Reference Letters

12/3/04 - 12/10/04

"Phil was a perfect host - fun, informative, pleasant.  We enjoyed our room and felt very at home.  Laura was an excellent cook.  We felt we were at a gourmet restaurant.  We plan on sending a few friends your way.  Set them up with Phil! 
We can't say enough good about our experience.  We had adventure, relaxation, & beautiful views.  Phil and Laura were fabulous.  We left feeling like we had new family."

Clark Sheffield

"Dear Phil: The purpose of this letter is to let you know how much myself and the rest of our travel have enjoyed our recent cruise on board Storm Petrel.  We have been impressed by your professionalism and local knowledge and truly grateful for your hospitality and camaraderie.  Our accommodations on board Storm Petrel were spacious and comfortable and I was particularly impressed by the stability of its steel hull when sailing in strong winds, as I can compare it with my fiberglass boat.  The islands were beautiful, the sailing spectacular, in all a memorable week.  As I mentioned to you personally, my crew and I plan to sail with you every January for the foreseeable future.

We look forward to seeing you soon, in the warm turquoise waters and sunny beaches of the Virgin Islands!"

"These were the best two weeks we’ve spent in fifteen years and we are enthusiastically planning our next trip.  It is always a bit nerve racking trying to choose a boat and captain sight unseen. We were therefore relieved and then thrilled to find ourselves comfortable and at home with both. Phil Levine is an extremely gracious and compatible man. His expertise is impressive but he is modest enough with it so that we always felt safe and never felt stupid. He was helpful without being overbearing.  He instructed when we needed to learn and encouraged when we took initiative. He seemed happy for us to do as much or as little as we were comfortable doing.  Our cabin was roomy and nicely appointed. The queen-size bunk was luxurious and amazingly comfortable. One night during a rainy storm we tucked up and watched a movie on the VCR!  Phil cooked several meals for us and though he claimed not to be, he is also a good cook- simple meals but very tasty and beautifully presented. In general we could not have asked for a better companion, friend and sailing partner.

"We had a wonderful time on Storm Petrel with Captain Phil Levine. He’s a delightful person with a great deal of warmth and charm. He became part of our group and a very dear friend after a very short time.  Phil’s energy, enthusiasm and fabulous personality made our vacation better than we could have dreamed. He’s a talented teacher- we improved our sailing skills and some of us learned to scuba dive. At all times we felt we were in excellent hands. I really can’t overstate how much we enjoyed Phil and his boat. "