Mary and her team have something special going on at NSS. I’m so happy to have participated in several classes this summer, getting through 104, coastal cruising. Although I have some experience as a “first mate” I have never skippered a vessel, though now can say that I have accomplished that and more!! I took advantage of the boat rental program at the end of my third class, and with Mary’s encouragement, patience, sense of calm, and strength as a great instructor, I was able to moor her 19 foot Bristol under sail. While I was nervous and desperately looking for a rescue, she knew this was a skill I really wanted to master and remained onshore. (Mary videotaped the mooring, much to my surprise, though great to be able to see it from a different perspective.)I highly recommend NSS. The all women’s classes are phenomenal and Mary will do all she can to make sure you’re comfortable.I plan to complete the navigation class with my husband, then 106 offshore cruising, and sometime this winter/next spring to purchase a boat. Thanks to Mary and her fantastic instructors, Thelma and Mary!! You’re the absolute BEST!!

Just completed my third ASA course with this school. (It offers a three-course package discount.) This course, ASA 104, added double-value with two nights on the water, one anchored and one moored. It requires a commitment from the student and is the best possible introduction to serious sailing you could ask for. Our instructor has been around the world twice, but was fantastically patient with his three students. We got a great sailboat also. Cant say enough good things about this friendly school and the instructors who work there.

The Narragansett Sailing School is a gem in Rhode Island. I was lucky to be able to take a class ASA 101 with the owner, Mary Goff, who was our fantastic guide in a small class with two sailors. We wore masks in the marina and the classroom and were able to take them off while sailing. I have been sailing with my family for years but was able to pick up many new tricks-of-the-trade, get lots of hands-on experience and gain a whole new level of confidence on the boat. I was fascinated (as a fellow educator) how brilliantly Mary taught us. My fellow student had never been on any boat...in three days he turned into a fearless captain. This is an extraordinary place to learn and I am planning to return for the next courses as soon as possible. Karen

Just completed ASA101 with Mary Goff as instructor on the Lippincott 30 with some time on the Pearson 30 as well. We had four students in our class with varying levels of experience and confidence. Mary adapted the class to each of our needs and provided a very individualized experience. Our weather ranged from unsafe sailing conditions with gale force winds on Friday to two beautiful days on Saturday and Sunday. Despite the weather on Friday, Mary was very agile in her use of our class time and on the water time to be sure we not only covered the ASA101 curriculum, but also addressed specific skills coaching for each of us. Already looking forward to ASA103 with NSS!

Narragansett Sailing School is a great community of knowledgeable sailing enthusiasts whose can do attitude is contagious! I took their docking class in 2016 and it was so good that I recruited a group of friends and took it again a few weeks later!They saw my enthusiasm and encouraged me to become a sailing instructor. Until then I hadnt considered becoming an instructor but with their support I got my Coast Guard License, instructor certifications and now teach classes there a few weekends every year.I learn more about sailing everytime Im in Barrington and the enthusiasm of the community, instructors and students both, is growing every day. Come for a sail and see for yourself!

This is my second experience with Narragansett Sailing School and I cannot say enough good things about them! We attended the week-long Spring Commissioning course where we spent 2 days on diesel engines, 2 days on boat systems and one day on electrical. All the people are so very knowledgable and great instructors, we learned so much! I highly recommend them for quality sailing instruction. They also offer women-only courses if thats something you want to do.

I had never sailed before, but decided to try an ASA 101 class. I was a bit nervous going into it, although I knew I could trust Narragansett Sailing School to provide a great learning environment.What I didnt expect was how much I would love sailing so quickly! Im a lifelong Rhode Islander, but never realized how beautiful Narragansett Bay is until I was sailing on the water.We spent a lot of time on the water, rather than being in a classroom all day, which was great. The instructor was knowledgeable and experienced. Great at catering to each of the three students in this class. It actually felt like a vacation, so I signed up for ASA 103 on the day I finished 101!

My wife and I had a very good experience at the Narragansett Sailing School! Mary is an excellent teacher and we hope to return soon for more classes!

Great people and professional but friendly. Learn to sail and have fun! We chartered a catamaran for a family vacation week and had Casey, the perfect captsin for us. Im now getting certified myself to charter my own catamaran by next year.Small class size and knowledgeable, friendly instructors. Beautiful area to learn to sail in. Doing ASA 103 after 101 last month. Looking forward to it all.

The employees are Really Nice.

I found The Narragansett Sailing School and The Cruising Yacht Brokerage through an online yacht broker webpage. I was looking to buy a sailboat, and was extremely lucky that I decided to look at their offering. This was my first cruising sailboat and Jim and Rob made the buying experience an extremely pleasant one. Jim and Rob both clearly have a love of sailing and you can tell by the way they do business that their primary goal is to help perpetuate that sentiment in everyone they deal with. Not only were they very knowledgeable, experienced, helpful and transparent during the purchasing process, but they have continued to provide help and advice with various maintenance and modification projects that have come up since I took ownership. Everyone I have interacted with at the school/brokerage gives the sense of, not just a great customer-care attitude, but of community.I was also fortunate enough to take some of the schools cruising courses. Every instructor I had was not only incredibly knowledgeable with broad sailing experience, but also a gifted instructor showing patience and the ability to handle different learning styles. The way these courses are taught is extremely accessible. They give everything from basic sailing skills, to navigation and cruising boat systems, to the judgment skills needed to plan and embark on a real-world cruise. There is no substitute for experience when it comes to sailing, but these courses have provided a big boost to my sailing knowledge and skill set and were tons of fun, too! Ill definitely be going back for the Advanced Docking and Diesel Engine courses.

I took the all Women’s diesel course in January of 2017. The sailing school could not have been a better experience. Worth every penny and then some! As a professional mariner in the commercial tourism industry, that course has helped me tremendously. I took the course because I didn’t feel like I was getting enough hands on at work and as I moved up to a captains position, I was being given responsibilities that my knowledge wasn’t quite up to par with. I now have 5 seasons under my belt being the head captain of a single hand cruising boat and a 105 ft schooner. I use my skills from this class daily and it has given me the confidence to diagnose problems and winterize systems by myself. I’m looking forward to my electrical course with Narragansett Sailing school next month!

Ive taken sailing classes at a couple different schools and Narragansett Sailing was BY FAR the best. The school insists on small class sizes unlike other places. This gives you more time to work on developing your skills. Ive worked with 4 of the instructors at Narragansett and they were all more knowledgeable and better teachers than anybody anyplace else. My wife also took a class here and raves about the place more than I do.We have also chartered with Narragansett and found the experience to be as well run as the sailing school. If you are interested in sailing this is an excellent place to learn and practice.

Took the Diesel course Oct 2019. Great instructor and curriculum. Geared perfectly for cruisers and recreational sailors. Ron McBain blended a humble, calm teaching style with the credibility of an amazing background of do-it-yourself and do-it-for-others experience. We assembled an actual Yanmar twice during the instruction. The course had it all: a bit of theory, lots of hands on, real maintenance work on a boat and troubleshooting. Highly recommended course.Completed the Fall Decommissioning course with Rich Munson. Rich ran an excellent course; he’s got an easy-going teaching style as we worked through the actual decommissioning of a 42’ modern sailboat. His experience as a Charter business owner gives him total credibility. He was a wealth of tips and ideas on making thing easy and effective, always covering the safety aspects and whys of what we were doing. This is a course with an immediate payback, took the fear out of winterizing and I can now immediately save $1,400 service fees and still feel confident the job’s been done right. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly I’ll be much more in touch with the state of my boat each season. Nice course.

Ive chartered 5 different yachts over the past 6 years from Narragansett Sailing and taken several courses. Rob and his staff are friendly, always eager to share their knowledge and encourage you to safely build your experience without a lot of needless restrictions. They have a lot of good quality, well-maintained boats. I highly recommend taking courses, chartering or joining Sailtime at Narragansett Sailing.

My son and I chartered a boat over Fathers Day week. So nice not to have to race to Block Is. and Cuttyhunk to get a mooring ball. The Pearson 303 was perfect for the 2 of us and was in great shape. Rob and his team helped us plan our trip and were a big help in every respect.

Our family just chartered Libelle, FP44, for a week long trip through the islands of New England. Narragansett Sailing Charters, Rob & Casey were all awesome to work with, very helpful when a few mechanical issues popped up, and run a very professional operation. The boat was clean, in great shape and all systems were explained fully. We cant wait to charter again from this company!

I recently attended the ASA Instructor Qualification Clinic (IQC) at the Narragansett Sailing School. I was very impressed with the quality of the clinic due to the outstanding staff at the school. The IQC was led by Rob Lawnsby and assisted by Glenn Miner. Both did an exceptional job throughout the multi-day clinic. I found both to be uniquely talented sailors who were very knowledgeable in all facets of sailing. More importantly, they demonstrated strong communication skills with a unique ability to convey complex concepts into practical application and demonstrations. I also attended a one day docking endorsement course taught by another excellent instructor, Dave Pelkey. The course was outstanding and I learned a great deal about docking techniques in a variety of conditions. Finally, the owner of Narragansett Sailing School is Mary Goff. She was extremely pleasant and cordial throughout my stay at the school and went out of her way to make sure the clinic participants were well cared for.In summary, I strongly recommend the Narragansett Sailing School for anyone who wants a quality sailing experience in a beautiful setting.Submitted by John Poidevant

Testimonial for Diesel Engine course taken on Feb. 3 - 4, 2017 withMr. Rob Lawnsby. Rob uncovered the black box that diesel engines are by explaining in detail what makes them run. He broke the dieselengine down into its basic systems and then illustrated each one,first on the blackboard, and then hands on with a number of differentengines. There were four people in our course and each of us had anopportunity to take the engine apart as well as put it back together.With each system, Rob took questions and explained where things can gowrong and gave advice on maintenance, and in our case, a piece ofequipment that he recommended for the engine on our boat. Rob madewhat would otherwise be considered a boring topic, fun and exciting.We plan to return for further courses.