SailTime
SailTime Southwest Florida
If there’s one phrase, one thought, one life-altering motion, that we are able to chock as much as Covid and the worldwide pandemic, it should be CHANGE. Individuals modified jobs, they modified careers, they modified the place they lived, some purchased campers and hit the highway whereas others purchased boats and easily sailed away. Change, all of us had been in search of change and that features Steve and Kelly Edwards, co-owners of SailTime Southwest Florida.
For Kelly, a retired nurse and for Steve, a retired Lieutenant firefighter, the entire thought of promoting their house in Chicago, IL and transferring their household to Punta Gorda, FL to open a SailTime franchise was very a lot a spur-of-the-moment choice.
The Edwards household had been members of SailTime Chicago for a lot of years and actually loved it. A lot so, they began enthusiastic about shopping for a sailboat to place within the fleet. However the place they actually wished to sail was the Gulf Coast – extra specifically Southwest Florida – the place that they had family members, and the place the household spent quite a lot of time. “There was just one drawback,” says Kelly. “SailTime didn’t have a base in Southwest Florida.”
Not having a base in Southwest Florida didn’t derail their thought of shopping for a ship; it solely made the journey that extra thrilling. In September 2021, Kelly and the children packed up and headed south from Chicago to their new house of Punta Gorda, FL. By October, the deal was executed, and SailTime Southwest Florida was open for enterprise.
The Edwards Household. Pictured from Left to Proper: Zachary, Brooklyn, Kelly, Logan, Alyssa, Steve
The Edwards’ crew has additionally taken half within the household enterprise. Alyssa (19) is a school pupil and helps across the workplace and runs the franchise’s social media pages. Zachary (17) works on the dry storage at Burnt Retailer Marina. He together with Brooklyn (15) assist with detailing and cleansing of the fleet. The youngest Logan (7) is the supervisor in coaching, chatting everybody up and at all times in-the-know on the marina.
One other main asset to the SailTime Southwest Florida crew is their Operations Supervisor, retired US Coast Guardsman, Nick Hunter. He oversees the bottom’s day-to-day administration, making certain that the fleet is well-maintained and able to sail at any time.
On the picturesque Southwest coast of Florida, lies Punta Gorda, a pleasant metropolis surrounded by old-style tin-roof residences lining the brick streets, fringed with grand royal palm timber. The town boasts a newly rejuvenated historic downtown and waterfront space with a shocking harborwalk that meanders by the city’s charming neighborhoods and welcoming eating places. Apparently, the identify Punta Gorda originates from its location- a ‘fats level’ peninsula that extends into the second-largest saltwater estuary in Florida, Charlotte Harbor.
SailTime Southwest Florida operates from Burnt Store Marina (a Safe Harbor Marina), which is a contemporary marina facility with choices corresponding to boat slips and dry storage. The marina and its vessels confronted extreme harm and destruction in September 2022, when Hurricane Ian hit and handed by Punta Gorda. Sadly, this left the SailTime fleet with no boats.
Quick ahead to at the moment, and the fleet has regrouped and now provides six new fashions with their seventh boat (Beneteau Oceanis 38.1 arriving summer season 2023) The fleet contains the Beneteau Oceanis 30.1, two Oceanis 34.1, a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 41 DS, and two Excess 11 Catamarans.
discover fleet
There are a lot of unimaginable locations obtainable for sailors within the close by neighborhood. With an abundance of barrier islands corresponding to Cabbage Key, Boca Grande, Little Gasparilla, and Pelican Bay, there’s a lot to find and discover within the space. SailTime Southwest Florida encourages its members to benefit from these close by locations and uncover the attraction of the native cities, eating places, and retailers. With an array of anchorages obtainable, sailors can simply plan in a single day journeys and discover the great thing about the shoreline.
SailTime Southwest Florida is simple to get to, being lower than an hour from Punta Gorda (half-hour) and Fort Myers’ (40 minutes) Airports. “Our members come from throughout,” says Kelly. “We now have members who drive from Georgia, others who fly in from the Midwest, and nonetheless others who’re extra native to the world” says Kelly.
Kelly highlights that SailTime supplies a superb various to conventional chartering by offering assured 3 to 7 sail occasions monthly, relying on the extent of membership chosen. Which means members can sail a number of occasions all year long and expertise common getaways which are refreshingly completely different from the everyday constitution expertise. With SailTime Southwest Florida, journey and enjoyable on the open water are at all times accessible, making crusing a life-style moderately than only a vacation.
SailTime Southwest Florida provides three versatile membership options – annual, winter, and summer season – making crusing accessible year-round. One of many distinctive advantages of SailTime’s membership is the power to guide seven sail occasions and luxuriate in an uninterrupted expertise equal to being on the sailboat for 3.5 days, which inspires members to completely immerse themselves within the expertise.
membership opportunities
Rendezvous, Rallies + Extra
Whereas the SailTime Southwest Florida base is simply choosing up momentum, they’ve organized a lot of open homes, floatillas, and socials this previous 12 months. These occasions are nice for members and homeowners to mingle, trade crusing ideas and experiences and extra.
Just lately, SailTime Southwest Florida hosted a Massive Floatilla consisting of 40-50 individuals, unfold throughout 5 boats, that sailed collectively on Charlotte Harbor. This occasion offered a chance for members to bond and share their ardour for crusing, with many members hitting it off very well. It’s not unusual for SailTime Southwest Florida members to share sail occasions and be taught from one another, as one of many neighborhood’s defining options is an eagerness to be taught and collaborate.
As an American Sailing Association (ASA) affiliated school, SailTime Southwest Florida supplies wonderful sail coaching training, equipping their college students with the required confidence and abilities wanted to securely navigate a sailboat. They provide ASA 101, 103, 104, 105, 114.
As SailTime Southwest Florida continues to develop, their plans embody including extra monohulls and catamarans, increasing the fleet plus offering extra alternatives for brand new and present members. They promote a tradition of journey and discovery, encouraging sailors to get out on the open water and discover all the world has to supply.
Explore sailing classes
Tim and Linda after their members coaching aboard RumAway
The submit SailTime Southwest Florida appeared first on SailTime.
SailTime Southwest Florida
Prepared About! Let’s Tack.
If there’s one phrase, one thought, one life-altering motion, that we are able to chock as much as Covid and the worldwide pandemic, it should be CHANGE. Individuals modified jobs, they modified careers, they modified the place they lived, some purchased campers and hit the highway whereas others purchased boats and easily sailed away. Change, all of us had been in search of change and that features Steve and Kelly Edwards, co-owners of SailTime Southwest Florida.
For Kelly, a retired nurse and for Steve, a retired Lieutenant firefighter, the entire thought of promoting their house in Chicago, IL and transferring their household to Punta Gorda, FL to open a SailTime franchise was very a lot a spur-of-the-moment choice.
The Edwards household had been members of SailTime Chicago for a lot of years and actually loved it. A lot so, they began enthusiastic about shopping for a sailboat to place within the fleet. However the place they actually wished to sail was the Gulf Coast – extra specifically Southwest Florida – the place that they had family members, and the place the household spent quite a lot of time. “There was just one drawback,” says Kelly. “SailTime didn’t have a base in Southwest Florida.”
Not having a base in Southwest Florida didn’t derail their thought of shopping for a ship; it solely made the journey that extra thrilling. In September 2021, Kelly and the children packed up and headed south from Chicago to their new house of Punta Gorda, FL. By October, the deal was executed, and SailTime Southwest Florida was open for enterprise.
The Edwards Household. Pictured from Left to Proper: Zachary, Brooklyn, Kelly, Logan, Alyssa, Steve
A Household Affair
The Edwards’ crew has additionally taken half within the household enterprise. Alyssa (19) is a school pupil and helps across the workplace and runs the franchise’s social media pages. Zachary (17) works on the dry storage at Burnt Retailer Marina. He together with Brooklyn (15) assist with detailing and cleansing of the fleet. The youngest Logan (7) is the supervisor in coaching, chatting everybody up and at all times in-the-know on the marina.
One other main asset to the SailTime Southwest Florida crew is their Operations Supervisor, retired US Coast Guardsman, Nick Hunter. He oversees the bottom’s day-to-day administration, making certain that the fleet is well-maintained and able to sail at any time.
Punta Gorda Base + Fleet
On the picturesque Southwest coast of Florida, lies Punta Gorda, a pleasant metropolis surrounded by old-style tin-roof residences lining the brick streets, fringed with grand royal palm timber. The town boasts a newly rejuvenated historic downtown and waterfront space with a shocking harborwalk that meanders by the city’s charming neighborhoods and welcoming eating places. Apparently, the identify Punta Gorda originates from its location- a ‘fats level’ peninsula that extends into the second-largest saltwater estuary in Florida, Charlotte Harbor.
SailTime Southwest Florida operates from Burnt Store Marina (a Safe Harbor Marina), which is a contemporary marina facility with choices corresponding to boat slips and dry storage. The marina and its vessels confronted extreme harm and destruction in September 2022, when Hurricane Ian hit and handed by Punta Gorda. Sadly, this left the SailTime fleet with no boats.
Quick ahead to at the moment, and the fleet has regrouped and now provides six new fashions with their seventh boat (Beneteau Oceanis 38.1 arriving summer season 2023) The fleet contains the Beneteau Oceanis 30.1, two Oceanis 34.1, a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 41 DS, and two Excess 11 Catamarans.
discover fleet
Discover the Space
There are a lot of unimaginable locations obtainable for sailors within the close by neighborhood. With an abundance of barrier islands corresponding to Cabbage Key, Boca Grande, Little Gasparilla, and Pelican Bay, there’s a lot to find and discover within the space. SailTime Southwest Florida encourages its members to benefit from these close by locations and uncover the attraction of the native cities, eating places, and retailers. With an array of anchorages obtainable, sailors can simply plan in a single day journeys and discover the great thing about the shoreline.
Accessibility
SailTime Southwest Florida is simple to get to, being lower than an hour from Punta Gorda (half-hour) and Fort Myers’ (40 minutes) Airports. “Our members come from throughout,” says Kelly. “We now have members who drive from Georgia, others who fly in from the Midwest, and nonetheless others who’re extra native to the world” says Kelly.
Kelly highlights that SailTime supplies a superb various to conventional chartering by offering assured 3 to 7 sail occasions monthly, relying on the extent of membership chosen. Which means members can sail a number of occasions all year long and expertise common getaways which are refreshingly completely different from the everyday constitution expertise. With SailTime Southwest Florida, journey and enjoyable on the open water are at all times accessible, making crusing a life-style moderately than only a vacation.
Signal Me Up
SailTime Southwest Florida provides three versatile membership options – annual, winter, and summer season – making crusing accessible year-round. One of many distinctive advantages of SailTime’s membership is the power to guide seven sail occasions and luxuriate in an uninterrupted expertise equal to being on the sailboat for 3.5 days, which inspires members to completely immerse themselves within the expertise.
membership opportunities
Rendezvous, Rallies + Extra
Whereas the SailTime Southwest Florida base is simply choosing up momentum, they’ve organized a lot of open homes, floatillas, and socials this previous 12 months. These occasions are nice for members and homeowners to mingle, trade crusing ideas and experiences and extra.
Just lately, SailTime Southwest Florida hosted a Massive Floatilla consisting of 40-50 individuals, unfold throughout 5 boats, that sailed collectively on Charlotte Harbor. This occasion offered a chance for members to bond and share their ardour for crusing, with many members hitting it off very well. It’s not unusual for SailTime Southwest Florida members to share sail occasions and be taught from one another, as one of many neighborhood’s defining options is an eagerness to be taught and collaborate.
Crusing College
As an American Sailing Association (ASA) affiliated school, SailTime Southwest Florida supplies wonderful sail coaching training, equipping their college students with the required confidence and abilities wanted to securely navigate a sailboat. They provide ASA 101, 103, 104, 105, 114.
As SailTime Southwest Florida continues to develop, their plans embody including extra monohulls and catamarans, increasing the fleet plus offering extra alternatives for brand new and present members. They promote a tradition of journey and discovery, encouraging sailors to get out on the open water and discover all the world has to supply.
Explore sailing classes
Tim and Linda after their members coaching aboard RumAway
The submit SailTime Southwest Florida appeared first on SailTime.