Very helpful and friendly staff. People are always watching if your in trouble and in general is very safe and beautiful. read more

Northwestern University Sailing Center - Paddleboarding Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Great place to sail, windsurf, kayak, and BBQ. The NU sailing center offers many sailing and windsurfing instruction courses that are friendly and a lot of fun. The staff is solid as well. I've sailed for many years and got my start here in the month sailing class. Now I sail competitively and teach sailing at the center! There are a number of boats (420s, Hobies, Lasers, Vago, Bug, etc) and plenty of windsurfers. You can't beat this place on a windy summer day! read more

Northwestern University Sailing Center - Main sail - Paddleboarding Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

This is a great place to learn small boat sailing. First, the price is reasonable - and price includes UNLIMITED sailing when you are taking the class. Second - this beach is a lot cleaner than places in downtown Chicago. Instruction is very good. The summer I took class here was probably the most idyllic time I ever had. Only downside is that for me, it's far. I do miss it. read more

Northwestern University Sailing Center - Paddleboarding Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Disorganized. Website is not updated, phone calls are not answered, so if you drive far, you might drive for nothing. Management is rude, says they are understaffed. Great example of how not to run a business! read more

Northwestern University Sailing Center - Parking garage view. - Paddleboarding Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Adult Sailing Class Review I just completed their four week adult sailing class and found it to be very enjoyable. Each of the classes cover basics and then (except for the first one) everyone participates in rigging boats and then it is time to go sailing to work on skills until the class ends. Mostly you sail a 420 (it is 420 cm long), which is a sailboat for two (or sometimes three) people. The in later classes you sail a laser, which is a boat for one person as well as some sailing on 3 and 5 person boats. With the class you get one month membership which allows you to use 420s and laser sailboats anytime the center is open and weather permits and the boats are available (i.e., when not in use and not reserved for a member or a class). The membership starts the day you learn how to upright a capsized 420. I recommend that at the first class you seek out potential sailing partners for sailing outside of classtime. The more sailing you do out of class using the one month membership, the better you will be. Sailing with friends is also allowed. I used the membership a lot! I was able to attend all eight scheduled classes, as weather was good enough to do so. If a class falls on a day that the weather is unsuitable for sailing (no wind or too-rough conditions or lightning in the radar area) they have the right to cancel up to two such classes without offering makeup classes. It is clear from my experience that the teachers and staff are friendly, competent and interested in being helpful. I highly recommend that you get a good book or two on sailing to read and refer to as you are learning. The class's emphasis (good!) is on getting you hands-on experience rigging your boat and getting you out on the water with basic sailing knowledge. You will want to supplement that with the knowledge you can get from a book or two so you have more depth. Happy sailing! read more

This the best value you can get to learn to sail! I looked on line but couldn't find a better place that gave this much instruction for a price between $200 - $300. I took a sailing class here last month where we met for 2 and half hours, twice a week for 4 weeks. We have had 1-2 days which were cancelled b/c of a lack of winds. Other days were light or slightly stronger winds. Ideally each class would have progressively stronger winds, but of course Man does not control the weather. First day is all classroom instruction. You get learn the names of parts of the boat, equipment, and sailing language. Then each day you'll get some classroom instruction for about 15-30 min before going out in the water for the rest of time. By the 3 week of class you'll learn how to rig and de-rig a boat pretty well. And by the end of 4 weeks, you'll have no problem rigging and de-rigging. It's a lot a first, but everyone can do it. The lessons come with 1 month membership so you can come practice your sailing. I highly recommend you do that so that you get better at it. I didn't come to the boathouse very often during days between classes, but after we learned the Lasers, I'd come as often as I can and then i had an epiphany on how sailing worked. Too bad it didn't happen to me during the 4 weeks of class. Folks at the boat house are really friendly! My instructor, Peter, was brillant! Yes, many staffed at the boat house are in their 20s, but don't be mislead by their age. All them have extensive sailing experience. My instructor was incredibly engaging and great teacher! So there you have it! Just b/c it's the Northwestern Univ Sailing center doesn't mean it's restricted to the students or staff there. Their lessons and memberships are open to the public. Just like with learning and new hobby, it takes practices. You can't learn in 3 hours. I know there are places that offer lessons, but only for 3 hours and for a couple hundred dollars. Don't buy into it b/c quite frankly you can't learn sailing in 3 hours. read more

great place to learn to sail (or brush up on long forgotten skills) - they have a really comprehensive program that will give you a fantastic introduction to the sport. The boats are beach launched so make sure you take a class that runs late summer (August would be best since the water will be warmer) - you will get wet, it's pretty much a guarantee ... but that's also half the fun. They use 420's and Lasers (dingy sailing) which is a really good format to learn the fundamentals in. The staff is very knowledgeable and a lot of fun. They also have kayaking and windsurfing. read more

Perfect Evanston location and the best view of downtown on the north shore. Classes are inexpensive, well managed, and hands on. Students spend ample time on the water getting practical experience plus a membership is included in the price to enjoy the lake and practice outside of class. Experienced sailors and windsurfers can purchase unlimited season memberships. Hobie, kayak, and stand up paddle boards available for rent by the hour. Friendly, laid back staff create a perfect lakeside experience. Open to Northwestern students, affiliates, and the public. They also offer kids sailing and windsurfing camps! read more

This is a clean facility. The staff is helpful and friendly. Thanks to the friendly, positive attitude of the staff I will be back.

Just got done with an intro sailing class here. We sailed 420's for three weeks, then finished out on a mix of lasers and back on the 420's. Fortunately the weather was cooperative every weekend we had classes with the last weekend being fairly windy. The class style is definitely trial by fire with the first class being some "classroom" time and the next class being out on the water sailing a simple course in the 2-person boats. You also get a free membership to the center for the month you're taking the class which many took advantage of to hone their skills (which I should have done.) Coming out of the class, I feel like I know the basics but like anything you really need to practice to become proficient in various wind conditions. If you're a bit older (i.e. older than 30) don't get turned off by the 23 year olds teaching class and the other still in college instructors. They may seem a bit laid back, but they absolutely know what they're doing and always have an eye on you. Would definitely do it again and wished they had a "Level II" class to continue on to. read more

This is probably the cheapest sailing school in the area, and price matches the service. You are sailing on your own, without any help from instructor. You are given 10 minutes guidelines at the beginning of the each class an from then you are on your own. Why bother even paying for the instructions. We were guaranteed to have 7 out of 8 classes, but we ended having only 6, due to the weather. Nobody in the school even bothered to offer us make-up class. Stay away from this place, it is a waste of money. read more

Waited 1 hr for kayaks after staff told us it would be 15 minutes. Did not get kayaks even after an hour, so we left. Operation seemed disorganized. We saw several extra kayaks on the beach. Several groups came in after us but got kayaks. Certainly some of these people had reservations for kayaks or were on the kayak wait list. But probably not the guy who inquired about using various boats/boards for him and his kids before settling on getting a kayak. Next time we'll try Dempster. read more

Greatest staff ever! Beautiful facility. I rented a Hobie here and after being cleared to go they quickly rigged it an we were on our way. Super relaxed beach to hang out on afterwards. We will defiantly go back! read more