Aventura Sailing Association

I can’t disagree with any of the previous reviews. We chartered KeRu for a day sail on Black Friday, so staff was understandably away with family and Thanksgiving activities, but we did get the assistance we needed and everyone was friendly and helpful. There were a few minor issues but being an owner of a charter boat myself, I understand how it goes, and the price was certainly reasonable enough to compensate. My son and his daughter are currently taking courses with Aventura, have been out a few times in recent weeks, and are happy. Sailors have to be resourceful, so don’t take anything for granted, do your own due diligence and a boat inspection the day before if possible and you’ll have a good experience. We did.

I took some classes here for sailing and had a membership here. After I canceled my membership, they continued to charge my card for 2 extra months. They’ve been telling me that they’d refund my card for months now but it hasn’t happened. This company will rob you and make empty promises in hopes of you going away.

We chartered the Beneteau 37 with Captain Craig Simon. The experience could not have been better. Captain Craig is so friendly and feels like a part of the group. He also is an excellent navigator and is able to answer any question about the water, boat, or California in general. He was able to spot Dolphins swimming and steered us over for a close look. This experience was worth every dollar. Hopefully you will get Captain Craig if you book with Aventura. Jacquelyn with Aventura was able to accommodate us on short notice and help us have a great time.

I’ve chartered twice from Aventura Sailing, for overnight trips to Catalina. Both times, the boats had significant maintenance issues. The second time, I met the crew of the boat that had just sailed the first boat we had chartered 6 months before. Some of the maintenance issues I had raised with Aventura still had not been fixed.
They seem like nice people. But the fundamental problem is that they rely on the boat owners to handle most of the maintenance. They don’t seem to coordinate with the owners; when we boarded we found at least one maintenance project still in progress (the galley sink). When I asked what equipment was in the galley, they said that they couldn’t tell me — the owners might remove pots, pans, or utensils at any time.
To be specific:
Here are the issues I reported to Aventura after sailing KeRu:
–The chartplotter screen display is too dim to use; at first we thought that it didn’t come on at all. If there is a way to adjust the screen brightness, you should cover it in the boat check-​out and boat manual.
–There’s no way to know if the radar is on, or to see the display. Maybe this will be fixed with making the chartplotter screen usable. But there’s no switch on the electrical panel marked Radar, either.
–One of the two screws that holds the top of the companionway ladder in place is missing. This a potentially dangerous problem, if the remaining screw gives way.
–The cockpit table pedestal isn’t very sturdy. It has a handhold, but if you grab it, it doesn’t feel very solid.
–The drawer in the galley under the companionway ladder has no latch. When the boat heels on a starboard tack, the drawer flies open and out of the cabinet completely.
–The tape marker on the steering wheel for the rudder center position is out of place.
–The only toilet paper on board was a partial roll in the forward head — nothing in the aft head.
–Both shower taps in the forward head give hot water
–The hot and cold taps in the aft shower are switched
–The clear panel in the bimini isn’t clear; the helmsman can’t see the masthead fly.
–The shower sump pumps don’t seem to work
–Water pressure in the galley sink is intermittent
–Your website description of KeRu has some discrepancies:
–There are no stern pulpit seats
–The GPS/​chartplotter/​radar aren’t currently usable (at least until the screen is visible)
–The refrigerator doesn’t work
–There is no inverter
Here are the issues with About Time:
— They did not fill the fuel tank before we left
— The mainsail roller furling line WAS NOT CONNECTED TO THE MAST OR MAINSAIL; there was no way to furl the mainsail until we managed to get the furling line threaded into the furler. Even then, one of the blocks through which the continuous loop furling line ran was in the wrong place, making it very difficult to bring the mainsail in.
— There was no nozzle on the galley sink; fortunately Aventura did repair this just before we left, but only because we boarded the night before and happened to run into their maintenance staff.
— The engine tachometer is flukey
A friend told me about his experience with Magnificent 7:
— None of the instruments at the helm work
— On a trip 2 weeks before, the motor failed and they had to be towed in
If you charter from Aventura, plan to spend a couple of hours checking every important system on the boat before you leave. And make sure you have a back-​up plan if you can’t raise/​lower/​reef the sails or start the engine, or use the galley. Check the fuel tank.

This is a great place if you love sailing, but don’t love the idea of paying a large monthly fee for docking the boat, as well as the money spent in buying one, as well as the money spent in maintaining it. I know this from experience, as I had a 25-​foot sailboat for a few years that I kept up in Wilmington, and still paid too much each month. Most people don’t use their boats every weekend, and so it makes a lot of sense to figure out a way to periodically rent out a boat for a few hours, a day, or a weekend. And that’s what this place offers.
It also makes sense that there would need to be some level of certification and training, mainly because people can really be idiots when they get around boats. Something about unfamiliar technology, or a lack of boundaries that you get in a car. things like traffic lights. but anyway, you can see why there should be some training.
Because this company has been operating for a long time, they have learned a lot about the process of leasing boats to casual sailors, and I have to say that they do it well. They are a little light on technology, so I can’t give them 5 stars — if they had an online booking system, etc. etc. well that would be cool, but what they do and how they do it works just fine. For a fraction of what you would pay to own a boat, you get to take out some pretty nice sailboats. The training was good and pretty fun — a few weekends spent learning the basics — and it’s a good group of people. So, if you are looking for a way to sail frequently, and be able to walk away at the end of a trip without the responsibility and expense of ownership, this is the way to go.

I joined Aventura late last year as I was looking to get back out on the water, after a little over a decade away from sailing and boating. The club was appealing to me, because for a modest monthly membership fee, I could have access to a nice variety of sailboats in the 28 – 32 foot range, and with some extra certification, there are larger and more advanced boats available. The boat charter rates seem quite reasonable, especially when you compare the cost to owning a sailboat. Moorage alone is over $ 600 per month for a 30 – 25′ boat, not to mention a waiting list many years long, plus the cost of maintenance and insurance and of course, buying the boat. They have a wide variety of boats, some are well built but older boats from the 1980’s and they even have a couple of very new 40+ foot Beneteau’s that are truly stunning.
I hope to sail at least one weekend day per month, with a couple overnight trips per year. At that level of use, moorage alone costs more than Aventura.
Despite a lot of experience on boats as small as a laser and as large as a Tartan 10 and even a couple hours at the helm of USA 76, its been over a decade since I was doing much sailing and I took the basic course offered to all new members in order to qualify for charter. Their instructor Mark is clearly someone with lifetime of sailing experience, and an even greater amount of patience to instruct a class of a wide variety of backgrounds and aptitudes. He is a great instructor who can clearly communicate what you must learn and why in a manner that builds both confidence and competence.
I plan on taking a number of their more advanced classes this year, including advanced sailing, navigation and hopefully one of their multi-​day Catalina excursion lessons. I can’t think of a more flexible and affordable way to get on the water and enjoying the great sailing that can be found almost year round here (I grew up sailing in Seattle, where we had a lot fewer days to sail in enjoyable weather).
I would highly recommend Aventura Sailing Club — satisfy your itch to take to the sea without having to throw your wallet overboard!

Great place to learn to sail. Well run accreditation course. Within a month I’m chartering boats, sailing and loving it. Would highly recommend Aventura for anyone interested in Sailing.

I did the basic sailing course, a 4 week, 5 session class. It is by far the least expensive way to learn how to sail beautiful, 30ft boats. After passing the exam, you can charter boats for about $ 150 per day. (about $ 25 – 30 per person in your group)
Last week, I did my first charter, taking out my family, kids, and parents. My mom said it was her favorite memory she ever had with me, ever. So in summary, you simply take the basic class, then you get to take your friends out on amazing boats.
Also, I am meeting great friends again, something that I have not invested enough time into since having 2 awesome kids. This is a great benefit besides being able to rent their boats. Memories of a lifetime await you — check it out! Joe M.

This is a really great place if you want to get out on the water without buying a boat. I’m a member and take advantage of their social sails that happen on the weekends. A list is created in the office, and whoever wants to go out just has their name added to it. The club has over 700 members, so the social sail group (6 – 10 people plus a captain) is almost always a different set passengers. It’s a good way to meet others, particularly if you are single.
I use the social sail option constantly and NEVER pay more than $ 30 or so for an afternoon on the water on a beautiful 32 foot sailboat.
–Satisfied Member

I have been digesting what I wanted to say about our sailing trip for over a month. This company is unorganized at best and dishonest at worst. We purchased a 3 hour tour with cocktails for 6 people from Zozi. When I first called to set up our reservations, it took three phone calls to connect with someone to make the reservation. Then, a few days before the sail date, we were contacted that they would not be able to fulfill the reservation and rescheduled. Each time I contacted Aventura, I made a point of trying to talk to the same person, Leticia, but I would have to go through the whole explanation about the agreed sail and each time it was like she didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.
Our contract was for 3 hours sailing and cocktails for 6 people. The day before our sail, I called Leticia and she said they could provide beverages on-​board or we could go to their facility and have cocktails after the cruise. We chose the cocktails at their facility after the cruise and we planned to eat there as well. Well, the day of the sail came and we had a nice Captain, Doug, who we enjoyed very much. He was there for questions, but not intrusive at all.
We arrived back from the cruise and headed over to Aventura facility for dinner and cocktails. The place was locked up tighter than a drum. The sign said they should have been open from 5pm-​8pm and nobody was there «at all». Ultimately, we received NO beverages and had to find a place to eat in Dana Point without reservations at 5pm on Saturday evening. That is not an easy task.
I have sent multiple emails to Leticia regarding this situation and what I get back is an email wanting to schedule our sail. What??? We have already had our sail and they did not fulfill their share of the contract. As one of the other reviewers of this company said, I’m not sure they want or even care if they get our/​your business.
All I have to say is «be careful»… Make sure you document everything and get your beverages «up front» or you may never see them!!!

My favorite place. Owner treats us like family. I’m having my wedding reception here. Best bar in the harbor

went here to see flock of 80s on a sunday afternoon. parking was a bit of a hassle, you tell the guard you are there to go to the restaurant and he lets you in without problem, the problem is then FINDING a spot… we circled and stalked but finally parked
walk up the stairs to the restaurant at the sailing club, there is a outdoor patio that i was looking forward to sitting on, however the entire thing is taken over by smoking :(
inside is where the band plays, but its basically just a large room with banquet style seating and a bar. i know this was just recently opened to the public but i think it needs to be changed up a bit if they want to attract more non-​members.
had skinny margs which were good and only $ 5 because of a happy hour, but one always seemed to taste different from the next?
flock…what happened to hennesseys?

Had a great time here at the sailing associations’ Island Bar and Grill listening to my favorite SoCal band, Flock of 80’s. This is a nice little find in Dana Point where there is a nice view of the marina and the sunset just over the channel. The venue is open to the public where there is a full-​service bar with a decent selection of bar food to enjoy with live music. See
for more details.

I’m not sure how the Association functions, but trying to book a whale-​watching tour on one of their sailboats for the Dana Point Whale Festival is a frustrating experience. They advertise their tours as $ 30/​pp, but it turns out that the price is $ 320 for the whole boat if you have less than 6 people, and they only give you the $ 30 price if you have 6 people (a full boat). [Why wouldn’t they charge $ 30×6 ppl = $ 180 for the whole boat regardless of passengers?]
Furthermore, I have had to call 4 times, each time speaking to the same person who has short-​term memory loss and forgets that I ever spoke to her, following up to ask whether they are able to book our tour. And I still don’t know whether we’re scheduled for the tour, because they keep losing their scheduling book!
In sum, you’ll put in a LOT of effort to try to book whale watching with them, and get questionable return on your time or money. Do these people want business?