I had the opportunity this summer to finally take a local surf lesson and Will and his guys…read morecouldn't have made it easier for me. They had all the gear and board already to go on the beach for me, which was relief as I've always been awkward trying to carry a heavy and large surfboard across the sand. We started off with a walk-through of the board, the stance, the mechanics and what to be looking for in the water. I was feeling really stiff that day so I appreciated that our instructor was super patient with me and really encouraged me the entire way through. On my 4th attempt I finally caught a decent wave and nearly rode it all the way back to the beach.. that is until I fell off and took a little tumble in the shallows lol. But once I got the hang of it, they were just as excited for me as I was, which really felt great! I'll for sure be back and maybe I'll even recruit some friends to join me next time, so we can all form our own little surf crew.

This camp and the people who run it are the best, most professional and most experienced you can…read morefind! Day two of surf camp and besides just teaching the fundamentals to beginning kiddos, they also instill sportsmanship and water safety, explaining and teaching to kids water safety and how to check your conditions before heading out to the water. I could not be more impressed with them. Also, they don't just throw their kids into rough conditions, they really know the ocean and you can tell they only hire the most experienced surfers. I've been watching some of the other surf camps down here and I would be kind of nervous to let my 5 year old attend. You can see the staff at Skudin not only love what they do but they truly care about their campers . Really just so happy our daughter goes to camp here, and will be happily recommending them to any parent looking for a surf camp here in Rockaway.

My kite surfing experience with slimkiteschool was incredible, especially for a beginner. I had…read moretaken only two lessons before and had stood on the board for just a brief moment, but Xico speaking French and Portuguese while I spoke English still made everything feel clear, safe, and easy to follow. By the end of my third lesson, he had me confidently riding back and forth. He is such a warm and kind person. I'm so grateful we met. I know I'll always have a friend in Brazil!!

Well, I am 50! I didn't even think that I'll do any sport at…read moreall, especially such extreme one as Kitesurfing! Just incidentally being ones at Brooklyn's shore me and my son have met Glenn. I've got 7 classes and I feel already more confident then dudes somewhere else with much longer experience. That all about a teacher! Glenn was really glad how fast I got changing directions, and let me tell you something, Glenn is an amazing guy! Things what he explains, easy to understand and keep up in a way what he knows will do work for me, and I am pretty sure will work for you with the best results ! As I said he is an excellent teacher with I'm sure enough experience. I am just lucky to meet him. I am already in love with Kitesurfing, and I'm very thankful to him for that! His obsession to the sky, ocean and the wind simply passes to you, and you just wanna be a force nature rider)) My son and me already bought the whole equipment. Well! Not a cheap hobby!))

This is a space shared by Row New York and TASCA (the American Small Craft Association) I was there…read morefor the beginner sailing lessons offered by TASCA. It has space for equipment, bathrooms and a fridge, everything you need.

The renovated boathouse is host to all manner of floating craft on Flushing Meadows Lake. You'll…read morefind sailboats, rowing sculls, pedal boats, outboard motor dinghys out on the water. And then there are my favorites, the dragon boats. Each type is owned by different groups and share the use of the boathouse and the lake. TASCA offers sailing lessons, ROW New York practices on their sculls and HK Dragon Boat Festival has their weekly practices & annual festival around the lake. The boardwalk, docks and boat launches are in very well-kept renovated condition to service all the boat types. The large parking lot adjoining the boathouse provides ample parking most of the year except during the weekend of the HK Dragon Boat Festival when it fills up in the pre-dawn hours. The lake might seem stagnant but is actually flowing from north to south with plenty of wildlife such as ducks, geese, seagulls and the occasional cormorant. There are certainly fish in the lake due to the many marine birds diving for them in the water and the fish that was hiding from them in the bottom of our dragon boat.

Never having kayaked before, I was skeptical about going out with a group as I wasn't sure I'd be…read moreable to keep up. After arriving at the launch area, I was quickly introduced to Kayak Mike & Big Louie - our guides & adventure experts -along with the other kayakers. Relieved that there were others there who shared my lack of experience, Mike presumed to get the group in gear/paddle-mode - & gave us a brief rundown of paddle techniques, safe-kayaking around other boats, what to do when faced with a wake, how to utilize the kayak & paddle for maximum control & leverage, capsizing protocol, etc. Not only was his introduction animated & enthusiastic, he made everyone feel comfortable & welcome throughout our trip. We paddled to Paddy McGee's (a waterside restaurant in Island Park), & had a wonderful lunch - along with a much-deserved drink - which made the short paddle back to the Long Beach Boat Ramp/Marina a breeze! SO MUCH FUN! I can't wait to do it again!

Had an awesome few days sailing with Steve! I hadn't sailed…read morein 20 years and signed up for the 101 class with a buddy to get back into the sport. The class size was small (just 3 students) and Steve made sure to tailor the class to our various experience levels and everyone had a great time and learned a ton. Steve is super knowledgeable about all things sailing and is a great teacher. Looking forward to taking another class with New York Sailing Center in the future!

My wife and I recently went on a BVI trip with Steve. The trip was amazing, one of the best trips…read moreI've ever done. It's like a whole other world that most people don't know about, being able to get a boat and just sail around to different "hidden" islands with almost no other people on them (at least at the time of year when we went). It's like a membership to a secret club. Learning the skills and tips and tricks on how to do it right (food planning, navigating, sailing, anchoring, mooring, docking, taking the dingy to port, etc.) was great, allowing my wife and I to start feeling more confident in doing it all on our own in the future. Seems like an amazing thing to be able to do more of throughout our lives. Before the BVI trip my wife and I had already completed the ASA 101 course with Steve and we both had learned a lot, which we further developed and gained experience with during the BVI trip. I've already started doing research on more advanced cruising locations that we could potentially try in the future after we do the BVIs once or twice more. Highly, highly recommended.

best spot in NY to lean kitesurfing. the staff is great.read more

Amazing instructors and really great experience. They take you out on the great South Bay with a…read moregroup of all levels. Beautiful boat ride and perfect scene. Excellent place to learn and/or touch up on your skills. Highly recommend kite center.

This review is for the Plumb Beach location and the instructors names are Nina, Olga and Natasha. I…read morehave taken 7 lessons so far over the course of two months. Warning, kiteboarding is addicting. I have tried to get kiteboarding instructions with other (lol..companies) previously either while on vacation or while living abroad to no avail. One time in Hong Kong I showed up and there was no wind. I was still charged. The other two times while in Bali and while in Maui. Either they didn't answer my phone calls or they flaked out. I have literally called them and asked, "Don't you like making money? Aren't you a business?" I bring this up because for some reason unbeknownst to me, it is very difficult to find a reliable, qualified, motivated, and (dare I require) passionate instructor in this sport. So, you can imagine how surprised and elated I was when I found three great instructors. My initial and primary instructor is Nina, but they always come together and I have seen the other two doing tricks and coaching other riders. They also ride by and grab your board when it floats away or they will give you pointers whenever they are in ear shot distance. They are really nice and really know how to kite. What my experience has taught me/ why I still take lessons. - Kiteboarding is completely dependent on wind and weather conditions, So, planning ahead is almost impossible. To help with this reality, I give Nina my available days and she txts me the day before or sometimes day of to meet on the beach. - A simple google search will tell you just how expensive this sport can be. The harness, the bar with lines, the board, the kites; They all cost a lot of money. Never mind the fact that you need multiple kites and boards for different wind conditions. Nina brings all this! The only thing you need to bring is a wet suit and some booties. - The kiteboarding community as a whole is really inviting, helpful and the kiters come from a very wide range of professions and cultures. They seem to have a respect for the other kiters who are just learning and are generally polite. I have fallen in love with the sport and the types of people who practice it. I mention this, again because I cant say the same for golf, tennis, surfing, wake boarding, or skiing. It's hit or miss with those. -The instruction is top notch. I have nothing to compare it to...but I'm riding...so, I'm happy. - Finally, Nina and her crew did the little things that made me learn faster and more importantly enjoyed my time while learning. The first day I forgot water, they brought some. The second time I forgot my wet suit, somehow they had one for me. And on several occasions I was helped by Natasha and Olga who were not even my instructors. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW -Be patient -Buy surfer booties, specifically those types. Not the cheap water shoes you see in stores. They get filled with shells and sand and it sucks -You are strapped to a thin board and harnessed to a powerful kite. You will attempt to hydroplane on an uneven surface (waves, swells) while controlling lol...this giant kite. It sounds crazy and in many ways it is. The reality is you will fall on your face and get dragged through the water over and over. You have to get back up and try again.... -Eventually you will learn. Like riding a bike. **********RANTS************* --This is a highly niche, very technical sport. You want fun without thought, go ride a roller-coaster. --A LOT CAN GO WRONG. You want safe, go play video games. --For some reason, there aren't a lot of instructors, it's really hard to teach. Education is expensive. For these reasons it's expensive. If you want a cheap sport,....go play basketball. Lawyers are more expensive per hour than hiring an instructor for this sport and I can name 20 of them I know personally. Name some kite boarders. Exactly. It's relatively expensive to other sport lessons, but most sports are boring as hell compared to this. The closest one I have done with many hours is wakeboarding and you need a boat. It has to come back to get you when you fall. It's exhausting. Thats life. You want to learn something really awesome, it costs money. Honestly, I would pay twice as much to learn what I can do now. In closing, it's really fun. It's seasonal. It's worth it.

Total ripoff that left me with a bitter taste. After an…read moreOK-ish lesson (they don't have jetskis or any other motorized equipment - neither on land nor water - so you'll spend quite some time walking with your kite), I ended up having to bargain for an hour about the price... they were actually trying to charge me more hours than the total time that we had spend together. I ended up paying the $200/hr rate for every single minute spend with the instructor, be it me carrying the gear on the way to the spot or waiting on the parking lot... Hopefully my mistake will save you some time... and money.

It's the season of sunny skies and warmer weather. I am finally ready to leave the comfort of my…read morebed and go somewhere fun. Amongst my many hobbies, one that I've missed the most is boating. I had the best time rowing my kayak in the Downtown Boathouse. LISTEN UP! Make sure you get there early, as lines can get super long. I got there with my friend at 2:30PM and got into the water at 3:20PM. We were one of the last groups to get into the water because the volunteers had to leave for the day. We were allowed into the water for only 20 minutes at a time. The water was a bit rough and WILL seep into the kayak, so I recommend bringing a change of clothes and/or a protective phone case. There are other locations in the city offering free kayaking, but you must check out their respective webpages. Downtown Boathouse at Pier 26 Weekends 10 AM - 4:30 PM, Tues/Thurs 5:30 PM-7 PM

Quality, value, and LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION! Always lots of different food choices and a good…read moreselection of local beers!