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"We
had a wonderful time the 10 days were there. Jim is a great teacher and very patient
while we were bumbling around learning. He never raised his voice once, not even
when I was nearly making huge blunders while attempting to dock. He also has a
great dry, but very subtle, sense of humor and made it all a lot of fun as well.
Jim made certain we were comfortable with everything we needed to know before
test taking time, and gave us in depth answers to any questions we had or things
we weren't clear on. My husband and I have so much more confidence now. He kept
us very busy either sailing, learning or sightseeing and made certain we were
able to see everything we wanted to see, aside from those that
Hurricane Emily messed up. Now we have an excuse to go back again next year and
get those things done. You
guys at Orca did a wonderful job answering all of my questions and making it all
terribly painless to know what to expect and what to do when. While trying to
find house sitters and flights gave us some worries, the one thing we never had
to spend a second stressing over was your end of things. It all came off flawlessly."
"What
a great adventure we had. Jim showed us a great time. He is a thoughtful and patient
teacher, an excellent host, and a living treasury of information regarding the
BVI. Thanks for connecting us."
- Sincerely, Sean, Daphne and Kevin from Colorado, June 2005 "The
vacation was awesome. Jim has a wealth of sailing knowledge and experience, and
is an all around great person! Reserved and
non-intrusive, yet very sociable, easygoing and really not fussy at all. We came
to the BVI for instruction and sailing experience under the supervision of
a skilled and competent instructor - of all our instructors, Jim was by far the
most knowledgeable and the best at sharing his vast experience. But another equally
(if not more) important purpose of the trip was to savor special moments with
our young sons. The entire family very quickly adopted him - out of the blue the
kids started calling him "Uncle Jim" and they have never, ever done
this before with anyone! We've been home for weeks and the entire family is still
talking about the wonderful time that we all had with Jim. His role went far beyond
sailing and instruction to creating many treasured memories we will enjoy for
years to come. Whether sailing, fishing for conch, cleaning lobsters for dinner,
or finding Polaris, Jim endeared himself to our entire family. We thank you dearly." "Our
experience with your company has been overwhelmingly positive. Right from the
start, I knew I had stumbled upon something unique when, calling at night, I actually
got to talk with a real person! And you truly listened to our formative plans,
answered our questions, and then did a great job of matching our needs with an
outstanding captain. Jim is a superb sailing instructor and very personable host,
who knew just the right blend of challenging and intuitively, gently supporting
my two adult children and me through the week of classes. He balanced work with
fun, and went out of his way to ensure we had the best week ever. I'd
like to share one story that gives insight into the kind of person Jim is. As
we left the marina on the first day, a dove was flying next to us for a short
way, and Jim remarked that this was odd, as she is a land bird. As we began to
raise the sail, we discovered the reason: there were two babies in a nest on the
boat. We were on our way, and some people would say, well, that's too bad, but
keep on with the agenda. Instead, Jim helped Ethan and Laura get the dovelings
into a makeshift nest/basket, helped them catch insects and use an eyedropper
through the rest of the day and overnight. The little ones refused to eat or drink,
and again Jim continued on the rescue mission! He called a friend and the Humane
Society, and we returned to the marina to deliver the doves to them. A small wonder
happened at this point: the mother AND father dove appeared looking for their
babies! So Jim moved them to another location, hoping the parents would find them,
and we sailed out again for an incredible week of snorkeling, learning, fishing,
hiking, visiting islands, eating, laughing, talking, and, and, and! At the end
of the week, the baby birds were thriving, and the father bird followed us to
the pier and just sat there, eyeing us, as if to say thanks! AND WE ECHO THE THANKS
TO JIM, A PATIENT, GENTLE, FUN-LOVING, CHALLENGING SAILING INSTRUCTOR AND CAPTAIN
AND NEW FRIEND, who made our small wonders into great adventures!"
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