In St. Thomas for a few hours and spent two of them with these folks - outstanding! I have sailed smaller boats but never experienced the thrill of true racing class.
Got as high as 8 knots. The only downside if any is that the time goes by so fast - due in no small part to the fact that you are crewing the boat and paying attention to the commands of the skipper. I would do this again in a heartbeat.

My husband and I recently spent time in the USVI and were recommended a number of activities during our visit. I decided to treat my husband to a day on the water with Ondeck. Neither of us had sailed before and we quickly learnt the ropes with an exciting match race. We came off the brilliant yachts feeling such a buzz; the crew were excellent, making us feel extremely safe and looked after. From there we found it a great location to explore Nelsons Dockyard and Shirley Heights. Can't wait to return one day soon and try a little more sailing.

WOW!!! This is by far the most fun we’ve had...EVER!! We booked this as a shore excursion on our cruise in October 2007. We loved every minute of it. The Captain and First Mate were awesome, knowledgeable, helpful and patient with those who had not sailed before. We had a variety of folks, from those who were just along for the ride, those who had no experience and a couple of veterans. Every person was able to be involved (or not) as they felt comfortable and every person without exception had a fantastic time. They take pictures of you throughout that you are able to purchase at the end. Kinda pricy...we split the disk with another couple on our ship. We took the disk home, made a copy and mailed them the original. This is the day that made our entire cruise worthwhile. I would return to St. Thomas just to do this again.

My goal for this excursions was, quite frankly, to do nothing during it. I wanted to lash myself to a rail and cheer everyone else on during the race. However, due to the way they split up the 13 people in our shore excursion group among the three yachts, it wound up being just my friend and I on a boat with the skipper and first mate. Therefore, I wound up having to do EVERYTHING, and I'm so glad it worked out that way. It was the best experience I've had in quite a while - challenging, but not too hard - and above all, fun. The two crew guys were hilarious; it was sort of strange to tip them at the end because it felt like we'd known them forever. After the race we both had a chance to helm the yacht as we headed back to the dock.

Since it's a bit difficult to take pictures while you're racing, the crew members do it for you (the pics are available to purchase after the race at the obligatory rum punch party, or through the company's web site.)

Fair warning - it can be a little tough on the hands if there aren't others to switch off the winching with - my friend wound up with a couple of blisters. And for those thinking along my original lines, be aware that there really AREN'T any rails to lash yourself to. Or at least not on the smaller Farr 40s that the company uses during the winter months.

Overall, a great experience that I highly recommend to anyone visiting St. Thomas!