J. Forrest Hardy

          Forrest grew up sailing classic wooden boats on the Hudson River in his hometown of Cold Spring, NY.  At age ten he was sailing and attending sleep away sailing camps during summer vacations. In highschool Forrest began building his very own wooden boat, a 16ft Cat Ketch sharpie. He attended Brandeis University sailing competitively for all four years, acting as team captain for two. During that time Forrest also taught keelboat sailing in Boston Harbor part time and during the summers. After graduating in 2013 with a degree in English Literature and Public Health, Forrest took time off to travel through Europe and India before finally ending up in Thailand. There he taught sailing on small boats and skippered a Freedom 40 while living on the small island of Koh Tao in the gulf of Thailand. 

          After discovering his passion for traveling and finding that traveling and sailing went hand in hand he has had the opportunity to sail and travel all over the world. Forrest spent a season racing a 76 foot superyacht all up and down the East coast. After racing he returned to Mystic Seaport, where he learned to sail as a child, to work for their community sailing program teaching children and adults. After spending a winter in the North East he decided that a move to warmer climates was in order. He was able to find a sailboat heading south to the US Virgin Islands and set off offshore. 

          Forrest spent several years in the Virgin Islands, working for the St. Thomas Yacht Club and helping to found the new St. Thomas Sailing center. There he was certified as a US Sailing Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, Bareboat Cruising and Coastal Navigation instructor. He also was able to attain a US Coast Guard 50 ton Captain’s license at the same time. Shortly thereafter the islands were struck by two of the most powerful hurricanes to come out of the Atlantic Ocean, hurricanes Irma and Maria.  Forrest spent the next six months helping to repair and refit heavily storm damaged boats mostly without power, learning a lot about fiberglass and sailboat repair in the process. 

          Since returning from the Caribbean, Forrest spent several seasons working at various yacht clubs in Charleston, South Carolina and Melbourne, Australia teaching sailing and managing sailing programs. In 2019, Forrest first met Captain Paul and decided to move back to Boston to join the Black Rock Sailing Team. He became certified to teach ASA 101, 103, 104, 105 and 106.

          Most recently in 2022, Paul and Forrest decided to strike out on their own and create First Reef Sailing. They are extremely excited to offer a whole range of courses and trips to take sailing instruction to the next level!