Spinnaker Sailing San Francisco

I just did a charter & it was da coolest thing ever! I was born & raised in the Bay Area and wanted to do something different to celebrate my bf’s birthday. My bf loves nature so I’d the research & this place was the best hands down! Spinnaker had reasonable prices & customer service was spot on! Jennifer at the front desk was such a pleasure to work with. Took time to answer all my questions even tho I had so many (sorry Jennifer). Capt Sparky was sooooo cool & he let my bf steer the boat I was to nervous… omg it was exhilarating! He really knew what he was doing which made the experience so comfortable! What a great way to see the sites on SF Bay. Highly recommend this place if u want to try sailing…
Christopher cross’s — sailing song in the background

Avoid this business at all costs– unfortunately negative stars is not an option or else it would get a minus 5. This is a review about their charter business not the sailing school. The staff is often rude, always unhelpful and the management borders between incompetent and plain sleazy. Beware, they make you sign up for a membership which, like a shady online site, continues to charge your credit card for eternity unless you fight with them to stop. Their boats are poorly maintained. Nearly every charter over the course of a year, if they didn’t mess up the scheduling, there was something wrong with the boat, either delaying or canceling the sail, causing gasoline to leak from ancient outboard motors into the Bay, or simply stranding the boat adrift on the bay with a broken motor. Even Coast Guard required safety equipment is often missing from the boats so if you do use them, make sure you check carefully.
The only thing going for this business is that it is in San Francisco (and one or two of the sailing instructors, who are independent contractors). If you want to charter on the Bay, do yourself a favor and patronize one of the legitimate business in Berkeley, Alameda or Sausalito.

I don’t ever complain much, but I have to give you this feedback about our day.
Our captain Alan, seemed unfamiliar with the boat and while reversing from the dock nearly hit the boat next to us but I was luckily able to push us away with my leg.
When we were out on the Bay, Alan would not put up the main sail, preferring to «sail» along with just the jib. He stated that we were an inexperienced crew and said it would be unsafe. He embarassed our party by reciting stories of how he had saved the day on other sailing trips in his life with inexperienced crew. This was very awkward for us all.
Alan finally relented, but refused to trim the sails saying it was too complicated. We sailed for most of the day with sails flapping about and the jib lines flailing about.
Alan talked incessantly about his life of sailing and teaching-​shame he didn’t take the time to teach us anything. In fact our party had to listen to his life story for much of the day.
On our final return he rode the bow of the yacht up onto the wooden dock which was a little worrying.
I and my wife have been out on the Bay many times. We have never experienced a captain that seemed so uninterested in helping our party enjoy really SAILING a yacht on the Bay.

Who cares about the sailing trip when there are plentyyy of eye candy sailer boys in their nautical outfits! He can hoist my sails ANYDAY! (Does that innuendo even work? lol)
In all seriousness, it was a nice sunny day and a perfect day to be sailing around the bay. The boat was gorgeous and the crew members were awesome!
My friend bought a Living Social (I think…) deal for a group of 15 of us girls. It was supposed to be a small sailing trip with some brunch on the boat for her late birthday.
When I say BRUNCH, it really just meant sandwich-​making stuff on plates all set up around the boat for us to make. Quite a difficult task when she sailboat keeps rocking, achievement unlocked! They did have a good selection of breads and meats. Including but not limited to:
— Croissants
— Brownies
— Bagels
— Pastries
— Different varieties of deli meat
— Different cheeses
— Lettuce
— Tomatoes
— Mayo and such
— Juices
— Coffee
— Hot coco?
— Alc (extra fee)
Yes, let’s all indulge on the goodies and throw it back up 30 minutes later!
I didn’t get too boat sick, but halfway through I wasn’t feeling so spiffy. When the engines are off and we’re sailing slowly, that’s the worst part.
It gets cold no matter how hot the day is, so BRING JACKETS! We went on a Summer day, 85 degree weather and it was still foggy/​cold out in the bay.
13 – 15 girls, we paid 25 each. Breakfast included. Parking is another matter.

My friend and I had a wonderful BK1 lesson with Sarah. She was super fun and patient and answered all of our questions and really helped us understand the often-​times confusing physics and instincts behind sailing. We didn’t have much wind (rare-​event) that weekend but sailing in slow motion actually helped us to learn the actions and commands. I’ve taken a sailing lesson before and this was by far the best experience.

Do not book with this company. Similar to other complaints on Unilocal,I too had a terrible customer service experience when they would not allow me to rebook a sailing reservation (despite calling weeks in advance).

Be careful before booking with this group. I prepaid for a weekend sailing lesson, but I developed back pain and was advised by my doctor not to do the lesson. I called them a week in advance, but Spinnaker insisted that there was no way to reschedule, essentially taking my money and not caring to accommodate me. I understand that their classes are small, but a little grace for patrons doesn’t seem to be too much to ask.

Both my wife and I completed the Basic Keelboat 1 through a Groupon and I can’t rate the experience highly enough!
Spinnaker were excellent from preparation beforehand right through to the actual teacher and the condition of the boat.
I should give a special shout out to Mark the teacher who made the whole experience so enjoyable.
if I keep on sailing, then Spinnaker will be my first port of call!

I did a Groupon 2day basic keelboat sailing class. It was great — fun, I learned a lot, and I feel like I could go sail with a friend tomorrow! I felt like it was a great value and would have been worth the full price.
Highlights:
— A really fun and super knowledgeable instructor (Stewart Hunter)
— About 20 minutes of important fundamentals in the classroom before we went outside and applied what we learned and just practiced and tested the same fundamental concepts over and over in different ways — a great way to learn the basics really well.
— We got a lot of time sailing on the water, which let us have some fun and make some mistakes and learn in a really practical way.
— I left feeling like I had a fun weekend, learned a lot, and could go sail with a friend tomorrow.
The only reason its a 4 not a 5 is that the boat was in kinda junky shape, missing a few pieces, loose equipment all over, an engine that didn’t stay down in reverse (which makes reversing hard and potentially a little dangerous).

I also had the Groupon for the Basic Keelboat 1 class (2 days, basic instruction) and found my experience to be quite enjoyable! Learned a lot and plan to take the Basic Keelboat 2 course soon as I have a space in my schedule. Our class was fortunate to have Mark for our skipper (lead instructor, 40 years experience) and will be requesting him next time around. Great guy and good instructor — recommend him.
Saw some negative comments below that all seemed to be around the 2005 timeframe, but I think things are different at Spinnaker now. I have a busy travel schedule and the admin staff was able to get me in on short notice — grateful for that!

I took lessons from Spinaker and eventually rented a boat on my own. Their equipment is dangerously undermaintained. The last trip I took the outboard motor failed and there was no one at Spinaker who could help tow me in! To make a long story short, it was a nightmare experience.

I took sailing lessons here years ago. The boats and instructors were good, and I enjoyed most everything except …
… dealing with the manager and sales people. I felt like I had just stepped onto a used car lot. Hidden fees behind every corner, sunk cost tactics (you need to pay another $ 1000 or risk losing the $ 3000 you’ve already payed in). In the end, I cut my losses and walked away.

I was on a boat! (Sadly, T-​Pain was not there.)
The reason for being on a boat was to complete the Basic Keelboat 1 class this past weekend with Dan (thanks again, Groupon!).
I’d always looked out at the Bay on sunny Saturdays and dreamed of being on one of those boats. And when I finally was, it was everything I wanted it to be.
Dan taught us terms and knots, and then we learned how to set sail. The first day wasn’t very windy, but on the second day we had great wind, and together we trimmed our sheets and hoisted our halyards to form one awesome sailing squad.
My only complaint was that we didn’t get any sort of certificate, study guide, or souvenir after the class. It would have been nice to have something to remember it by…
If you go, bring a windproof, waterproof jacket, sunblock, and water!

Over two years I did the admiral club thing, which meant discounts on charters and courses up through ICC level. I had a blast. Haven’t been back much in the last 3 years though since my daughter was born, but hoping to do a few charters this summer. The boats were decently maintained and I enjoyed every instructor I had.

I completed Basic Keelboat Sailing I and II and had a great time! Their staff is knowledgeable and friendly and I learned just what I needed to sail a little boat on my own. Our instructors were both very patient and skillful while trusting us enough to set-​up the boat on our own by the second day. Both instructors had different styles of teaching but managed to prepare me for the written and practical tests for my first certification. Yippee!
I’m a girl who gets sick in calm Monterey Bay in a kayak and I can proudly say that I survived both weekends and loved sailing in the SF Bay! I got to do some solo sailing, can tell you where the jib, winch, shrouds, and gooseneck are on the boat, and passed the Man Overboard maneuver. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to sail, this is your place for a no-​nonsense lesson and certification program that follows the ASA standards.

Can’t attest to renting boats here but the Fourth of July cruise on the 90′ Bay Lady is really good. We were not prepared for true sailing conditions however and got soaked by spray over the bow an hour before sunset and stayed wet and cold for two more hours. That being said, if you come prepared you will have a great time. Even if it is a date bring raingear and wear sensible shoes and socks. Do not sit in the front, stay back on the high side or near the stern — clearly the captain stayed dry.
From Pier 40, they take you out under the Bay Bridge over around Angel island where they put out coldcuts and pasta salad, and cookies; nothing fancy but it’s nice for a snack. Bar opens after they raise the sails and coffee is always available.
At dusk they drop the sails and motor over to position a few hundred feet off the barge and wait for the fireworks. I have never been this close, ash was falling in the boat and we could hear every sizzle and pop as the fireworks exploded directly overhead.
List for next year: knit hat, gortex jacket and pants, scarf, gloves, fleece and a waterproof backpack. My amazing husband even had one of those little packable towels which I highly recommend.

This place USED to be great, 5 stars as noted in my original review below… however, due to recent developments with management (or shall I say mismanagement), I’m lowering my rating to 1 star (and that’s only because that’s the lowest I can go).
Badly maintained boats, extremely unprofessional management (the owner is going through a divorce and his lack of attention to his business really shows), unknowledgeable staff (the good ones all quit and went to other sailing clubs — and so will I once my prepaid membership expires).
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Been taking sailing class there for a couple of months now. My sailing buddy Nicole and I enjoyed the first lesson so much that we signed up for the Admirals Club, which includes discounted sailing lessons all the way up to Intermediate Coastal Cruising and Cost Guard Certification up to a 40′ boat. When you finish the lessons, you get to charter boats from their fleet, which includes some pretty fine yachts for day or overnight cruises on your own.

I went here for sailing lessons. It’s well located for san franciscans, and the staff is reasonably nice. has a bit of a mom and pop feel, which means friendly, but boats aren’t in tip top shape and they could be a bit more professional.