Wonderful day of sailing on Sunday July 10, 2016. 1/2 day sail in afternoon on the Hunter 33' Sloop. We came by on Saturday to look around, and a young man named Chris was around on the dock, and he answered a lot of questions for me, and allowed us to board the Hunter to check it out. Seeing we were interested, he came on board, started the engine and showed us a lot of details about the boat. He was great in explaining things, and anticipated questions and things. It all felt very "chill" and approachable. Sunday proved to be one of those "perfect" sailing days - clear, low humidity, brisk winds up to 25 mph, and just crystal clear day. Had to seize the day. We came back to rent, and all the staff here were wonderful, friendly and helpful. The booking, arrival and sign up was quite easy, and we were set to get started. Classic tourists - we packed food and towels for a week, for a 3 hour cruse kind of thing.. and there was Chris again, helping load 10 hags and all sorts of things, getting ice set up, and final review of things. Quite helpful in getting us out of the slip, and we motored toward the bridge and down the South River. Given the direction of the wind, we had to tack all the way up and down the river, and coming about 15 times during the first hour was a bit taxing for my non-sailing/first time sailing friends on board. Once out in the mouth of the river, it was solid good sailing.
Here are the good parts;
The access to renting a larger boat, indeed any sailboat are not easy, especially bareboat charter, and this group has a relaxed approach to renting boats to you. When you are ready to practice on your own, or want a "drop in" kind of rental, this is the place for you. They have charts prepared for you, and if you plan correctly, you can have a wonderful day sailing, bring nice lunch and drinks, towels, sunscreen, and make the boat yours for a day. We forgot to pack an iPod or Radio, and didn't even notice once under way. Again, the day was almost too perfect weather-wise. We were able to get the boat to move pretty well once we were in bigger winds at the mouth of the river. Nicely heeled over, but just couldn't catch enough wind, nor trim the sails to get the rail under.
Access to a sailboat rates a 10. Service from the staff rates a 10. Location by car, and on the river rates a 10. The facilities which are kind of salty adds to the character, also rates a 10. The bathrooms rate a 10. ( compared to any other public marina, these bathrooms are up on the nicer side)
The not good parts; (still give 5 stars tho)
Less experienced sailors, may not notice the boats are basically rental boats, and as such, they are not pristine examples of the craft. By necessity, they have to be almost indestructible, so if you are a newbie, you will be glad of this. If you run aground, bump off a dock, or spin around in the wind a few times, you will be glad you rented here. If you are more experienced, just set your expectations low regarding details such as bright work, lack of cockpit cushions, cup holders, perfectly operating cleats, winches, halyards etc. We found the main sail hard to trim out, and never could get it fully trimmed. We could not get enough wind or speed to really move the boat, I wanted to get the rail under and see how fast we could move. So the good news is that you cannot push these boats too hard, they are like tanks, which is safe if you are new, and that is what you want! The galley on our boat only had a sink, and no ice box and no stove/oven. There was no potable water loaded on board, or in any event, the water was not working for the head and galley sinks. The boat was pre-cleaned for us, but not perfectly if you care about this. When Chris noticed my disappointment of not having a cooler or icebox in the galley he promptly brought a large ice cooler for us to use.
Quality of the boat's condition rates a 4-5. Quality of the important parts of the boat's condition rates a 7. Amenities on the boat such as cushions, curtains, icebox, stove, small fans in the cabin and other niceties rates a 3. (remember, these are just to rent for an afternoon or a day.. so....) Condition and operation of the diesel engine rates a 10.
Staggering to me, was the lack of a depth finder. Anyone who has sailed the Potomac, Magothy, South river and even the Bay, knows how tricky our waters are, and while the sandy bottom is forgiving, running aground can ruin a day. To keep depth finders on the boats, and keep them in good working order should not be cost prohibitive and should save the (I imagine) several rescues a week from those who run aground.
Summary; If you are expecting to rent a Beneteau, Hinkley, late model sailboat - you will need to search the classifieds to find someone willing to rent their $500K beauty to you(not likely), Therefore South River Boat Rentals is the place to practice and hone your skills to be able to rent a nice boat in the future. read more