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Testimonials

Hi Ron and Doris,  Thank you for including me in your invitation to join you at the celebration of theAdvantage Boating’s 30th Anniversary. I’d like to congratulate you, your family and your collaborators for this amazing milestone.

I also wish to thank the school, and yourself in particular, for having provided me with twenty eight years of unique enjoyment and fulfillment. As you may remember I got my first on board lesson from you in April 1995. I also got my intermediate that same year, sailing also with you off Kingston. Since then, during those twenty eight years, I have sailed in two oceans, in the Caribbean, cruised to Bermuda, to the Bahamas, sailed the Florida Keys, the Grenadines, circumnavigated Vancouver Island, got as far as becoming an offshore instructor with the Sail Canada and ASA. I’ve sailed many times along the north shore of lake Ontario where I also taught many basic and intermediate cruising courses, got to know the BVI’s better than the palm of my hand, also by teaching there many basic and intermediate courses, I also participated in clinics for newer instructors in Toronto. More recently, in the last decade, I sailed week-long cruises in Lake Huron, the Northern Channel and explored the entire shore of the magnificent Georgian Bay. My life would have been much less enriched if I had not called the school in March 1995.
Here is to you Ron, for another 30 years, may be even more…!
~J. Campione, April 2023
Hi Doris & Kelly, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks for an amazing 4 days of learning. I am truly excited about discovering and learning more about sailing! My only regret is that I didn’t start this sooner. 🙂 Kelly, you embodied the ideal that I had imagined in a sailing instructor. Every word you spoke was purposeful and informative, and you constantly made me think with thoughtful questions that reinforced the theory and tied it into our hands-on experience. The structure of the course was easy to follow, and I truly appreciated the briefings, debriefings and open-ended Q&As. Above all else, you truly instilled the awesome responsibility and sense of teamwork that comes with being a skipper (and crew!). Your confidence at the helm is undeniable, as proven during our harrowing few minutes during the squall, and that empowered us newbies to practice and hone our skills under your watchful eye. I hope you enjoy teaching half as much as I enjoyed learning from you, and that you stick with it as you’ll undoubtedly help mould and mentor many competent, confident and humble sailors.  Warmest regards and happy sailing!
~J. Conrad, September 2022
Hello Advantage Boating.  I just thought I’d drop you a quick note thanking you for putting on such a great Basic Cruising course.  My wife Kim and I just finished yesterday and it was the best weekend that I can remember in years.  Mike Thompson was a fantastic instructor and is a real credit to your school and the NSC.  He taught us as much as we could learn in 4 days and really put the sailing bug into us.
~C & K. Robidoux, July 2022
Hello Doris, I just wanted to convey a quick not that I had a great time with the Basic Sailing Course and my instructor Kelly Barr.  Kelly was a sperb instructor and I look forward to being bak next year for my Intermediate Cruising!
~L. O’Brien, July 2022

Stan, I would feel remiss if I did not send a more personal note of thanks for your incredible tutelage. I went into this weekend hoping to gain knowledge to be comfortable enough on a sailboat to somewhat help out if needed. You have inspired me and opened my eyes to a love for learning more about sailing. You had the patience for repeated questions and knew exactly how to answer them … tweaking your answers each time to accommodate in hopes that one word could change my understanding (which often it did)! You commented once that at times you felt a bit like a drill sergeant … I would dispute the reference and refer to your style more as calm, organized, guidance. Don’t think I didn’t notice the quiet subtle words of encouragement you gave each of us throughout the 3 days. You expected me (us) to succeed and this motivated me to keep trying until I did. You set the bar high and I learned more than I thought I could. You believed in each of us individually and instructed us as such providing kind, clear, thorough, caring, leadership along the way. You are an exceptional instructor and I am blessed that you were at the helm of our crew’s instructional journey.

For your many adventures ahead may you have fair winds and following seas.

~R. Mack, Ottawa, Aug 2021

The best, best, best! Sailed with Nick, Doris and Captain Ron. Very professional and fun!
~D. Trepanier, Ottawa, July 2021

Hi Doris & Ron, We had a great time on the water this weekend. Mike was an excellent instructor. He was always calm and patient (on an even keel, so to speak). He repeated his instructions, making sure we understood. He was very good at listening to our concerns and questions. We went through the various lesson points several times and Mike was happy to let us continue practicing until we not only “passed” the afloat skill but were comfortable executing them. Thanks to Mike, we learned a lot this weekend, but more than that, we had a lot of fun.  Even on Sunday morning in the steady rain.Heather and I are looking forward to getting our ashore skills certification and joining the Sail Share program for the rest of the season. Thanks.
~ Chris & Heather, Ottawa, Aug 2021

Just wanted to say how impressed I am with the way you have safely adjusted to the realities of 2020. The creativity that you have shown is wonderful. AB is a top notch school being run by 2 very impressive people. Thank you Ron and Doris for the work you do to promote a safe and fun sport and lifestyle.Just wanted to say how impressed I am with the way you have safely adjusted to the realities of 2020. The creativity that you have shown is wonderful. AB is a top notch school being run by 2 very impressive people. Thank you Ron and Doris for the work you do to promote a safe and fun sport and lifestyle.
~G. Davies, Ottawa, December 2020

I just spent four days on a course sailing with Nicholas. Any student would be very fortunate to have Nicholas as their instructor. He is very patient and a has a wealth of knowledge. I could not have had a better instructor.That was most certainly the best four days I’ve spent sailing. I learned so much from Nicholas and am very grateful for having the opportunity to learn from him.
~Byron Boucher, Ottawa, September 2020

We want to thank you for a really brilliant introduction to sailing and providing us with much needed relief from COVID-19 which has dominated all our lives in 2020. While both of us had some experience of sailing many years ago, we embraced the Basic Cruising Course. With Sarah as our very able instructor we made it through the afloat parts, followed by the exam. Through her enthusiasm, she has instilled a love of sailing in us that we hope will last for years to come. We are now enjoying being able to put this all into practice with your Sail Share program. Thank you all so much.
~D. Cumming & P. Napke, Ottawa, September 2020

I highly recommend this school and the course of Basic Cruising. I was very lucky to have a very good instructor – Rob. In 2 days of sailing I got a lot of experience and knowledge but what is more important – a right way of thinking. It is very necessary in Sailing to think first, to be prepared, to know exactly what you are going to do. I trained on Tanzer 22 – very nice boat, in good condition, everything was in place and ready. If you want to learn how to sail – this is the best place to go in Ottawa.
~A. Kazak, Ottawa, September 2020

I am writing to thank Advantage Boating and Doris Parolin for the high quality of instruction given to me and my family in 2020.  I, and three other members of my family, took the Basic Cruising course this year. My wife and I trained with Raymond Gouin. Our kids trained with Adam Parolin. We then signed-up for the Sail Share program to gain experience while we looked for a boat of our own. To no one’s surprise, the C&C 30 we bought turned out to be harder to handle than the smaller boats we had trained on. After an embarrassing docking attempt (where we ended up perpendicular to the finger and occupying two mooring spots) my family lost confidence in our ability to handle this boat. This prompted my call to Doris for more training in Docking 101.  Doris was more than happy to help.  She spent a full morning on our boat teaching us the finer points of docking and casting off.  All four of us had the opportunity to learn how to perform docking and slipping maneuvers safely and confidently.  While none of us are ready to single-hand this boat we are confident that as a team we can get in and out of the slip safely. Thank-you Advantage Boating, Raymond, and Adam for the high quality of the training provided during our Basic Cruising Course. A special thank-you to Doris for her calm teaching demeanour and immensely helpful advice and guidance to four fledgling sailors.
~Kelly Barr, Ottawa, August  2020

I would like to thank Ron, Doris and the amazing Advantage Boating team for introducing me to the world of sailing. The well designed basic cruising course followed by the sail share plan allowed me to gain solid afloat skills in no time. Through sail share I met wonderful people ,  who also got hooked to the power of the wind like me. I would definitely recommend other people to register for this life changing experience with AB.
~Udi Nir, Ottawa, January 2020

I just wanted to send you a note about Camden who was the instructor for the Basic Cruising course. When someone does an exceptional job I like to let their employers know. I was incredibly impressed by his teaching style, his ability to calmly handle any situation and his ability to teach the variety of skill and age levels that were on the course. I have several years (maybe even decades) of instructing and training adults and it is a valuable skill that Camden has.  The course was fantastic and I will be signing up for more courses in about a month when I return from travelling.
~T. Hofmann, Ottawa

The Grenadines flotilla was superb – definitely one of the best planned and executed flotillas we’ve ever experienced.  It was just great to sail with the enthusiastic and talented crew we were privileged to have on Fleming.  They all worked together as a team and that made it a really enjoyable experience.  Thanks for selecting such a compatible crew for us!
~E. Toman, Ottawa

The courses offered through Advantage Boating have been the difference between sailing and sailing with skill.
~C. Marks, Ottawa

There are two things that any sailing course should deliver:  the first is a realistic confidence in your skills upon graduation; second is fun! Quite simply, Advantage Boating excels at both.
~K. MacDonald, Ottawa

I loved my short time spent at the school.  Everyone was amazing and helpful and I wish I lived in Ottawa to be able to take more classes.  I had a blast.
~W. Kanek, Winnipeg

From providing outstanding instructors to instilling an enthusiastic love for sailing, Advantage Boating nurtured my confidence and skills with an awesome group of instructors and boating opportunities.
~K. Curan, Manotick

Joining Sail Share was a fantastic experience. We sailed all season long and benefited tremendously from our fellow Sail Share members’ expertise. Racing was also an excellent way for us to perfect our skills and acquire new ones. Not to mention we made a lot of friends and had a blast!
~L.Keryluk, Ottawa

Our instructor was a natural teacher who brings an incredible amount of passion and knowledge to the course.
~N. Taylor, Ottawa

I recommend Advantage Boating to all my friends. Seriously, I do… if someone asks me about sailing or chartering a boat down south I tell them to call Advantage Boating.
~J. Holliday, Ottawa

With respect to Advantage Boating as an organization, I found it to be well-organized, well-run and attentive to the needs of its sailing students. The staff was at all times professional and accommodating.
~M. Young, Ottawa

Thank you Doris and Advantage Boating for making our “Intro to Sail” sailing day and my parents’ 40th anniversary a memorable day!
~ D. Michaud and family, Ottawa

Everyone’s experience helped us build new, precious and close friendships. We are convinced that Advantage Boating and BYC have everything needed for anyone who wishes to sail. We cherish the gift of sailing and we thank everyone for the strength and knowledge received in this wonderful adventure. These people are truly oriented toward learning and improving their sailing students. We now have our boat and aim to reach offshore level for our retirement plan.
~ G. Grimard & M. Germain, Ottawa

Thank you Advantage Boating for providing me with a wealth of theory and practical knowledge, but more importantly, for providing me with the confidence to sail safely.
~ G. Ward, Nepean

I found my sailing lessons at Advantage Boating to be one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. Sailing is a passion with me now and I owe most of that to the wonderful people I met through the school.
~ H. Ray, Ottawa

We would highly recommend Advantage Boating courses to anyone wanting to learn how to sail. We acquired a wealth of knowledge and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in the process.
~ D. Petrmichl, Nepean

Our Instructor demonstrated great leadership, a good nature, lots of patience and a great sense of humour, qualities that made the course relaxing.
~ D. Cole, Ottawa

I would like to thank you, Greg Pilsworth, for being our instructor. I very much appreciated your approach to teaching and your patience with us given a broad scope of new knowledge and vocabulary.  I was impressed with your adaptability in using various teaching styles to help us all better understand.  Equally impressive was your sensitivity to our individual learning requirements.  You are a highly experienced and great instructor.   
~D. Cummings, Ottawa

Bert is a great instructor…laid back, informative, doesn’t make you feel pressured and in fact makes you much more comfortable going into the exam when you don’t like exams….
~ B. Rotar, Ottawa

We are very grateful for the excellent Sail Canada training we have received from Advantage Boating including the Basic Cruising, the Intermediate Cruising, and Coastal Navigation Standards. As we are not boat owners and sildenafil citrate, we are also grateful for their Sail Share program which has allowed us to put our keelboat training into practice and improve our skills on a variety of boats.  Together these learning opportunities have helped transform us from dinghy sailors to competent keelboat sailors – ready and excited to join the Advantage Boating 25th Anniversary BVI Flotilla in February 2017 with David as the bareboat Skipper of a 42′ sailboat.
~ D. Gardner & P. Rasmussen, Ottawa

Thank you Doris and Advantage Boating for making my parents’ 40th Anniversary a memorable day. With my father at the helm (1st time in many years) and my brother and I helping with sails, we enjoyed a gorgeous late September afternoon on the water. For the benefit of everyone onboard, Doris went over some general sailing knowledge and taught us some basic sailing skills.  She exhibited great patience and skill to make our day on the water as comfortable and safe as possible.  My mother, who isn’t always at ease on a sailboat, was immediately comforted by Doris’ command in handling the ship.  To add to the fun, Doris regaled us with several of her sailing adventures, keeping us entertained for the entire day.  She is a joy to sail with.
~ D. Michaud and family, Ottawa

Robert and I want to thank Doris and Ron for a great introduction to cruising.  The BVIs are so beautiful, and swimming in that clear turquoise water was a real treat.  Well planned, well executed, it was a terrific vactaion.  We are definitely hooked.
~S. McKellips and R. Madill, Ottawa

I really enjoyed my online Coastal Navigation course.  I thought your material was extremely well put together and that it illustrated each of the performance objectives both clearly and appropriately.  Although my preference would be for an in-class approach, the quality of your online offering was such that I would not hesitate to recommend it to others.  Very well done.    
~D. Cummings, Ottawa