Piers Park Sailing Center

Nice little sailing club. Mostly staffed by kids. A variety of boats. Generally very acommodating. Their students show the mark of excellent seamanship. A must check-​out for local sailors.

Had a Groupon for the 2 hr sail and used it on Monday for a terrific 2 hrs on the Harbor. Despite the prior reviews about difficulty getting somebody to answer the phone, I did not run into that problem at all. Gray answered right away when I called on Friday, and quickly booked me for Monday afternoon. Rob was a great instructor and I had plenty of time handling both the Tiller and the Jib sail. Couldn’t have been more pleased with the experience. Great operation with a nice fleet of 420’s.

My review is nothing to do with the sailing. It has everything to do with the rude staff members. I am surprised that basic manners such as please and thank you and simple common curtesy is not a part of the business plan. The sailing is wonderful once you get past the rude staff.

Bought 2 Living Social vouchers for the 2-​hour Intro to Sailing lesson and it was awesome.
Do not get discouraged if they are entirely unresponsive to your emails and voicemail messages trying to set up a reservation. Gray, the head instructor and apparently only person that can take lesson reservations, was on vacation the week I was trying to book. And it seems the rest of the place is a bunch of laid back kids on their summer job (and what a summer job it must be!). So it took at least one call every day of the week to finally get a hold of someone that could take my reservation. Jack — one of the instructors — finally answered the phone on Friday and was able to squeeze us into a lesson at noon on Saturday.
Getting to Piers Park is interesting since you have to take 93 to the Airport exit. I took my wife on a surprise date and didn’t tell her what we were doing and she was totally confused as we headed to East Boston! You can also take the Blue Line to Maverick I believe, but coming from Somerville that wasn’t really an option.
There is tons of street parking around Piers Park so no worries there.
On arrival, we met Jack, our 21 year old instructor from Ireland in Boston for the summer, and he immediately had us throw on life jackets and get underway. We had our lesson with two other girls and it was great having such a small group lesson. We jumped on the boat, Jack had us hoist the mainsail, mount the jib, and we were off. Once Jack got us into open water (well, the harbor anyway), he let us each take the helm and operate the till, practice tacking, and work the jibsheet. He worked the mainsheet the entire time (which I’m glad he did because it looked a little more advanced). You can tell Jack was a great instructor since I had never been sailing before and I can now use all the proper terminology (at least I hope I’m using the proper terminology!).
We were out in the harbor on a beautiful day for 2 hours, sailing around and having some laughs. We really went all around the harbor too — toward the World Trade Center, down toward Faneuil Hall, around by Charlestown and the USS Constitution, and then back to Piers Park.
It was so much fun, I am honestly considering doing the certification course.

So much fun!
We bought a Groupon for the Intro to Sailing lesson. They were a bit hard to reach at first (they never answer their phones), but once we were in touch, everyone we spoke to was professional and helpful. They were very understanding of our schedules and were flexible with rescheduling — we handled pretty much everything via email.
The sailing lesson itself was two hours long and included all the basic knowledge about how to operate a sail boat. Matt, our very young, but seasoned instructor, tailored the lesson to our skill level, and was very knowledgeable about everything related to the Boston Harbor. It was basically an interactive tour of the Boston Harbor.
Intro to Sailing is really an all-​levels lesson, and a fun activity for all ages!

Took the Introduction To Sailing course yesterday (instructor was Gray). I had a great time and hope to go back to learn some more when I’m back in the area later in the summer. Gray was very easy going and helpful.

I had a Unilocal deal for a sailing lesson, so this is a review of that — I can’t speak for being an actual member, but the lesson I had was top-​notch.
Piers Park, where this place is situated, is a fantastic park on its own. It’s a few minutes’ walk from the Maverick stop on the blue line, and is a very new and well-​kept park with a world-​class view of the financial district. Sailing out of here is very cool.
Our boat was 4 students and the instructor. Our instructor, despite being far younger than the youngest student, was extremely well-​qualified and knowledgeable. Everyone was able to get involved — the two sitting toward the front of the boat had the task of managing the ropes that change the sail’s orientation. We were also all able to take the rudder and steer.
Great scenery and a non-​pretentious atmosphere mean that if I ever get the itch to sail again I’ll be doing it with these folks.

Piers Park Sailing Center is what a sailing center should be — convenient, casual, beautiful and just a whole lot of fun. As a landlubber I was totally freaked out about sailing in the harbor. But I took an ‘Intro to Sailing’ class last summer and ended up graduating with the ability to maneuver a boat on my own through the harbor. It was awesome!
It is the most amazing view of the City and it is T accessible. This is the best place to learn to sail in Boston!

Piers Park Sailing Center is possibly the best-​kept secret in Boston boating. Forget any stereotypes you have about sailors wearing blue blazers, hanging out at exclusive yacht clubs and drinking expensive cocktails — PPSC is a non-​profit organization dedicated to getting the teeming masses out onto the water. After paying a yearly fee, members (and up to 4 shipmates) can use one of the club’s ten boats just about any time during daylight hours from May to October. In several years as a club member, I’ve never had a problem getting a boat any time I wanted one. PPSC also offers lessons for aspiring captains, and a Friday-​night racing series. All in all, a PPSC membership is your low-​cost key to explore the watery expanses of Boston Harbor and its many islands.