The San Francisco Sailing School

I took Basic Keelboat using a Groupon this summer and was unfortunately pretty disappointed.
Lack of instruction about where class started:
When I arrived at what I thought was the right location on the first day, the door to the building was locked and I and a few others spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out whether we were at the right place or not. We called the school’s main number repeatedly, but no one picked up. We finally realized that we could slip behind the building into a courtyard that had direct access to the school’s classroom where a couple teachers were waiting to start class. There were no signs instructing us to do this, and the gal who I communicated with to book the lesson didn’t say anything about it either.
Careless instruction:
Most of our class was taught by Captain Jeff. He was extremely low energy, and it seemed pretty clear that he didn’t want to be there. In the span of roughly 90 minutes we learned a few very basic concepts. I can understand keeping it simple, but there was essentially no elaboration on concepts, no explanation of why things are done the way they are, and no recounting of colorful experiences to help us remember. Obviously, I was expecting too much, but I think of sailors as swashbuckling story tellers. That wasn’t the case here.
Boring sailing:
Our on-​the-​water experience was also crappy. Though I love the bay, which never seems to disappoint with its ceaseless activity and natural beauty, it was hard to even enjoy our time on the water when Jeff SMOKED roughly a pack’s worth of CIGARETTES during our sail, each of which HE TOSSED INTO THE BAY! Keep in mind also that the cockpit of this boat is the size of a large bath tub, so it was impossible to ignore the smoke. The instruction was also quite lacking. Jeff made little attempt to teach us the names of the various lines or other fixtures in the boat. In fact, he even seemed annoyed when I asked questions. For example, Jeff seemed to be interested in racing and told us that racing is the best way to learn. So I asked him how one gets started in racing, and he dismissively told me (roughly) «racing is really dangerous unless you know what you’re doing.» That was all he would say. I remember that answer as being typical of his approach.
In general, I think I would have gotten a better experience from just about anyone who knows how to sail and has even a mild interest in teaching. I thought it was a good idea finding a school that had a Groupon deal, but I really regret it now. Do yourself a favor and pay a little more for a school that’s actually interested in teaching.