Hourly cost per vessel (3 hour minimum):
- Andrews 21 - $160/hr Weekday ... $170/hr Weekend
- Santana 22 - $150/hr Weekday ... $180/hr Weekend
- J/80 - $190/hr Weekday ... $205/hr Weekend
- J/105 - $250/hr Weekday ... $250/hr Weekend
- Beneteau 37 - $300/hr Weekday ... $350/hr Weekend
- Your own Boat - $150/hr + Travel time
Skills Evaluation & Private Coaching
Every sailor's journey is different. Some students are returning to sailing after years away. Others earned certifications through another sailing school or a resort program but have little experience in the demanding conditions of San Francisco Bay. Some have purchased a new boat and want to become proficient aboard their own vessel, while others simply want to strengthen specific skills before continuing their sailing education.
Rather than guessing where you fit, we recommend beginning with a Private Skills Evaluation Sail.
During this on-the-water evaluation, one of our senior instructors will assess your current sailing abilities, identify your strengths, and determine where any gaps may exist. From there, we'll recommend the most efficient path forward. In many cases, that means placing you directly into the appropriate level of our existing curriculum, allowing you to focus only on the skills you need instead of repeating material you've already mastered.
This approach is especially beneficial for:
- Sailors returning to the sport after months or years away.
- Students who completed certifications through another sailing school or resort program.
- Boat owners seeking instruction aboard their own vessel.
- Experienced sailors preparing for bareboat chartering or advanced cruising.
- Anyone looking to improve specific skills through one-on-one coaching.
Our goal is not simply to provide private lessons—it's to develop safe, competent, and confident sailors. Whenever practical, we encourage students to continue their training within our structured group programs. Sailing with different instructors and fellow students exposes you to a wider variety of techniques, communication styles, and real-world situations that simply cannot be replicated in a one-on-one environment. This collaborative experience is particularly important as students progress beyond Basic Keelboat Sailing II and into our Basic Coastal Cruising and advanced programs.
Private coaching remains an excellent option for targeted skill development, including docking, sail trim, reefing, heavy-weather boat handling, navigation, boat handling under power, confidence building, and preparation for chartering or boat ownership.
Instruction may be conducted aboard one of our training boats or on your own vessel. Our instructors are experienced professional mariners, including U.S. Coast Guard Masters and U.S. Merchant Marine Captains, with extensive teaching experience in one of the most challenging sailing venues in the world.
Private ASA Certification Programs
Private ASA certification programs are available on a customized basis. However, because sailing is a team activity, students pursuing certification through private instruction are required to provide their own crew. It simply is not practical—or cost-effective—to teach both the skipper's and crew's responsibilities to a single individual during private lessons.
As a result, private certification programs generally require more instructional time and are considerably more expensive than our standard group certification courses. For most sailors, our group programs provide a faster, more comprehensive, and significantly more economical path to certification while offering the invaluable experience of sailing with different instructors and crewmembers.
Whether your goal is to refresh your skills, prepare for San Francisco Bay, become proficient aboard your own boat, or continue toward advanced certifications, we'll help determine the best path to get you there.
To schedule a Private Skills Evaluation Sail, contact our office at 415-543-7333 or email staff@spinnaker-sailing.com.
