SailNashville 5751 Old Hickory Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37076

"Wonderful and fun experience. Having had no prior sailing experience, I followed John's recommendations to READ the book and took the offered online primer before taking the class. First day is intensive classroom (made easier because we read the book) followed by exam and boat time the next two days. We got blown out of the practical sailing and had to reschedule. John was generous with his time and make up options based on the weather. My husband and I just passed and we look forward to doing future courses with John."

"I took the 101 class last year with a female instructor. It was three days of sailing and it was a great experience. Right from the first day you got on the boat and got good experience. Sailing time was broken up by class time which was a review since you’re supposed to read the book prior to class day. The class was super fun and very hands on. My girlfriend took the class this year and has had a completely different experience. She spent the entire first day in the classroom and never even touched the boat (supposedly they changed the format for some unknown reason). After a grueling 8 hours of class room (which is awful for learning retention if you didn’t actually read the book) she still has to take the written test before she was even allowed to get on the boat. Apparently John thinks he is the arbiter of who gets to be on a sailboat and who doesn’t if they can’t pass the end of class test without ever having done any actually hands on sailing (which helps you learn better than just memorizing). She was very disappointed in the class the instructor John who did not show up on time, was late returning for lunch, and professed himself to be the greatest teacher ever. Needless to say that was a waste of an entire day of the class. The next two days John continued to show up late in the morning and after lunch break which is extremely disrespectful to the time of the students who have to find time off from work and child care for that time. He didn’t even finish reviewing all of the maneuvers during that time so she had to go back another day, weeks later, and take off time again where he showed up late, again. My experience was a good fun one where I got to experience a dream come true learning how to sail. Hers was a nightmare and I would not recommend anyone taking the 101 class from here unless you have a lot of free time and don’t want to spend that much time actually on the boat. We will be doing our other classes elsewhere."

"I had no previous sailing experience before taking the ASA 101 Basic Keelboat Sailing course with John Summers and I absolutely loved the class. The course was comprehensive and thorough while still being relatively easy to learn for a complete beginner. John and JB Copeland were excellent instructors both in the classroom and on the water. They were knowledgeable and patient with a clear love of sailing and teaching. We also had a great group of students with varying levels of sailing experience who made the class all the more supportive and fun for everyone. I'm excited to take more classes with SailNashville in the future. Highly recommend!"

"BUYER BEWARE!!! Please know the risk you are taking when you sign up for a class with Sail Nashville. If you test positive for COVID days before your class, you will forfeit every penny of your registration fee - 0% refund and 0% credit towards a future course. And be prepared for John Summers to rudely tell you he's "not paying for your illness"."

"Professional and entertaining sailing instructors. I took the ASA 101 class with 7 other students (two couples and 4 individuals). We all had the classroom instruction as a group. Then we were separated on two sailboats for the practical instruction. John, the owner, was my instructor out on the water, and Bob New took the other group out. Bob is also an author and gave us a copy of his book, How to Bareboat. I joined the second level of their Sailing Academy educational program after receiving my 101 certification. I plan on honing my sailing skills with the program to really get everything down and then take ASA 103 and 104. I would recommend to my family and friends."