Paul Sullivan

I grew up in Haverhill Massachusetts, a smallish, landlocked town in the Merrimack River Valley. My hometown had several lakes and I spent part of my summers attending a camp in that had a small boating program for residents which consisted of a few canoes, kayaks, row boats, a sunfish sailboat and, the flagship of the fleet, my dream… an overpowered, Boston Whaler 13. That powerboat was only available to kids 16 and over and at just around 10, I was out of luck. 

 

The thought of paddling didn't do it for me, so that summer, I decided to try the sunfish. In no more than a few minutes from pushing back off the beach, after a quick “lesson”, I was full sail, into the overhanging trees. A counselor, who at the time was surely no more than 16 or 17 years old came to my aid, showed me the ropes, and I was finally making headway.

 

The thrill of that day is still one of the clearest childhood memories in my mind. Sailing was fun. 

 

Fast forward several years and I became a counselor at that same program. We added more sailboats to the fleet, and around the age of 16, after saving up, I found myself the owner of a 16ft sailboat that my father and I would trailer around New England, sailing together. 

 

With lots of support from my parents, particularly my mom, who sailed with her father as a girl in Marblehead, the dream would be recognized, and the family traded up to a larger keelboat, a Catalina 27 that would be kept in Salem MA.

 

I spent every day that I could on that boat during my summers in high school, and eventually got a job at the local Salem boating program which still exists today, teaching youth sailing under the US Sailing organization’s standards. 

 

My high school had a sailing team which had me sailing on the Charles River as well as Boston Harbor. I began racing competitively and that carried on through college where I attended the University of New Hampshire, studying outdoor education. 

 

During college, I became an EMT focused on remote medicine and obtained my US Coast Guard Master Mariner Credential. As a licensed Captain, I began to work in the boating industry full-time doing various jobs, eventually becoming a sailing instructor for the American Sailing Association teaching professionally at Black Rock Sailing School. Several years into teaching at Black Rock, I became a part owner of the school, helping the program grow to serve the city of Boston. In 2018, I asked Captain Forrest Hardy, my partner now here at First Reef, to join our ranks at Black Rock, where as head instructors, we taught together both near shore and offshore helping hundreds of students see their dreams from beginners to boat owners. 

 

 I have been recognized as the top 1% of my peers, receiving the America Sailing Association’s “Outstanding Instructor” in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020, an award given only to 30 of over 3000 instructors worldwide. 

 

With a decade of experience as a full-time, year-round, boating instructor, that has taken me from New England to the Caribbean, Bahamas, offshore, and beyond, in 2019 I became an owner and now managing partner of SailTime & PowerTime Boston- a fractional boating club in Boston Harbor.

 

SailTime and PowerTime bases, of which there are over 25 nationwide, provide access to new model sailboats and powerboats, to those who are not ready or interested in owning their own boats, or to those who have just completed lessons and are seeking a way to get out on the water to practice their new skills. 

 

I am beyond excited for the next chapter, opening the doors of First Reef Sailing, to offer a modern and creative approach to boating instruction for all levels of experience and to encourage everyone to try out boating. I can’t wait to get out on the water with you!