Bodega Bay Sailing

Great day, great itinerary, great skipper!
The three hours seemed to fly by and we could not have had a better time.

We had an excellent time sailing with Rich today in beautiful Bodega Bay. We got to escape the heat of the East Bay and enjoy some sunshine and cooler temps. Rich had excellent communication via email and was there early waiting for us. We appreciated how safety oriented he was with our 5 and almost 10 year old boys and he dealt very well with them. My poor husband got sea sick so Rich adjusted our sailing to smoother waters to help him out and added some fun site seeing closer in where the waters were calmer. We had a great, relaxing time. Thanks Rich!

Unfortunately he let us down with bad communication. Basically we emailed and called him around Oct 2014 to see what his schedule look like, he responded in March 2015 (5 months later) no big deal, at least he responded.
I ask if he’s open on the weekend of the 16^th, either Saturday or Sunday, he said it was and I tell him either works but how about Saturday? He responded the next day with or confirmation for Sunday May 17^th at 11am. Again no big deal, I can plan around it and we’re months away from the actual trip.
Here is when things start getting bad: We show up on Sunday May 17^th at 11am, exactly like the last email I got from him said to do. We call him and he states that he was waiting for us on Saturday and was surprised when no one showed up and that he wasn’t available on Sunday! Now normally, I’m very laid back about these type of mis-​haps, they happens, businesses mess up, it’s not a big deal. But Rich refused to apologize and said it was my problem. I forwarded him the last email and he forwards an email prior to confirmation of dates where I ask «11am on Saturday?». Anyhow, I’m avoiding Rich, in general he didn’t have a good attitude in a issue like this and should have just said, «my mistake, let’s reschedule» or at the very least called us on the Saturday he expected us to show up.
If you look at my reviews, you’ll note that I write mostly 5 star reviews, I’m very easy going and I’m definitely not a guy who makes a big deal of everything so this is especially sad to see.

Rich from Bodega Bay Sailing is the worst person I have ever dealt with. He ruined my birthday and didn’t show up for the appointment. We drove 3 hours from San Jose to go on this trip and when we arrived he wasn’t here! I called him and he argued with me saying that the appointment was the day before when we clearly have an email confirming Sunday May 17^th.
Don’t come here, don’t trust him, find a better place.
I wish I could give negative stars.

We had a fantastic time out on the bay with Rich. His knowledge of the area and expertise in sailing combined with care and concern for the desires of his passengers makes for a fantastic voyage. He was able to accommodate both the needs of my parents (in their 70s) and still show us a bit of adventure. :) We talked of sailing up and down the coast, the Sea of Cortez, and adventures with little ones while sailing. He can adjust your trip to accommodate whatever you wish to know about sailing, fishing, local life, flora and fauna, and his adventures as a park ranger.
We happened to see a sea otter on our trip — the first one spotted in the area in MANY years. Lots of seals, sea lions, and bird life along with both commercial and personal fishing.
Highly recommended!

For Christmas I bought a Groupon to go sailing with my parents and sister which we finally used in June. There were no hassles in reserving a time to go sailing with Rich. The process was very easy and Rich was very timely in responding to my emails. We arrived at the marina at 9:30am and set out through the channel into the bay (we returned back at the dock about 3 hours later). He offered to let my family work the tiller, which my dad and sister certainly took advantage of. We returned a few hours later after an amazing day of sailing out on the bay. Rich recommended a few restaurants for my family to have lunch at, and we ended up taking him up on one of his suggestions. The food was great. It was an all-​around amazing morning and my family thoroughly enjoyed their Christmas present.

My lovely fiancé provided me with a wonderful gift on my birthday, and it was a nice, breezy sail out and about the Bodega Bay. It was a comfortably pleasant three hour excursion for people like myself, who just want to relax, and enjoy the simpleness of sailing. Now you add in a clear blue warm day, the curious barking of sea lions, the brief splash of whale tails, and the quick wit of Captain Rich — and you have a well spent time on the bay. We loved it so much, we intend to do this again.
And just a side note for Captain Rich — you should merchandise a few items from your business. We would have loved to buy a few Bodega Bay Sailing t-​shirts. Just a thought!

Went out with the in-​laws to cruise the bay. My mother-​in-​law hates boats and Rick was accommodating. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot about the bay. We would do it again!

Sailing with Rich was a delight: he is friendly, laid back, and knowledgeable. We were delivering on a promise made to my mother before she died so it was a happy/​sad occasion for us. We had feared we mostly would be motoring because the winds were forecast to be below 5mph, but once we cleared the lee of Bodega Head we had a lovely 10−15mph breeze with a gentle 8 – 10 foot swell from the NW, and so we ended up sailing for most of our 3 hours. Inside the bay the seas can be a bit confused because of wave reflection from the shore, but once you clear the reef things smooth out beautifully.
Between my wife and myself we have over 50 years of sailing experience — in the SF area, in Maine, and elsewhere — and I can tell you that Rich is a capable sailor with a sound boat that is appropriate for the area. It’s large enough to be able to deal with the local conditions, but not so large that he can’t single-​hand it. By the way, the dodger (the canopy that covers the front of the cabin and can block part of the forward view) is there because wind+sea can sometimes translate into spray into the cabin and onto the customers. On a boat going into open water I would have been concerned if he *didn’t* have a dodger.
Note: this is *not* Southern California sailing — it is a combination of somewhat-​sheltered bay sailing and open ocean sailing off the Sonoma Coast. The ocean swells you encounter probably last saw land in Japan. The weather can be warm-​and-​sunny or cold-​and-​overcast, the winds can be dead calm or blowing hard, and the water temperature is normally a toasty 52 – 58 degrees. You have to take Mother Nature as you find her on any given day.
So check your forecast, dress appropriately, watch what you eat before going out (always a good idea), and have a great time with a good skipper.

We went sailing with Captain Rich and another couple on Friday morning last week at 10 am and had a good time. The sailboat is pretty nice, although the view straight ahead in front of the sailboat is limited by a canopy, but we took turns standing in the cabin from time to time if we got tired of the view from either side. Our 3-​hour tour motored out of Bodega Bay past Doran Park, where Rich is a park ranger, then we set sail out into the ocean past Seal Rock, where we saw lots of sea lions and seals, and we also managed to wake up some sea lions who were sleeping on top of a buoy at the edge of the reef and started barking at us. We had seen lots of gray whales from Bodega Head two days before our trip, so we had hoped to see the whales up close; Rich tried his best to find some for us, but the waves were a bit choppy, making any surfacing whales less visible between the white water, so we didn’t see any unfortunately and sailed a bit closer to the coast with great views of the cliffs instead. So my suggestions are to try to go on as calm a day as possible when the water is most glassy during the whale migratory season. This will also help you out if you are prone to sea sickness at all; take a motion sickness tablet beforehand if you are. Of course, Rich told us that some brave souls actually bring their own alcohol and turn it into a party boat, but my stomach would not be strong enough for that. Also, make sure to wear warm clothes, as Bodega Bay is often windy and cold. Of course, Rich told us this beforehand, so we were well prepared. He also had some interesting stories about sailing, the local area, and where to go and what to do nearby. If you like sailing, give it a try!

I took my wife out to sail with Rich as a surprise a couple weeks ago. We had so much fun!!!
We arrived at the Marina a little early. Rich showed up right on time. We got on the boat and he gave a safety briefing. Very professional. After that, we headed out in to the bay. I was very interested in how the boat worked and rich was more than willing to let me steer and explain everything. He definitely seems like he can set up the tour to your liking.
We went past seal rock and saw a lot of seals and sea lions. Once further out we even saw a whale surface near the boat!
My wife and I had so much fun on this trip! We were inspired by the trip and went and got a small sailboat 2 weeks later!
I highly recommend this to someone who has never been on a sailboat before, or anyone who is looking for an adventurous afternoon!
Our experience with Bodega Bay Sailing was amazing!

I was looking for something special to do with my wife while we stayed at Bodega Bay for our anniversary. I found this business through Google and arranged a morning sailing trip on the phone with Rich. It was easy and I used paypal to pay the fee.
We met at the harbor on the day of the trip and he took us out on the bay. We sailed as far as we could to get to the open ocean and feel the wind and waves (that’s what I wanted to do). We got pretty close to a rock where sea lions and seals were relaxing, and with binoculars they seemed really close. It was a three hour excursion, but we lost track of time, talking about the area and about our lives, and stayed out an extra hour or two, which was perfect.
I did get a bit sick on the way back. I’ve never been seasick before, but I must have had something coming anyway, since I was sick for a couple of days. It’s too bad, but didn’t mar my experience in any way. If you’re prone to getting seasick, this is probably not the experience for you, because you can’t predict what the weather’s going to be like.
It’s a beautiful sailboat, fun to travel on, and Rich is entertaining. He did a bit of fishing while we were out, but didn’t catch anything. I imagine he’d be up for a fishing trip if you express interest.