting on the day of the sail and they told me I could not reschedule and that they were expecting only a bit of rain and mostly toward the end of the day. I would have to come or forfeit my purchase and if I wanted a refund I should take it up with Groupon.
Fortunately Groupon seems to have common sense about sailing in the largest storm to hit the I95 corridor since 1938 and refund our money. Between the rude woman that I met, and hoped would not end up being our instructor, to the unreasonable cancellation policy I’m glad we did not end up going. Seriously, how could you not reschedule when a deadly and devastating storm is moving up the coast and right into your Center. You’d think they’d be trying to take in and secure boats which is what my coworkers were doing with their boats Fri night — not planning a Saturday sail.
If you have used this Center please post. I would like to read other’s experiences. I am still looking for a place for sailing certification in the LI area.

Do not go to this place! I mistakenly beached the boat I rented and they tried to charge me over $ 700 as a result. They are thieves.