Windsong Murder Mystery at Sea – Patti and Dave got into pirate character during a corporate event.
Dave Crumbley, founder of Windsong Sailing School, has retired.
He and his wife, Patti Price, who served as the school’s Director of Operations, are at last taking time for themselves as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.
As is his style, he has not abandoned the thousands of students who have learned the ropes under his tutelage. His former students – some multiple generations – are now being referred to Lanier Sailing Academy, owned by Matt Flemming.
“Patti and I chose Matt at Lanier Sailing Academy to share our ‘Secret Sauce’ recipe with because it was more important that our students be taken care of than a significant monetary benefit to us,” Crumbley said. “Our agreement with Matt was simple. I was to direct our students toward him, and he understood that my single requirement was that our students to be ‘taken care of’ and have continued opportunities to advance their sailing skills and dreams, using the “Windsong Instructional Approach.”
Crumbley’s approach for the past 38 years has been about individualized instruction with a focus on ensuring each student was satisfied with their level of learning.
“Whether they were interested in simply learning their way around a sailboat or having the capability of chartering a sailboat in the islands or abroad, we were there to help them realize their dreams,” Crumbley said. “We came up with a highly flexible, yet intensely valued alternative tailor made for each individual customer’s needs, personality, learning style, time frame and budget.”
That’s how Crumbley has always rolled.
A Georgia State alumni, Dave came from a family of lifetime boaters, recreationalists and adventurists. In 1987 after several successful racing seasons and being awarded “Auxiliary Skipper of The Year” for racing wins that season with Barefoot Sailing Club, Windsong was founded as an alternative to the typical way aspiring sailors got introduced into sailing.
“Many conventional sailing schools were too rigid and inflexible in the programs offered, specific dates and timelines for completion, with little to no opportunity for practice between the progressive levels of training, short of buying their own boat or joining a membership program,” he said. “And sometimes friends or spouses just wanted to learn enough to share the joy of sailing with a spouse or friends.”
The “Secret Sauce” he referred to was Crumbley’s approach to teaching and addressing customer problems.
“We interviewed our customers and developed a long-term training plan to achieve their specific dreams,” he said. “Each day we created training plans for each student, each day, specific to their training plan dreams. It was a lot of work, but it was very rewarding.”
Teaching is their passion
Patti working with a celestial navigation student.
Both Dave and Patti come from boating families and when they married their calendar was filled with sailing, hiking and other adventures.
As a computer entrepreneur and competitive athlete with a variety of “Life’s Experiences,” Dave brought a broad spectrum of business and personal philosophies to the sailing industry. He has earned respect among his peers and competitors. Dave was involved in the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and actively sat on several of the executive boards. He has been extensively involved in the America’s Boating Club Atlanta (formerly known as the U.S. Power Squadron) and is a past member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. He is a former pilot.
Patti was a forensic chemist with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab and retired after 32 years. A Georgia Tech alumni, she joined Dave at Windsong as director of operations, at first responsible for revenue tracking, student records, calendar of classes and overseeing many of our legal compliance, accounting, financial, tax and operational aspects, then later as an instructor. She earned certifications from both American Sailing Association and US Sailing.
For the past 33 years, she’s been an active member of the America’s Boating Club Atlanta, serving in countless leadership positions.
Dave and Patti have raced and sailed extensively along the Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean Oceans and delivered yachts within the U.S. as well as from St Lucia and to the British Virgin Islands. They ventured to the South Pacific and sailed the Kingdom of Tonga in the southern hemisphere. They have sailed Belize, the Georgian and San Juan Islands of Vancouver British Columbia.
They expanded Windsong through thoughtful hiring of excellent instructors. They created a separate division for corporate Team Adventures. They extended operations from Lake Lanier to Lake Allatoona and had coastal affiliates in the Gulf and the Atlantic that agreed to offer the “Windsong Instructional Approach.”
“We conducted Caribbean fantasy dream vacations and we turned a tiny school into a larger comprehensive operation, but it fed our passion for helping others realize their sailing aspirations.”
The decision to retire
Crumbley and Price readily admit that their decision to retire and pursue a different path in their life was extremely difficult.
“Over time many of our students felt like members of our extended family and we were now training adult children of students we had taught decades ago,” he said with a smile. “We celebrated their successes, helped them plan their education and cruises, guided their growth and listened to their challenges. We hosted wedding proposals, birthdays, anniversaries and many other special occasions.”
Admittedly it took them several years to comply with a firm retirement date.
“We realized that we were missing family birthdays, and often working on holidays,” he said. “We set timelines but always had a reason to continue for another year. Entrepreneurs understand this challenge all too well. Success can be a double-edged sword and we were trying hard not to fall on ours.
“It finally happened on December 15, 2025,” Dave said. “We closed our school and handed our students off to someone we’ve known for years and trusted.
“We didn’t post any unnecessary notices about our departure to the general public. We didn’t want it to be a big deal; we just wanted to return to our private lives and spend more time with family members, since none of us was getting any younger.”
Crumbley and Price describe themselves as private people, and truth be told, there was a small bit of arm-twisting to get them to agree to be interviewed for this article in Lakeside News. But they acquiesced.
He thoughtfully reflected about the final day with students.
“The last class that we taught was among the saddest days of our lives,” he said. “The morning after was one of the happiest days of our lives as we realized what we had accomplished over nearly four decades and were finally able to write the last chapter in that book and open a new one, appropriately entitled, “RETIREMENT.”
Photos: courtesy Windsong Sailing
