John Connolly

John taught advanced sailing courses on San Francisco Bay and along the California Coast since 1993. As a former owner of Modern Sailing, his incredible experience and high-energy creativity helped to shape the school and club.

In addition to teaching local courses, John was most known for teaching advanced ASA courses in overseas locations including the South Pacific, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Thailand, New Zealand, Australia, Seychelles Islands, Africa, and Alaska.

The John Connolly Memorial Sailing Team Scholarship was established in August of 2014 in memory of John by his family and friends. John Connolly graduated from the University of Maryland in 1971. He was a leader on campus and an active member of the University of Maryland Sailing Team. He spent much of his life teaching advanced sailing courses around the world and fostered a love of sailing in many of those who learned from him. This Scholarship will support students who are active on the University of Maryland Sailing Team and demonstrate academic merit and financial need.

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Emma & George Stubbs, Sausalito

We just took our ASA 106 at a school in Rhode Island as we prepare for 6 months of cruising in the Caribbean. The class was great, but more than anything it made us really appreciate the quality of teaching and rigor at Modern Sailing. Even though we were the newest to sailing, the group seemed to think that we had the best fundamentals. We felt very well prepared and we see why Modern Sailing has the reputation it does.
Salesforce (Ashley H.)

Our team at Salesforce did the Corporate Regatta Team Buidling activity (August 2026). What a blast!! HIghly recommend for your next team activity. It's fun to be out on the water, but the skippers also did a great job of teaching us all the sailing basics. The race is set up well so that we all had a chance to try out different roles. We did it with 11 people across two boats but having more boats is also doable and would lead to even more competition.
John Clark

Every aspect of Modern Sailing - training, syllabus, course materials, quality of the boats, quality of the instructors, and the very friendly and helpful staff - exceeded my expectations. Modern Sailing has a first class sailing program in an environment with challenging winds and currents. I look forward to coming back to charter a boat and certainly plan to continue my sailing training.
Jessica Zittere, Member

The Full Moon Sail with Skipper Bob Gutsgell was Ah-Mayzing!! The group dynamic was lovely and the views spectacular. I can't say enough good things about the experience. Thanks so much for the wonderful Club Sails, they are really great.
John Kratochvil, Oregon

I would like to compliment Stan Lander for his coaching, counseling and teaching Heavy Weather Offshore Sailing. Stan was very accommodating to all of the student's interests and shared his many years of insight on handling the boat in heavy seas. I would certainly recommend Stan and this course to sheltered waters sailors. My confidence in handling a boat of this size was certainly enhanced by the experience.

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