Point Sailing School Makes Lessons a Breeze

Mention the word sailing and what comes to mind?

Visions of the ultra-rich sailing palatial yachts off Newport, Rhode Island, or the Florida Keys, perhaps?

Tyler Myers acknowledges that sailing still has that hoity-toity image in some circles.

But he is doing his best to bring sailing to everyone who wants to learn – at affordable prices – at his Point Sailing School in Beesley’s Point, overlooking the scenic Great Egg Harbor Bay.

“It still has that stereotype, where sailing is a very expensive sport to get into. I’m trying to make it more accessible to a lot broader audience, just because I want to get a lot more people involved,” Myers explained.

Now in his fourth summer as owner of Point Sailing School, Myers said he has not raised his prices at all to keep his sailing lessons as affordable as possible.

“Anything that I can do to get more people involved. I’ve not increased my costs at all since I’ve opened. The costs have stayed the exact same. Could I be making more money? Sure. I could increase my prices, but I wouldn’t get as many people on the water, which is more important to me,” he said.

Myers runs his sailing camps off the Beesley’s Point beach, next to the Tuckahoe Inn restaurant, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon for children and teens from 8 to 18 years old.

“We’ve been filling up a lot of camps, which is great,” he said.

    Point Sailing School teaches sailing lessons to children and teens from 8 to 18.
 (Photo credit: Point Sailing School)   

In the afternoons and on weekends, he travels around generally between Toms River and Cape May to give private lessons to sailors of all ages on their own boats – from small sailboats to yachts.

“I teach any age,” he said of the private lessons. “I had a guy who was 88 on the boat last season and I’ve had as young as, I believe, 5, on the boat. But usually they come with a parent.”

There are still openings for his sailing camps in August and into the first week of September before Myers wraps up for the summer season. For information on pricing and other information about the sailing school, visit www.pointsailingschool.com.

Myers uses a 13-foot Hobie Wave catamaran for his sailing camps. The boat is durable and easy to use, providing the ideal platform for children and teens just learning how to sail. His camps also give an opportunity for more experienced sailors to sharpen their skills.

“It does give a chance to get really good fine-turning for the more advanced people as well,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of race training with people. I had a kid last week that was a college racer and we got him way further up to speed than he was when he got here.”

The location for the sailing camps is ideal. The shimmering waters of the Great Egg Harbor Bay in Beesley’s Point are usually placid. The bay connects Somers Point in Atlantic County with Upper Township in Cape May County, close to Ocean City.

“Being this far away from the ocean, it’s very protected,” Myers said of the bay. “There are areas if it gets too windy. We can go along the shore here. We can get out of the wind a little bit but still teach a good lesson. There’s not too much short chop that’s caused by the wind, not too many waves.”

    Tyler Myers, right, gets a hand from one of his former sailing students, Pete Anderson, in pulling the catamaran down to the water.
  

Great Egg Harbor Bay will be the setting for the “Point to Point” sailing regatta that Myers is organizing for Saturday, Aug. 30, with Aug. 31 serving as the rain date. Boats will launch from Seaspray Beach in the north end of Ocean City and travel to the Beesley’s Point beach, where Myers has his sailing school.

A little party will be held on the Beesley’s Point beach before the boats set out again to make their way back to Seaspray Beach in Ocean City. The race is about 20 miles long and will involve about two or three hours of sailing time, Myers aid.

Myers, 35, is passionate about sailing. He has raced all throughout the United States, Canada and Central America, among other places, and has numerous race wins and honors.

He grew up in Marmora, went to Upper Township schools and graduated from Ocean City High School in 2007. He graduated with a degree in physics from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., where he was on the varsity sailing team.

His parents, Wally and Lynn Myers, are well-known sailors in the area. He credits them for teaching him the techniques and skills to sail.

Nearly each year, he adds more credits to his list of sailing accomplishments. In July of 2023, he and crewmate Laura Barron won a 43-mile race called the Statue of Liberty Marathon in Myers’ Hobie catamaran. The race began at the Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., and looped around the New York Harbor and returned to the Atlantic Highlands in Monmouth County.

Myers traveled to Mexico in July to compete in the Cummins Cup, a famous race for catamarans. He’s also competing in multiple regattas on the East Coast this year during the sailing season, from New York to Maryland.

He said racing not only makes him a better sailor, but also a better teacher. He loves to pass on his racing experiences to his sailing students.

“I’m staying up to speed with my own sailing, so that translates directly to my students,” he said.

For more information about Point Sailing School, visit www.pointsailingschool.com or call Tyler Myers at 609-231-6432 or email [email protected].

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