“If you are looking for someone to help up your sailing game Chris is your man. With his years of experience making and developing fast sails for a huge variety of boats he has a unique understanding of what make a boat go fast. Through our work together at North Sails I have seen Chris’s people skills in action and am sure that some time with him will result in you and your team taking a strong step forward as a group and on the racecourse.”
— Ken Read
President, North Sails
“My experience with Chris exceeded all expectations. Chris' sailing expertise is without question but what sets him apart is his ability to work with sailors of all levels and raise them to their fullest potential. With Chris' help our team (who had never sailed together) placed 3rd in a local regatta and placed in the top half of our NA championships. Off the boat, Chris was engaging, an easy house guest and even entertained my two young boys with his sailing stories. I look forward to sailing with Chris in the future!”
— Andy Deak
J/70 USA 581 “Tootles”
“Chris and I worked together for many years growing the North Sails One Design business across a wide range on One Design classes. If you are looking to raise the level of your sailing program I can think of no one better than Chris to help you. He has a very strong knowledge of how to make boats go fast. From his sailmaking background, he understands how boat, sails and rigs interact and will be able to help you and your team get more performance from your boat. Chris is an accomplished sailor and will also be able to help you with all the other aspects of what it takes to win from tactics to boat preparation and beyond. Chris is a good guy to spend time with and I am sure will be a welcome addition to your team.”
— Vince Brun
Past President of North Sails One Design
World Champion sailor and coach
"Chris Snow is simply an excellent mariner and boat trainer. He listens and adapts to your learning style and is very empathetic in his approach to training.
My family and I hired Chris for boat training on our "new" 42' Lien Hwa trawler which was much larger than anything we had sailed before. Chris took the time to give us "classroom" type instruction beforehand on all safety standards and systems, but also showed us how the radios, radar, navigation, fuseboard, engines, line discipline and everything else worked along with best practises in departing/arriving at the dock. He showed us what to look for when operating the boat in the harbor and at sea - at all times ensuring we understood "safety first".
A few days later, we hired Chris to Captain our boat - which meant we did all the work and he continued to train us at sea for our 80 miles journey. We left at 5:30am in pea soup fog from San Diego and used our Raytheon Axiom 7 radar exclusively with Chris' close oversight for over two hours before entering clear weather and then a 9 hr cruise to Long Beach.
During this entire time, Chris quizzed us on safety, radio protocol, navigation, weather and even had me check the engine bay (looking for leaks, check temperatures etc.) and bilge every hour to ensure there were no issues. He helped us download and teach us how to use several iPhone apps for chart plotting and navigation as well.
Chris helped us gain the knowledge and confidence to safely manoeuvre our new boat in just a few days of training. It was an excellent investment and we continue to practise everything Chris taught us - as you cannot be too conservative when on the open seas.
Chris is a skilled mariner and trainer - and a pleasure to receive instruction from."
Nigel Duncan
My wife and I bought a forty five foot sailboat having little sailing experience. We hired Chris to take us through an instruction process to satisfy the skill sets required by our insurance company. Chris thoroughly guided us through this process that included everything from motoring and docking to sailing and anchoring while addressing safety above all. His professionalism and patience made this a very fun and rewarding experience. We highly recommend Chris as a personal boating trainer.
Jim and Ann Wilson, Beneteau Oceanis 45