Capt Dave's Tips            

 

 Hope your Valentines Day was memorable!  Mine certainly was.  I was fortunate enough to obtain reservations for a dinner and Gwinnett Choral Guild performance which offers truly talented and delightful performances at various times throughout the year.  Of all the holidays and special occasions throughout the year, Valentines is an opportunity to focus on relationships.  It's not all about "Us" you see.  The rarest possession is the presence of others in our lives.  We can sustain life without many niceties and some necessities but the presence of others can add years to our life!   

Unfortunately there are so many other demands on our attention, time and resources that we often forget to stop and take the time to acknowledge those around us.  I challenge each of you this week to stop and take a moment and call your parents, speak to your children, have a conversation with a sibling, that special neighbor or the postman and offer them a few simple words to express your gratitude to have them in your life.

Life is short, but if we live it properly, it's plenty long to make a difference.  It's plenty long to sample its pleasures and discover its treasures. Set out today to make a significant contribution in any way to make something better than it was before you touched it.   

 

      So What's NEW!
Boat Show Winners!

 Those who visited our booth during the boat show know we conducted a daily drawing for winners of prizes awarded each day.  Four lucky winners received a FREE Basic Sailing Theory ground school class!  Join us in congratulating these lucky folks!

                              Kevin Slattery
                              Beverly Thompson
                              Robert Stansell
                              Sonya Colley

 
Windsong Suggestions Winner!
If you thought your opinions don't count, you were wrong!

In the December newsletter we challenged everyone to come up with suggestions for improving the quality, quantity or overall Windsong experience.  We had several very good suggestions from some of you.  After careful review of all the wonderful suggestions, Mark Reynolds was awarded the winning nomination for his wonderful web suggestions.  For his efforts Mark has earned a $65 gift certificate toward the cost of certification exams, an excellent prize!

Our business is about recreation and training.  We strive to provide the best value for your recreational time and budget.  We continue to examine everyone's experiences with Windsong with an eye on ways to make it better.  Many of our customers have made suggestions that were implemented on the spot.  We value your input and welcome your suggestions at any time.

Windsong has become a industry leader because of "YOU", our loyal customers who share your dreams and challenges with us. The manner in which we offer and conduct our operation is quite unique and tailored to meet the needs and demands of the hectic lives that we all live today.   Our intent is to provide sailing as a form of recreation and training for our customers in such a manner that it's easy to book convenient classes and enjoy the sport of sailing.

I invite every one of you to share your thoughts and suggestions for continued improvement of our operation.  Windsong has become a top notch facility because of input from our customers.  We're listening everyday in every way!

Congratulations Mark and everyone else who has provided us with quality suggestions that ultimately benefit you, our valued customers!  We are all winners when we work together to improve the environment around us in which we live and play.

 
The British Virgin Islands Are On Sale!
Windsong has students who own sailboats in charter service with Conch Charters and Sunsail Yacht Charters around the world.  As a yacht owner each are allotted owner use time weeks at any Sunsail base around the world!  Often times owners find that they are unable to use all their allocated time in a season and make those unused weeks available to other Windsong students at considerable discounts.   This program is explained on our web site (http://www.windsongsail.com/class.htm) under the heading "Bareboat Charter Discounts".  In order to qualify for these discounts initial contact must be through Windsong, not through Sunsail or Conch Charters. From now until the end of March one of our yacht owners has a very special deal for those who can execute their vacation plans within the next few weeks.

HERE'S THE DEAL!

· You must possess a Bareboat Chartering certification or agree to hire a Captain for your charter.

· One week BVI charter to end before 3/30/07 on a 35’-39’ monohull @ 50% off Sunsail published rates.

··Other BVI weeks available after 4/1/07 on a 2001 37’ (2 cabin, 2 heads) Sun Odyssey @ 15% off Conch Charter published rates.

··Other weeks (Only 3 remain available at this time) anytime at any Sunsail base for 15% off Sunsail published rates.

 

Captained Charter Opportunities - Bahamas/BVI/St Martin/Grenadines

  If you're not ready to command your own charter cruise or would rather have someone else do all the cooking and hard work, Windsong can make that happen!

Windsong is a booking agency for Elite Island Yachts, offering luxury catamaran yacht cruises throughout paradise in the Bahamas, Tortola British Virgin Islands, St Martin and the Grenadines. 

Contact us today to learn about the special 2007 & 2008 Windsong packages we've negotiated for our students.

These special rates and packages are only available through Windsong and NOT available through Elite Yachts directly.

If you'd like to learn more about the possibilities, contact our business office before these limited trips fill up!
                                Click HERE here to view a video of your possibilities.
 

Dreaming of Greek Isles Sailing?
 Ever dreamed of sailing the Greek Isles?  Windsong has arranged special sail dates for 6/16-6/30 and 9/15-29 2007 through Poseidon International Charters, a leader in Greek Island Charters.  You can rent a room in one of the Captained yachts or charter yourself if you have Bareboat Chartering credentials and a competent crew. 

You can sail for 7 or 10 days Athens to Paros or 15 days Athens to Athens roundtrip.

These special trips are only available through Windsong and NOT available through Poseidon directly.

There are too many options and pricing plans to cover here, so call us TODAY if you think you'd be interested in one of this season's trips.

 

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      Windsong Events
Gwinnett Chamber Key Note Speaker
Friday, January 26, Capt. Dave spoke with 96 local business owners announcing Windsong's 2007 Corporate Adventures program.

The Adventures program was designed specifically by a team of psychologists to ensure that the product was clinically sound and effective in building team inter dynamics while having fun as "Pirates, Agents of Change".

Large deep-pocketed corporations are served by a multitude of vendors offering employee retreats, but the Windsong program was designed specifically to meet the needs of smaller businesses with limited budgets for employee activities.

Following the presentation, Capt. Dave Crumbley discussed training options with Chamber Ambassador, Shelly Bloom from Crystal Patrick Realty.

If your team is tired of boring staff meetings or wish to add a new dimension to your office dynamics, this could be an affordable option for your group. 

Adventures range from $675 to $975 for small groups of 5 or 6 and are offered 1-5 pm Wednesdays and Friday afternoons, April through November on a first booked basis. 

Options range from a Leisurely Captained Charter, Treasure Hunt or full blown Pirate Adventures.

For more information visit our web site:

       http://www.windsongsail.com/CorporateAdventures.htm
 
Sunset Cruises
Tis the season again and our 3-hour Sunset Cruises offer an escape for some time alone on the tranquil waters of Lanier, a romantic escape for a couple or celebration of a special event.  This year's dates are already on the calendar and some of the trips offer an added bonus of "Entertainment" aboard. 

Some of the special "Entertainment" dates are listed below.

 

June 23

Bill Kahler will be returning for his second season as one of our Sunset Cruise entertainers.

Bill is a singer songwriter who has been compared to Van Morrison, James Taylor, John Hyatt, Kenny Loggins and David Wilcox.  Bill has shared the stage with Branford Marsalis, Joe Sample, Three Dog Night, Paul Reisler, Darrell Scott, and Matthew Kahler, to name a few.

His warm vocals deliver the lyrics of well crafted, earthy, heartfelt songs performed by guitar, sax, mandolin, accordion and piano.  Bring some cash because you're going to want to take some CDs home with you in memory of the delightful evening.

 

 

July 28

Jesse Milton will be returning to amaze us again with his unique mental abilities.

When Milton is around, some unusual things happen. The belief in the impossible is kindled and intuition is ignited.  Everybody has a great time.  Milton is a cerebral entertainer who can:

  • Discern names, numbers, and important years from the past
  • Intuitively predict mental images, and perceptively discover things about individual personalities
  • Show participants how their own intuition can be set ablaze

Milton is NOT a mind reader, but his engaging and light presentation is filled with surprises, bizarre phenomena, and audience participation.  The audience will warm up quickly, and will find out things about each other they never knew.

 

Tall Ship Sails - Spirit of South Carolina

The tall ship "Spirit of South Carolina" is tentatively scheduled to move from the current shipyard to the Ports Authority March 3 2007 and launch on March 4th. 

There has not been an official press release yet but this may be the closest opportunity to see a Tall Ship.  There will be a limited number of people who will be able to be in the terminal during the launch on March 4th so the best view point would be from the harbor.  In a boat in the Cooper River would be great way to witness and celebrate this moment in history.

You can log onto http://www.scmaritime.org/ to keep updated with the schedules and parties for the launch.  

      So What's Been Going On?
 

Upcoming Classes
We have several seats available over the next few weeks of classes.  

You can click on the class description below for more information.

Ground School Classes:

  2/25 Advanced Coastal Cruising
  3/4 Basic Keelboat Sailing Theory (Waiting List Only)
  3/5 & 3/7 Marine Meteorology
  3/10 Bareboat Chartering
  3/13 & 3/15 Basic Keelboat Sailing Theory
  3/18 Basic Coastal Cruising
  3/20, 3/22, 3/27 Coastal Nav_a
  3/25 Meal Preparation & Safety
Sailing Outings: (Check the web site for exact times)
  3/3 Sailing Outing (Skills & Drills)
  3/10 Sailing Outing (Skills & Drills)
  3/17 Sailing Outing (Skills & Drills)
     
Windsong
       T-Shirts & Hats

These are great to tell others about
            your sport
                  and
                     accomplishments.

 

               

 

 

   
HATE THAT SPAM?
Ever noticed that all official Windsong emails have the word "WINDSONG:" in the subject? That's so that you can use a filter or rule to intercept and redirect Windsong emails into a dedicated folder based upon this trait.  That way we won't ever wind up in your SPAM folders and accidentally deleted.  This is actually a two-way street.  Any replies from you will automatically contain the same identifier in the subject and we can prevent it's accidental deletion as well.  So any emails from you to us should contain the word "WINDSONG" in the subject or you risk censure by our anti spam software.  Daily we receive just over 800 SPAM emails and find the use of filtering software imperative.  Don't risk losing our emails, filter TODAY!

 

Friends don't let their friends go through life
without experiencing sailing!

Invite someone to join you today!

PLEASE, REACH OUT AND TOUCH US,

                We're listening!!

Many times students' suggestions are implemented on the spot!  We pride ourselves in our customer service and attention to the needs of our students. If you have thoughts or ideas, drop us a line or give us a call.  All things are possible; you simply need to ask. 

Thanks!
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all our students for their loyal support through the seasons and encourage everyone to bring one new friend along each year as you sail.  As we grow and expand our operation, we want to make our products and services available to all who may be interested, but someone has to make the introduction.  Share the love of your sport with those who may be interested in our unique collection of programs. You'll be glad you did and so will they!