"On behalf of the crew, I thank Cliff Chelist (our Captain) for the great instruction, the many stories, and the loads of fun we had during class and on his boat. I also want to thank Chris Parsonage and the St. Louis Sailing Center for offering the class and providing the classroom. It was a pleasure to meet, learn, and work with you all. I look forward to seeing all of you in the future. Happy sailing." James E.

"Cliff - You are a great instructor. Thanks for getting us excited! Chris, best of luck with the Sailing Center. We look forward to doing business with you for many years to come. Mike & Harry, thanks for all your hard work. You are a great crew. You made our day fun and we felt confident with everything you did." Gary and Lila L.

"I am in the process of moving to the Springfield, MO area and I just wanted to send you an email to thank you for all of the help you have been to me for numerous years. I have purchased two boats from you and many supplies, but most importantly, the personal touch that everyone has offered, selflessly, taking time to answer questions, has been greatly appreciated." Ken H.

"Recently Debra and I went to Lake Carlyle, IL to take the ASA Basic Keelboat course. This was our Valentines' Day present to one another set up for June 13,14,15th. This is something we have wanted to do for a long time. What we expected was a weekend of daysails while learning nautical terminology. What we got was an intense, physically demanding, and mentally challenging 3 days of pure sailing bliss!
We wanted to take lessons from a certified instructor. Our reasons varied from wanting to break bad habits to building self-confidence to being able to rent a sailboat when we travel. Plus we wanted to have FUN most of all. Our instructor was Jim Antonacci from St. Louis, MO. Classes started at 9am and ended 4-6pm; we brought sack lunches. Each day we would study some out of the book and then hit the lake for sailing, sailing, and more sailing. Which brings me to a few points:1) STUDY your book well cover-to-cover 2) Bring your own PFD 3) You will need gloves 4) Sunscreen 5) Bottle of water. At times we all got a little cranky from too many drills. Just how many jibes does one have to do? Enough to please the instructor, get pissed-off, and be very good at doing them.
Third, what we recieved for our three days at Carlyle was priceless! The class was truly beyond our expectations. We have confidence that we can crew or captain a sailboat of modest size(Hunter 25) and even dock it under sail. We learned terminology, knots, commands, procedures, and etiquette. We are not the best sailors in the world but we are on our way. For around $500 you and your significant other can get the experience of a lifetime, gain self-confidence, and have a total blast in the process." - David W.