Sag Harbor - Stationed on Pineneck Avenue, nuzzled up against Mill Creek and a short distance from Noyack Bay, Bob Sullivan and Mark Tompkins, owners and operators of Sag Harbor Sailing, sit outside and scarf down the last bit of their lunch. The day is darn near perfect, clear blue skies, a bright sun and a friendly breeze. Customers have already taken a fair share of their fleet out onto the waters. Whether they had a particular destination in mind or not is OK; it's not a prerequisite that they do.

Bob Sullivan (left) and Mark Tompkins have joined forces to make Sag Harbor Sailing one of the top sailing schools in the country according to the American Sailing Association.

Sullivan and Tompkins are passionate about what they do – sailing and teaching others how to sail. Since its opening in 1997, the outfit has been the headquarters for hundreds of sailing enthusiasts, no matter the experience, as well as for thousands of voyages. Although their customers often bear the grins when boarding or disembark from a boat, so too do Sullivan and Tompkins, the captains of Sag Harbor Sailing.

"It's a great reward for us to help other people," Sullivan said. "We realize a lot of people only take one week of vacation per year and out of that they might sail only one day. The least we can do is make sure they get their money's worth, and they do in a day sailing with us."

Jim Tompkins, Mark's father, started the outfit in 1997. Three years later, Tompkins met Sullivan, who as it turned out had learned to sail at Barnegat Bay in Bayhead, NJ, just like he had. Sullivan came on board in 2000 and was captaining private family vessels. Soon enough, Sullivan asked Mark Tompkins if he had any interest in selling any boats in the Sag Harbor fleet; Tompkins replied by saying his father was ready to retire.

"Instead of buying a boat, I ended up buying seven or eight of them," Sullivan said.

Ever since, Sullivan and Tompkins have teamed up to build Sag Harbor Sailing into one of the top venues not just in the area but the country. They've slowly developed their fleet and also added kayaking and fly fishing instruction and charters in 2006. They've developed a retail store that sells clothing, fishing gear, ice and bait. In 2007, the American Sailing Association (ASA), widely recognized as the premier sailing education institution in the country, identified Sag Harbor Sailing as an Outstanding Sailing School of the Year.

Bryan Smith sets out from the dock on Pineneck Avenue in Sag Harbor.

Sag Harbor Sailing takes that honor and its job very seriously. "We have an adult approach to sailing," Sullivan said. "A lot of people, whether they're customers or renters, are out for a joy ride. We provide a total learning experience. We'd like to think we give them enough information so when it comes a time when they're on their own, they have the know how but also have complete support behind them should they need it."

Nobody knows that better than the younger Tompkins because he, like hundreds of others, took the introductory course at Sag Harbor Sailing in 1999 after moving back from Miami. "(Prior to that), I knew nothing about sailing," he said. "I learned through trial and error."

He became an integral part of Sag Harbor Sailing's growth. In 2003, Tompkins earned his captain's license. In '07, the ASA named Tompkins one of 13 Instructors of the Year, a distinct group chosen from a pool of approximately 4,000 instructors coast to coast. Of the recognition, Tompkins, who is an eighth grade teacher at The Ross School in East Hampton, said "It made sense because we have a lot of fun doing it and we have great students. It was a bit of a surprise at first, but we just have so much fun doing it."

Among Sag Harbor Sailing's fleet for which Tompkins is responsible for maintaining are four 23-foot Pearson ensigns, one 34-foot Catalina and recently added 27-foot Catalina. Over the course of a summer, between 300 and 400 captained charters and rentals leave the dock, or approximately four or five per day. Customers can take boats out for a week, a day, a half-day or even a couple hours for a sunset cruise. The organization's mission is to "spare our customers the expense and time consumption usually associated with boat ownership while adding the convenience of having access to the water at anytime."

Sullivan and Tompkins are always on site, whether it be to greet boaters who have raced boats across the Atlantic and traveled the world – which they have – or customers who have never set foot on a boat. Sag Harbor Sailing features a little bit of everything, which is just how its leaders like it, and why the sailing enthusiasts do too.

Sag Harbor Sailing offers a wide array of clothes, fishing gear, and more in its retail store in addition to a four Pearson ensigns, a 27-foot Catalina and a 34-foot Catalina in its fleet.