“I started Sound Sailing Center in 1986 to help you get involved in sailing through an innovative instruction and membership program. Our instruction is based on a simple concept. In 20 to 30 hours you will be out sailing our boats by yourself. So we damn well better do a good job! Many students choose to become members after completing the Basic Keelboat Program, while others have been sailing with us for years. Best of all, our membership program features boats that I personally love to sail!”
—Martin van Breems, founder and owner
Sound Sailing Center is based in Norwalk, Connecticut. We also have boats in Branford and Mystic CT, covering the entire Long Island Sound. Our fleet operates up to Maine in the summer and down to the Caribbean in the winter. From Norwalk, you can be out sailing in the Norwalk Islands, in under five minutes. The islands are easy to explore with our smaller boats. Within a two hour sail you will discover over 30 lovely harbors, from the exquisite Ziegler’s Cove to historic Oyster Bay.
Enjoy drinks or a meal while looking out over the fleet at the Sunset Grill, conveniently located next door. Historic South Norwalk features many bars and restaurants, the Maritime Museum and Aquarium and plenty of shopping. It’s only a short drive away.
Our Branford location allows you to explore the Thimble Islands, a little piece of the Maine coastline in CT. Our vessel in Mystic allow quick access to Fishers Island Sound and everyones favorite, Block Island.
Instruction
Our teaching methods are hands on, on the water, with fewer students than most other schools. We never have more than three students per instructor in our Intro, Basic Keelboat, or Basic Cruising classes. We know your time is valuable. We recommend group lessons because humans tend to learn better by observing others. Watching someone else master a skill – or struggle with it – can be both educational and reassuring when it’s your turn to try.
Our boats and teaching methods are uniquely configured to allow you to sail singlehanded after taking Basic Keelboat. This helps you gain confidence quickly. We strongly encourage new sailors to become competent with daysailers, before moving on to larger boats. Small boat experience is the fastest and best way to become a competent sailor. Although many schools promote a package program that has you sailing larger boats in a week, you will be a better sailor and enjoy sailing more if you practice first with daysailers.
Rentals and Charters: Our fleet is diverse, ranging from classic boats like the Ensigns, to our flagship 40 class yachts. In general, we look for good sailing qualities and strong construction. We buy boats we like! Naturally, every mainsail in our fleet has a Dutchman Sail Flaking System and low friction track system, along with other gear like roller furling jibs that allows you to get out sailing in a few minutes, even if singlehanded. Ensigns have electric motors, so even starting the engine is simple. Charters are multiday rentals, for taking extended trips on our larger boats. Rentals and Charters are available if a boat does not have full membership. If you will be taking out our boats less than 6-9 times a year, rentals or charters are the way to go.
Membership Use Program
This program allows 7-8 members to share usage of one of our boats. Sound Sailing Center handles all the maintenance. Unlike other membership, timeshare, or fractional use programs, we offer far more flexibility combined with expert, on site staff, in a diverse fleet ranging from our J44 and Jeanneau 409, to our affordable and fun Ensigns. Members can use any boat in their class and below. With multiple locations, including one 40 yacht located in Mystic, CT, it’s no surprise that we have more experienced sailors in our program than any other membership arrangement we know of.
Brokerage Sales
For many, the dream of owning your own yacht has a powerful pull. We can help make this a reality, through our brokerage or new yacht sales division. With over 25 years of yacht sales and service experience, we can offer expert advice. If you are after a used or brokerage yacht, we will start off with a broad variety of vessels that should be of interest, then refine the search as your preferences become clear. We also will do a mini survey and bring along our moisture meter, so as to rule out obvious problem boats before you spend $30+ per foot on a survey. We’ll work with you to establish a reasonable offer, locate the best surveyor, and be there for all the many questions you’ll have. The commission is shared between the listing and selling broker. This means you will not pay extra for our service.
Martin van Breems is the CEO of Sound Sailing Center, Inc., and Dutchmar, manufacturer of Dutchman Sailboat Hardware, makers of the Dutchman Sail Flaking System. Martin is a lifelong sailor with many offshore passages and has sailed one of the most difficult competitions in the world, a single-handed race from Plymouth, England, to Newport, R.I. He came in second in his division. Almost 70% of the participants dropped out due to difficult conditions. Read the entire story at J Boats. He also was awarded a USCG Medal of Commendation and the US Sailing Hansen Medal for a rescue undertaken in difficult conditions at the Cape Cod Canal. Martin was an importer for the Dutch-built Contest Yachts, which was founded by Martin’s father, Arie van Breems. Arie was a key person in the sailboat business from the late 50’s to the 80’s, responsible for such boats as the Block Island 40. Dan Spurr’s excellent book ‘Heart of Glass’ recounts the history of the early fiberglass boats.