Captain was really great and got all the groups onto fish. Some great stories and really does a…read moregreat job with the younger kids on board. Our mate Matt was excellent and did a very nice job landing fish and showing everyone on board different species. Was a very nice time today on a late August trip with many fish over the rail!

What a great time today. They put us on fish and our party caught a few keepers. The captain and…read morehis mates ran a good boat, kept up with bait and landing fish. The best part was the stories from the captain and the attention that the mates gave the younger fishermen. We will be back and we highly recommend the Albatross!

Amazing experience! Our 6 year old absolutely loved this adventure and the "pirates" really put on…read morea fun and interactive show. I saw someone else mentioned it would be cool if the captain/pirates had more of a pirate look to them and I agree, but they still did such a great job regardless. Our daughter loved the "tattoo" and dress up, also had a lot of fun with her eye patch and pirate hook. Highly recommend as a unique experience when visiting cape cod with children.

We took my 2 kids and 4 nieces/nephews and had an absolute blast! (Kids ranged 2-9). The staff was…read moresuper friendly and engaging and they put on an amazing show! Highly reccomend!

Marty and his crew repowered my Key West 17' CC with a Suzuki DF90A. The price was good and Marty…read morewas able to diagnose some follow on issues, being able to water tests easily at his shop. During the overhaul issues were found in the console with strength of the steering mount and in the fuel tank sender and pickup. They added an aluminum plate to help the steering and got the fuel system working well. Boat runs like a new boat, turn key and go. The boat was designed for a 2 smoke and the added 100lb weight of a 4 stroke caused some on the mooring problems with deck drainage. Marty suggested we replace the bilge hatch with a more waterproof one and put a little ballast in the front of the boat and that worked fine. Marty showed me a boat at the dock that was just delivered and asked how much I thought it cost. I guessed 800k and he said 1.4 million. I think the repower work on little 17 footers may be a charity for us regular folks.

10/10 would recommend for boat rental!…read more After seeing some pretty worrisome reviews on Google and Yelp for other powerboat rental businesses in the area, I found Ship Shops and chose them due to their fantastic reviews and simple rental process. Judson went above and beyond to ensure that we would have a great day - explaining the maps of the area, and talking to us over the phone when we needed some help dropping the anchor. We come to the Cape every summer and will definitely be returning to Ship Shops next year to do it again!

We had so much fun renting paddle boards, they made the process so fun and seamless! My kids said…read moreit was the highlight of their summer. We will go again and again! Best cape cod adventure!

We went to Bass River early one morning on vacation to send our 4 teens off for the morning to…read morekayak the river. The process was smooth, from parking to waivers, to life jackets, to a short session on paddling correctly. Then quick as can be two young guys hustled 3 kayaks from the shop to mini vans to the water and launched our kiddos out for an hour and a 1/2 paddle. The team inside also told them where to go and showed them on a map before sending them off. I used a coupon from one of the local guidebooks. The kids had a great time (they had all previously kayaked, and two have their PWC license) and I would 100% recommend for older kids and we will return again next year.

Awesome time! Perfect weather and very well run adventure. Highly recommend for adults and older…read moreteens to ride solo for maximum fun!

Your Dismissive and Inappropriate Response to Serious Safety Concerns…read more Your response to our extremely serious and well-documented safety concerns was not only inappropriate--it was dismissive, defensive, and deeply unprofessional. Let's begin with the most glaring issue: you told us someone would be in touch immediately--yet a week later, after multiple follow-up attempts, we've been ignored entirely. That alone speaks volumes about how seriously you actually take customer safety and communication. Had someone simply picked up the phone, responded to an email, or made a good-faith attempt to follow through on your own promise, this could have been resolved privately and constructively. But instead, we received a generic request for a Google review--not a personal reply. That alone is insulting. Now, regarding your response: "We have been in business for 22 years..." Longevity in business does not exempt you from accountability. It's not a shield from legitimate safety failures, nor is it a valid defense when a customer provides photo evidence of an unsecured carabiner mid-air on your ride. Saying "we've never had an incident" is meaningless when the situation I documented could have become one. Safety is not retroactive. "People cannot get out of the parachute unless they want to." This is a completely inappropriate, condescending, and dangerously dismissive statement. The issue here isn't whether someone wants to exit the harness--it's whether your equipment is secure enough to prevent accidental failure. My daughter's carabiner was visibly open and unsecured, something you can clearly see in the photos I sent that your company took. "You are making assumptions... we understand the equipment." I didn't make assumptions--I took photos. I didn't just say "I felt unsafe." I described, in detail, a chain of negligent actions, and backed them up with objective documentation. Your unwillingness to acknowledge this, coupled with a blanket statement that you "know better," is both arrogant and alarming. "You tipped the crew $20." This is perhaps the most bizarre and inappropriate point in your entire response. A gratuity, given under social pressure or out of politeness, has absolutely nothing to do with the safety concerns raised. Bringing that up is both irrelevant and in poor taste. The fact that your only real defense is to list credentials and dismiss my firsthand experience suggests a total unwillingness to engage in honest self-evaluation. That, more than anything, is what worries me most. I reached out to you privately, respectfully, and constructively. I provided detailed descriptions, documented evidence, and an opportunity to improve--not just for me, but for the safety of future customers. In return, I received a patronizing response, full of deflections, non-answers, and a complete refusal to accept that something serious happened on your watch. The safety of your passengers and the integrity of your operations depend on your ability to acknowledge and address issues--not on how many years you've been in business or how fast your staff can move.

Do not hesitate to book this trip. I booked a sunset cruise last minute, and we had such a…read morephenomenal time! 2 hrs long, BYOB, the naturalist doesn't go over board on information , but gives you highlights about what you're seeing and passing. The sunset was incredible, and with it being Covid limited capacity and each group spread out. Captain Joe and the naturalist are happy to take any picture you want, and have a great restaurant recommendation next door to marina, Mattakeese Wharf. Great for couples, kids, and an evening night out!

Hard to overstate how great a time we had on our trip! We were two families with 4 children…read morebetween 5 and 10 on the sandbar trip, which is geared toward kids. From the moment we arrived at the boat, our guide Andrea had all the kids completely engrossed: she had a table set up with live shrimp, fish, sea squirts, etc. ready for the kids to look at under magnification. After a 15 minute ride out to the sandbar, Andrea led us around on foot for about an hour and it was fascinating! Her ability, with almost every step, to identify creatures with interesting stories was a blast for kids and adults alike. Her knowledge is encyclopedic, and her manner is pure enthusiasm. Get on the boat!

YRSC is great. Most instructors are young college students who have gone through the program…read morethemselves. The very young beginners start out sailing in knock abouts to learn the ropes. Those looking to race will sail two-up in 420's or singly in Lasers. Many of the racing instructors have experience racing for their high school or college sailing teams. Friendly, safe, warm, inclusive atmosphere. Good equipment, usually decent wind, and clean water on Lewis Bay.

This summer I signed up (myself, my wife and two kids 7 & 10) with Yarmouth Recreational Sailing…read moreprogram and the great experience has far surpassed all of my expectations! We were 100% beginners at the start, but were sailing by the end of our first day! All the students received an opportunity to learn at their own pace and some became very proficient. One of the pleasures of this program is that the learning is done on Cape Cod Knockabouts - a classical boat with terrific sailing characteristics. Depending on the skill level the sailing will take place closer or farther from the Lewis Bay mooring field and on several occasions some boats went as far as the Hyannis Harbor. The best feature of the program has to be the Instructors who by their teens have more sailing experience than most adults. They typically started sailing when they were 5 or 6 years old and by the time they are instructing they are seasoned veterans, experienced in all sorts of sailing and racing. They are like all the kind of kids you wish to raise - responsible, smart, kind, intelligent, dedicated and professional. An important feature of the program is its flexibility. The students who progressed to more advanced stages were challenged with more advanced topics. The parent aged students were given an opportunity to study with more experienced instructors when appropriate. There were no idle moments and the mentoring atmosphere was very reassuring to every student. Yarmouth Recreational Sailing organizers and administrators deserve high praise for offering such a wonderful program to the community. A program with this many moving parts that runs this well is a testament to the skill and dedication of the entire staff. Very well done! Many Thanks!!!

Jeff and Jason were incredible hosts to my son, my husband and I. We could hear the various boat…read morecaptains communicating over the radio, and the fish simply weren't biting. Captain Jeff did not shy away from moving as many times as needed to find the fish, which he did. Each of us caught two or three stripers/blues and pulled in a few skates. In landing the skates (which is apparently something fishermen don't want to do) Jason used the experience to further entertain our curiosity. Skates are ticklish. Yes, that's right--if you tickle their bellies, they curl up around your hand and their mouths look like they're smiling. I may even write a childrens book from the skates' perspective of the bizarre experience of being kidnapped by jigs carrying switchblades, to be tickled on video by humans and then dropped back off at home in the sea, ha! Poor jokes aside, we are already planning our next charter with the delightful family behind First Light and would be remiss not to recommend that any who are reading this do the same.