All Points of Sail Sailing School

Bought a groupon for a 3 hour guided kayak tour through Armand Bayou. First disclaimer: the bayou is surprisingly gorgeous, wild and will immediately transport you to the Amazon. But I’m not reviewing the bayou, I’m reviewing the business as you can always come to the bayou with a different outfitter or on your own (though it would be hard to find the cool, narrow routes we took via the tour on your own).
First off, the business is not well marked — it wasn’t clear which building they were in and where their parking was; this could be easily improved with better signage.
Second, the checking in process which includes signing waivers, getting your life vest and oars, and paying an additional fee was much more chaotic than it needed to be. They seemed to only have one clipboard despite 12 people in the group each needing to sign a waiver. They also tagged on an additional fee which you had to pay in CASH — neither the fee nor the cash only part were mentioned in the groupon fine print. Who is going to carry around a wad of cash when they are getting in a kayak and leaving their car in a parking lot for 3 hours? They could have easily communicated this beforehand and saved us the hassle of driving out to find an atm which then charges a fee since the nearest one is unlikely your own bank’s branch.
The guide gave us an odd intro in the parking lot after the very long check in process. He seemed to be trying to scare people: «So, who here has a problem with alligators?» How are you supposed to answer that? I felt bad for individuals from other countries who were clearly confused and maybe didn’t know that alligators are pretty normal here and don’t bother you. He then spent 10 minutes figuring out the order of our car procession as you each take your own vehicle on a 10 minute drive to the Armand Bayou parking area (they could have easily avoided this by giving us address/​directions beforehand) and we were each to memorize the make and color of the vehicle in front of and behind us and remember a series of verbalized «first left» and «third right» etc. Again, unnecessarily chaotic.
Once you’re finally all in the water, it feels great. You start out in the open and then get into narrow channels with dense brush and the guide does a great job of pointing out wildlife — mostly birds and several alligators. I truly felt like I was in South American jungle instead of Houston for those few hours. The guide gives a few much needed breaks (I’m in decent shape running/​biking/​weight training at least 5 days a week and still found the breaks helpful as kayaking works particular muscle groups in your arms/​back and can make your lower back and bum pretty sore).
It’s an out and back route and the nice thing is that once you get back to the Armand Bayou parking lot, you can head home from there.
I would definitely come back to Armand Bayou, but I would try a different company or probably just rent a kayak next time and explore on my own.

We had a great time paddle boarding out of this location! Even though it was extremely windy when we headed out– we were given excellent directions to some neighboring canals where the water was much less choppy. I was worried about being able to maintain balance, but it was really much easier than anticipated. What a great alternative to kayaking and very friendly service provided by the onsite crew!

I found it hard to find at first. We drove right past it and didn’t notice a thing. But they have a couple flags that say «kayak» right when you turn in onto Lakeside. I wish I had my own life jacket because most of the ones they had were still wet from previous use (ew). The kayak my boyfriend and I were in had a broken chair back which made it really uncomfortable for him (boo). Making the reservation for the kayak rental wasn’t too bad once I got on the phone with someone. For some reason, the number posted wouldn’t work the first few times I dialed it.
We received little direction on actually kayaking. For a first timer and someone who likes to know what to do, that was terrible. The direction we got was «go left left left and there’s the bridge.» Ok? We got no tips as first timers or anything. It was just don’t lose or break anything and be back in two hours.
Once we figured out where to go, it was great. It was quite the workout. The homes over there were fun to look at. The weather was nice, overcast and breezy. There is a shallow part under the bridge to the left… So watch out.
Bring some water and maybe some snacks. Pee before you get in the kayak. Apparently their restroom is gross so maybe try Subway? Get a sub for the trip while you’re there. If you want to take pictures with your phone, bring a ziploc bag to put your phone in. They sell these plastic pouches for $ 5 there but a ziploc does the same thing. But make sure you zip it up tight. Dress like you’re gonna get wet from head to toe. Bring a towel and/​or a change of clothes if you plan to stay in the area for lunch/​dinner/​drinks.

went kayaking today with my 16 year old niece. my 2^nd time – her first.
we had a blast. we yak’d all over the yacht basin… rode some waves… got our arm workout on!
wear clothes you dont mind getting wet… shoes too. bring a towel or change of clothes [or both] because you will get wet… just a matter of how much!
sean is very helpful getting you on and off kayak… very friendly dude!

I’d have to disagree with the earlier ASA class review. I just finished the ASA 101÷103÷104 Combo course, with Russel as my instructor as well (class started on 6÷28÷2014).
I’ll agree that they’re a little disorganized. My books were sent to the school, rather than my home in Chicago, and that had me a little panicked before classes started, but that was really the only snafu I encountered. I thought that everyone I encountered there, John, Shawn, Russel, and Adell (I hope I spelled her name right) were friendly, and easy to talk to.
Customer service is always subjective, and in this respect, sure I suppose they’re a little relaxed in this area. All points of Sail is not the kind of place where people fall over themselves to try and anticipate your every need. The building is a little tired, as is the class room, but well kept and clean. That being said, everyone there I encountered was easy to talk to, and very friendly. I never saw anyone treated poorly, or felt that anyone was rushed. If you’re looking for the kind of place you can sit down on the front porch and shoot the breeze before or after your kayak, charter, or sailing class — this is the place to be. If you want a less. relaxed experience, where folks are falling over themselves to try and do things for you, then go somewhere else.
I personally preferred the atmosphere at All points myself.
From an ASA class standpoint, I had Russel as my instructor as well. From the beginning, I got the impression that Russel thought that what was in the ASA books and on the test was not nearly as important as the ability to physically handle the boat. While he did do some hand holding before the tests, giving us the answeres in sutble ways if you paid attention during class time — the exact opposite was true once on the boat. With very little exception, he kept «hands off» here, instead instructing and letting the students do all the work. That, to me, was what was what was important, and where I learned the most. Being able to answer a multiple choice test on right of way, and actually doing it are two different skills, and I feel he valued the ability to DO versus KNOW much more.
In that aspect, I felt he succeeded. As someone with very little prior experience, by the end of the 5 day class, I was able to sail. Not expertly, but I was fairly confident that I could handle a day sail on my own.
We did get out into the bay, sailing to both boater’s cut, and Red Fish Island, so perhaps there were some circumstances that kept him from bringing folks out into the bay with the other reviewer. I’m not sure. I didn’t care much for sailing in clear lake myself either, there was a lot of traffic on the weekends, and at least on the 37′ Hunter, the draft is pretty deep for the lake. Sailing in the bay was much nicer. It’s unfortunate it takes so long to motor out there (about 45 minutes each way).
All in all I had a good time, and learned quite a bit. I’d recommend APoS to those kinds of people who like a laid back approach to things. If you’re the kind of person who would go to Caye Caulker instead of Ambergis Caye in Belize or stay in a small place on Isla de Mujeres rather than resort in Cancun because you want to hang out with locals and chat and get to know people — go to APoS. If instead, you’re the all-​inclusive 5-​star resort type, then you’ll want to find another place to rent or learn to sail.
I think that about sums it up the best.

All Points of FAIL.
I unfortunately took a Fast Track bundle of what I *thought* were ASA sanctioned sailing classes here. I also unfortunately had *Russell* as one of my instructors. He was more interested in begging tips off the after hours «sundown sail» Groupon suckers and making his volleyball games than the task at hand. The time under sail was a little as he could pull off and still say we were sailing. It was pathetic. Then we would go back to the sudo-​classroom and he would give us the answers to the tests for the days work and that was it. We didn’t do 50% of the stuff promised, and never made it into the Gulf, instead making short trips into the 6′ deep, muddy bay. It was a great disappointment for the money I paid.
The boats were old, unkept and the bilges stank so bad you couldn’t go below without getting sick. Sad.
I’ll NEVER darken the door of ALL POINT again, or ANY of the other shady businesses that operate under this name including «Lakeside Sailing», «Let’s go Sailing», and the rest.
My advice is to ask ALOT of questions and hold them to the answers you get. Don;t be misled.

We did the 3 hour sunset sail and it was great. The captain entertained us with stories and my fiancé got to steer the boat.

I came here for kayaking off of a groupon deal that a friend purchased. Neither of us had ever been kayaking before so we were definitely excited about the experience. Once we made it there we walked in and there was a lady sitting there handling envelopes. She didn’t greet us at all we had to greet her. I guess she wasn’t in a talking mood but my friend and I were to excited about kayaking to let her bring us down. Finally a gentleman came in and got us started on the paperwork. Sean was excellent with getting us handled and telling us how to paddle while kayaking since it was our first time. We thought we would be getting a tour but NOPE you are your own guide. He told us where to go and we paddled from there.
I recommend getting a double kayak for two people. It’s more fun that way and you can help each other out when you’re about to head into a dock like we almost did numerous times. lol. I will say that it was a great work out but it was so hot. We probably shouldn’t have went at 11am in the morning when it’s super hot. All in all we had a great time. It was so peaceful on the water and everyone was having a good time. I think I will try paddle boarding next time.

Great place for kayaking. We took our babies (my niece & nephew) for some fun in the sun. We wanted to show them that you can have fun outdoors instead of being cooped up in the house. We had purchased a groupon online for kayaking for 2 hours. It was great!
Maybe, we were expecting more from what we got. We assumed that they were going to take us on a tour or something but instead the guy put us in our kayak and showed us were we can go. That was it. The guy that was helping us out was very friendly but we were expecting a lot but maybe next time, we shouldn’t expect anything so we won’t get disappointed.

I purchased the sunset sail via Living Social for me and my GF. I was expecting to win huge brownie points for a romantic sail at sunset, what I got was a bit different, let me explain…
We arrived to small shop, that was fine but the first comments from the staff were not «hi welcome to All Points Sailing, you guys ready to have fun?» but «you see those papers? Grab two and fill them out» — wow, so much for service. None the less we trooped on hoping for a nice cruise.
We were directed toward a boat and told to walk over, he elected to drive over in his truck. No kidding. We got on board and were instantly bossed around and given duties, the boat was older and smelled of mildew and old water down below.
We were told that tips were customary but not mandatory as we cruised out?! ok. I would let my customer service skills award me tips, not reminding everyone.
Let me sum this up, if you want to sail around on the water and enjoy the gulf and be put to work but a semi crass man, then sign up. If you want a refreshing, relaxing cruise with great customer service that makes the 40 min trip from Houston worth every min, then go some where else.
BTW — they also offer food, I’m scared to know what that would be like. Good luck to others who used living social on this!

A wonderful place to learn to sail or charter a boat. Very nice people.