We own a 27 ft Catalina near DC on the Potomac River. We recently started to race her in local weekly races and we wanted to upgrade our skills. As a Co-owner, I first took the performance sailing classes. We then asked the school if we can hire an instructor for a day to give us personal instruction on both our boat and how to fly our spinnaker. The school sent to us Sean, an instructor with tons of experience with spinnakers of all types. Sean provided us a detailed assessment of our equipment and the role of each member of crew-- the pit person, the trimmers and the foredeck person. At the end of the day of flying the chute, we all felt more confident and are ready to race spin fleet. read more

Just completed the US Sailing Basic Cruising course on the Chesapeake with coach, Mike Hull. We had strong winds all three days which made for exciting sailing, mooring, anchoring, and docking. Mike did a great job with pacing the material, adding real-life stories, and letting us do most of the sailing. High recommend JWorld for learning to sail or honing your skills. read more

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Wife and I recently completed the US Sailing Bareboat Cruising course at J World. Living aboard a sailboat with Captain Mike Hull - and two others we'd just met - for five days on the Chesapeake Bay was easily one of the most memorable experiences of our lives. We learned so much. J World Annapolis has certainly earned the great reputation it has in the sailing community. Likely won't be the last course we take there. read more

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Superb experience in every sense. I just finished the 5 day basic keelboat course this week and it was an exceptionally enjoyable few days with the most professional, experienced and enjoyable training staff. I cannot recommend this company highly enough. Hard work for sure but very satisfying experience. A lot of classroom and on the water stuff gets covered, and my shoulders are aching this morning! The beauty of getting away from your daily routine and sailing a J80 with no engine or electronics is stunning. Silent running - wonderful. Just the noise of the water passing you - it could easily become a narcotic! The best part of this experience is the team of instructors and support staff. I was seriously impressed by the level of expertise and professionalism demonstrated by every coach I came into contact with at JWorld. read more

I took the Basic Keelboat / Sailing Fundamentals 5-Day. A great experience...my two coaches Tom and Channing were excellent, calming nerves and teaching us an incredible amount of information in an organized and sensible progression. I will definitely return to take more classes, and the bonus of being an alumni is that you can return to take part in Thursday night racing. read more

J World Annapolis - Beautiful sailing day on a J80 looking towards the Bay Bridge. - Boating Near Me - Annapolis, Maryland

We first came to J World for a $99 try-sail 3 years ago - and now we never leave! We took the basic keelboat course to get certified. We're now comfortable handling the J80 and love to sail on the weekends (and even some weekday afternoons!) we loved our instructors (Dave, Channing, Jacques, Jeff) and we're so appreciative to Emily for helping us with scheduling (and rescheduling a few times). It's a very professional environment with sailors who know what they're doing, and they passed on some of their knowledge to us. We're so thankful that they cultivated this passion in us through their thoughtful instruction, and passion of their own. We'll be back next year for the cruising course! read more

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Outstanding! I had never been on a sailboat before and decided to take a short weekend course offered over Memorial Day weekend on a J80. The J80 is a performance boat and is so much fun! I'm competitive and love the adrenaline rush of feeling the boat take off and go fast. Loved it so much, I decided to take the basic keelboat course and get certified! Everyone at J World was very professional, friendly, and accommodating! My instructors (Ian, Channing, Dave, and Jacques) were very knowledgeable and have a ton of sailing experience on various boats and racing. One even built his own sailboat! They are also very patient and thorough in their instruction and make sure everyone gets equal practicing time. Looking forward to getting back on the water this year! Many thanks, J World! You rock! read more

For fashion there is Parsons. For design there is RISD. Policy wonks love Harvard. Aristocrat? Yale. But if you want to race sailboats really, really fast there is no place better to learn than J Sail Annapolis. Annapolis is the "Sailing Capitol of The World," the whole town hums when the winds whip up, and in the center of it all is JSail. (I like the description of this port I once overhead as "a drinking town with a sailing problem.) The instructors are salty dudes who can dive deep into race rules, sail shape, and I suspect are no strangers to chuggin' some rum. The classes are straightforward, more on the water than classroom, with options for everyone ranging from the landlubber to the America's Cup veteran. Mostly a weekenders place, they will offer week long sailing instruction plus corporate team builders. Tally-Ho! read more

Ian was a very thorough and patient instructor with our group. He did a great job showing us the ropes (I mean sheets!). Despite nasty conditions our group had a blast and would highly recommended J world to any group looking for a non traditional group exercise. An added bonus us that it's right around the corner from Davis' pub. read more

I was a first time visitor to J-World (and Annapolis) as part of a team building day with my MBA program. I was very excited to sail but was not excited about the horrible weather (cold and rain on May 6th) we had that day. As soon as we arrived at J-World, Kristen and his team welcomed us, got us prepped and got us pumped up to head out on the water. Our instructor, Mark, did a wonderful job at teaching my boat the basics of sailing. As part of the team building exercise, our boat and the 4 other boats had to work together to complete an obstacle course. It was the coolest team building exercise I have and probably ever will do, and will look back on that experience fondly forever. I can't wait to get back to J-World for some more sailing with Kristen and his team! Thanks J-World! read more

Kristen Berry is a godsend for team building workshops. I organized a trip for 28 MBA students and we had very bad weather. Kristen was able to get everyone geared up in the best equipment to weather the storm and learn to sail with the best instructors in the business. Their J-80 boats are top of the line and made everyone in our group feel safe, comfortable, and warm despite the conditions. We were all laughing about it at dinner and would go back in a heartbeat. If you have any inclination to learn sailing or want to get your team out for a retreat on the water, this is the place! read more

These are the smart folks, and they have developed a great group of focused instructors. They offer many levels from newbie to experienced racer to corporate team building. The J80boats they use are fun and responsive one-design race boats. I was especially impressed with the instructors deep knowledge of racing rules during the classroom lecture before we went out to practice. read more

I went to J-World for an orientation program with a bunch of classmates from business school. Though it was rainy and windy, the instructors and facilitators at J-World made our experience memorable. They provided us with foul weather gear which turned out to be indispensable. Our instructor Rosemary was well-informed about explaining how sailing is done and about everyone's individual task on the boat. We kept asking her the same questions since we were rookie sailors and she was patient and kind with her answers. Even though it rained for the entirety of our time out on sea, the weather didn't dampen our spirits. After we disembarked and thawed, the J-Worlders had a review session and refused to take tips because we sailed in bad weather conditions. I plan on visiting them again during the summer with friends. It was a wonderful team-building experience, I learnt a lot about my fellow sailing mates. I can't wait to go back! read more

Went as part of a group event. I had never been sailing before and in spite of fairly terrible weather it was an amazing experience. They supplied us with some gear to help with the poor weather and the coaches were nothing but patient. I had a blast and will be back as soon as possible, regardless of the weather. Can't say enough good things about this business. read more

I recently went to J World with a large group and had a great time. The instructors were friendly, knowledgeable and very patient with our very novice group. We unfortunately had pretty horrible weather but they had lots of "foul weather" gear that helped keep us warm and dry. They gave us a great overview of the different roles, let us try out different roles on the boat and then set up a fun competition course. Overall a great experience that made my first sailing experience very memorable and can't wait to come back! read more