Tampa Bay · Naples
Naples City Dock operation running since 1985. Public and private sails on Danmark, a 40-foot sloop the company says is the only Coast Guard inspected sloop in Southwest Florida, plus bareboat rental of a smaller Beneteau by the half day or the week.
Sailboats Unlimited has worked the Historic Naples City Dock since 1985, which makes it one of the longer-running sailing operations on the southwest coast. The flagship is Danmark, a 40-foot sloop carrying up to sixteen and inspected by the Coast Guard, which is what lets her sell seats: morning, afternoon and sunset sails run on a schedule, and the same boat books privately.
The bareboat side is the smaller Beneteau First 20, out in three-hour, four-hour and eight-hour blocks, with multi-day packages running to a week. The qualification language is a period piece: a preliminary checkout, the company says, is available by phone or fax. No certification level is named, so a conversation settles it.
Alongside the charter work the company does yacht deliveries and maintenance, and it sails Naples Bay and the Gulf out toward Marco Island. Don’t judge it by the website, which has stood still for years. The booking calendar behind it is live.
Featured Tampa Bay · Cape Coral
Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound bareboat operator working out of Tarpon Point Marina in Cape Coral. Sister to Florida Sailing & Cruising School. The same fleet runs ASA instruction one week and bareboat charter the next.
Featured Daysail Tampa Bay · Naples
Naples's longest-running sailing catamaran by its own account, a 53-foot Gold Coast cat carrying 44 passengers from the Naples City Dock since 1991. Daily sunset, shelling and sightseeing seat sails and private charters. The company's Sweet Tiki is a motor boat.
Tampa Bay · Bradenton Beach
Gulf-front beach rental on Anna Maria Island, family run for forty years and, by its own account, the only place on the island renting sailboats. Hobie Wave and Hobie Getaway catamarans by the hour or half day, first come, first served, with a short lesson for first-timers.