Great Lakes Sailing Company

All good until I raised a safety concern…



I signed up for the 101, 103, 104 class combo. The 101,103 went great and we needed to switch to a bigger vessel for the 104 class. With two vessels to choose from, the vessel they chose for our class they were racing against the clock for days to get major structural repairs, several cabin leaks, a companionway hatch custom made, etc. done. At 7:30 pm the night before the 104 class, I checked in on the vessel and Dave said that he would have the vessel ready ...enough… He was currently working on the main hatch that he had custom made out of a piece of Plexiglas that was warped, did not fit properly and need a rather large amount of force to open or close. The other vessel was perfectly seaworthy. Given the stormy forecast and cold bay water temps, I expressed my concern for my personal safety to the owner, Dave Conrad, and was told my judgement was “irritating” him. Dave then offered me a refund for the 104 class that I accepted since my safety was “irritating” to him. Also because the moment Dave told me I was irritating him with concern for my personal safety, he and his school lost all ability to create or provide a suitable environment for me to learn. If you want to blindly trust a stranger with your life, this is the school for you…