Chris and Denyele

Two years ago, my wife Denyele and I set sail with Nautilus out of Mallorca, Spain. We were on a 39′ Lagoon catamaran with Captain Emmy and two other wonderful students/crewmates. The entire trip was absolutely amazing with too many special memories to list.

We are incredibly grateful for our experience with Nautilus. Since being a student, Denyele and I have made two bareboat trips on 50 foot Leopards to the BVI. The first was with our 7 kids and step kids. The second was a couples trip that allowed us to introduce 3 other families to the amazing adventure of sailing.

We also just completed our third bareboat charter, a 6 day voyage exploring the Chesapeake Bay on a 41 foot Bali. Thank you Nautilus for opening up this new world of adventure and exploration to us.

Greg and DJ

My brother Greg and I learned to sail with Nautilus in the Grenadines during the winter of 2013. Since then we have enjoyed many expeditions with them through their amazing alumni network and flotilla trips.

Sailing for us is the ultimate adventure vacation; everyday brings new coastline to explore, challenges to navigate and opportunities to acquire new skills and knowledge. Learning to sail has opened up a whole new lens to see the world and a lifelong path for personal development.

Tim

I went on my first Nautilus adventure in April 2018 taking the ASA 101, 103, 104 courses to hone my skills after the recent purchase of my Catalina 320 “TimeWarp”. The freedom to go where you please and anchor in amazingly beautiful locations all around the world is what I love most about sailing.

All my sailing adventures are memorable but the delivery with Nautilus of “Never Say Never” from Sicily to Sardinia ranks way up there, especially the night sails with the moon rising behind us as the sun sets directly ahead.

I love the summers sailing my own boat in the Gulf Island and Desolation Sound but a bucket list cruise is to join a flotilla with Nautilus in the Mediteranean.

Brad and Krista

Nautilus Sailing has opened up new and exciting adventures for us! If you want to see the world from a different perspective, meet amazing people, and continue to learn new skills, then check out Nautilus.

We have received our sailing certifications in La Paz and Grenada, then joined other Alumni on various Flotillas around the world, our favorites being Croatia and Tahiti!

George and Linda

We learned to sail with Nautilus in January 2017 in Grenada. While George had sailed all his life, learning in Lake Michigan, he wanted Linda to share the enjoyment of sailing and we picked a warm place to go with a sailing group located in Colorado, Nautilus. To this day, Linda still employs the techniques to keep vegetables fresh learned on the boat.

We did not realize at the time, but learning to sail with Nautilus opened up incredible opportunities for Nautilus Alumni on sailing trips with experienced sailors in unbelievable locations throughout the world. We have been fortunate enough to sail with Nautilus Sailing in the Caribbean, France, Spain, Greece, and Croatia. But perhaps the most incredible trip was in Tahiti, returning having visited thirty years before.

A Nautilus trip is more than just a sailing trips, which in their own right are spectacular, but also give opportunity for gustatory exploration (like dinner at Bloody Mary’s on Bora Bora), and cultural and geographical explorations (like Poseidon’s Temple that we witnessed from the boat and then explored ashore).

We are greatly looking forward to sailing Italy, and enjoying the marriage of food and wine on that trip.

Mike and Tricia

There are too many photos and memories to choose a favorite. Mike and I, did our 103 in Blue Mesa and 104 in the Grenadines. From there to Croatia, Tahiti, Spain, Corsica and the Italy scouting trip with Emmy.

Great crews, lessons learned and wonderful memories. We look forward to the reschedule for Italy next summer.

David and Kari

After a captained trip in the BVIs, I came and started scheming and researching on how to get ASA certifications. I kept going back to the Nautilus webpage and one cold, dreary day in February, with my lovely, precious wife Kari feeling the winter blues she saw me on the computer staring at the blue water pictures and out of the blue I showed her the live-aboard course offered in the Sea of Cortez. They had an opening for two people in April, her birthday month. I asked her if she thought that would be a nice birthday gift and after seeing the video of the sea lion pups she said, “I’m IN!”

My favorite sailing memory is an experience I could have only gotten from Nautilus. I had signed up for the Grenada to Aruba leg to deliver Journey in Feb. 2018. It was on my watch that we sailed in the lee of Curacao at night, navigating through a maze of oil tankers lined up to deliver their cargo to the electrical generation plant on that island.

By the time we were out of the lee of Curacao and heading towards Aruba the skies had cleared and it was the most serene and wonderful night time sail. I love sailing at night. I can’t wait for my next chance to do that. Kari and I have been discussing our next trip. We really want to return to Great Lameshur Bay, St. John, USVI as the anchorages are desolate and the snorkeling is awesome (but don’t tell anyone!).

Guy

The picture is from Oct 2018 sailing the Greek Islands. During May of 2018, on the beautiful Sea Of Cortez, I completed my Catamaran sailing certification with Len Molloy and Emmy. My favorite sailing memory of the week was the company of my now good friends, and the fun and laughter with Captain Molloy.

Looking forward to the day when travel returns to normal as I would love to sail the Polynesian waters. I remember sending Captain Len a picture of myself sailing the Greek waters and all he said was how proud he was of me, that meant a lot to me, and I will never forget those words and memories.

Thank you Nautilus Sailing for the friendships and experience! Fair winds, blue skies and good times.

Mark

I love this photo of the group of us celebrating, with champagne, the completion of the Southern Spain leg of a delivery trip. It was more motoring than sailing, however it was a fabulous, unforgettable experience, spent with wonderful new friends and hope it can be repeated!!

James

Picture on the beach at sunset on Petit St. Vincent in March 2020 during my catamaran certification course in the Grenadines with Captain Shaun Tarr.

My favorite part of the trip was eating the fresh lobster on the beach at Carriacou. I am looking forward to the upcoming Alumni trip to the Sea of Cortez October 2020!

Thank you Nautilus Sailing for all the amazing sailing experiences!!!”

Dan and Katie

We did our ASA 101-104 with Nautilus in the Grenadines. The sailing was great!

My favorite memory of the trip was the amazing spots we spent the evenings and mornings in. Tim J. was the best instructor we could have asked for.

Thanks so much Nautilus!

Jim

Attached is a photo of me anchored at Governors Harbour on Eleuthera Island of the Bahamas at sunset. The training I got at Nautilus allowed me to feel confident to take my own sailboat to the Bahamas for four winter seasons and enjoy special spots like this.

I took two Nautilus courses. My first was near my summer home in Colorado, at Blue Mesa with Ted, during the summer of 2016. This course confirmed my dream to buy my own boat to sail to the Bahamas. After buying the perfect boat, I signed up for a week liveaboard course in the Grenadines. I learned a lot more from Capt Shaun.

My favorite sailing memory was my first crossing of the Gulf Stream from Palm Beach to West End, Bahamas. Captaining my own boat, as a solo/single handed 65 yr old. Thanks to everyone at Nautilus for helping get me off the couch and accomplish a goal that was in the back of my head for many years.

Cale

I completed the ASA 101-104 courses in October of 2013 in the beautiful and friendly Grenadine islands and immediately put those skills to work on the flotilla that took place the following week.
I love the sense of freedom and adventure that is felt when you cast off seeking to reach new, far off lands for the first time. The people that are met and the experiences that are encountered along the way create friendships and memories that last a lifetime.

In late August 2013, I met a girl while photographing a reggae show (for another Nautilus alum and band member) in Colorado. I invited her to join us on the 2013 flotilla hosted by Nautilus in the Grenadines. I managed to meet someone as crazy as I was! Nearly four years later, we married during the solar eclipse of 2017 and have sailed together every year.

My wife and I are looking forward to journeying up the Leeward islands chain, which we have not sailed before. We prefer to upwind sail monohulls for the challenge, adrenaline and the cool breeze of higher apparent winds.

Ken

In August 2014 I took a weekend course with Captain Tim on Blue Mesa Reservoir in the mountains of Colorado. I was hooked. 3 weeks later I went to Grenada for the full blue water course. 6 years later and I have logged some 15 trips!

I love everything about sailing. The people I’ve met, the spectacular destinations, the continued learning of both the art and science of sailing. As a way to travel, it is unique and genuine and there’s a freedom to experience. I always feel like I’m leaving the world behind, that’s why I keep going.

One of my favorite sailing memories was the crossing from Puerto Vallarta to La Paz, there were dozens of dolphins playing on the bow. A whale surfaced quietly 30 feet from the boat. Somehow that was humbling in a way I’ll never forget.

What’s next in my sailing journey? I would like to take an extended trip. Long enough to forget what year it is. Or care.

Joe and Angela

We learned how to sail in La Paz, Mexico in February 2013, after making a New Year’s resolution the month before to learn how to sail. We love the feeling of freedom and discovery with sailing!

Our favorite sailing memory has to be sailing to various anchorages around the island of Taha’a in Tahiti and experiencing the “Love Here” Pearl Farm, “La Vallee de la Vanille” Vanilla Plantation and drift snorkeling at the Coral Garden.

Our sailing dream is to eventually take a summer off in order to explore the Puget Sound and San Juan Islands in Washington State aboard our sailboat, SV Gypsea Wind.

Luke

In April 2013 I flew from my home in Honolulu, Hawaii, to La Paz, Mexico for a week-long live-aboard trip with Nautilus Sailing. I learned the sailor’s trades of rigging and navigation and mooring, of course, all the tricks necessary for a voyage.

Beyond the knots and other hard skills, what lingers most peculiarly is the combination of tranquility and adventure one finds while sailing. A few days into our trip, pulling into a hooked bay of an unfamiliar island, water as pearl-blue as one could ever hope to see, my soul rested easy.

What a delight to find such peace in the unknown. I’m eager to get out there under sail again, this time somewhat south of home, to the fabled island of Tahiti!

Louis

It took me a few years after my sailing course out of Grenada, however I finally bought a J 24 and started Racing out of Longbeach Mississippi.

Attached is a photo of my racing experience in 2019 and 2020.

Thanks Nautilus for giving me the bug!

Ray and Susan

We both got our ASA 101, 103, and 104 certificates under Captain Tim in Tahiti. Got caught in a squall with tight six-foot waves; that was fun. As for the next sailing adventure, who knows?! COVID-19 has changed a lot of our plans.

Ideally, we would like to sail up to the up Green Bay area where the coastline is just amazing. Georgian Bay would be nice too but requires a few more days of sailing to get there.

All of this is because of Nautilus sailing. They gave us the knowledge, tools, and confidence to enjoy a summer of sailing, a sport that is inherently socially distant.

Laura

Took the course 2017, came back with the family 2018, chartered thru Dream yachts. Great adventures. If all goes well we’re scheduled to return march 2021.

Thanks Jim

P.S. Took the course and chartered out of LaPaz.