Teens & Kids

Over 50 Years of our family giving you more of what you go to sailing school for!SM

.

It’s easy for your tween or teen to learn to sail at our ASA sailing school and club.  Leave the teaching to us,  and they will learn how to sail right the first time with our summer sailing camp!  They might even be ready to do a sailboat rental or join our sailing club.  Skip the NY Harbor and Manhattan sailing school crowds, and let them become a real skipper! 

Next available session:  YOU tell US!  Let us know when your kid/s can go.  Our formal summer program begins in June, and is offered weekly through August, but we can do custom lessons before that. Older teens, or anyone with a fair amount of experience, could be candidates for our full Start Sailing SM   course instead (Basic Keelboat/ASA 101). Talk to us.

Face it – we’re all kids of all ages here.  But, some programs should be specific to the younger set.  We have that.

Our Teen Camp takes care of the younger adults for one or two week sessions.  Cross that much off your list, and get them some healthy outdoor time learning a new skill with great applicability to everything else in life.  Seriously!  Sailing has its unique challenges, but dealing with them helps build universal skill sets that will serve your teen well for life.

  • Problem solving
  • team environments
  • technical development
  • learning the ‘feel’ of things
  • anticipation and preparation
  • ‘being’ in the moment

Covered!  All in a fun, safe environment.  

Have tweens or younger kids?  Talk to us about custom experiences for them, including our unique Kid/Parent Trips in the British Virgin Islands!  Also, some tweens might be candidates to join our Teen program.  If you think that might be a fit for your tween, again – talk to us.

Our NYC teen camp sailing program teaches them how to sail safely, while feeling as if they are in Westchester or Long Island.  Easy to get to from most of the Tri-State Area, our one and two week programs foster individual growth, team work, environmental awareness, and are just plain healthy and fun.

LOCATION

We avoid the pitfalls of NY Harbor and the Hudson & East Rivers.  Our waters have gentle current, steady breezes, almost no commercial traffic, and plenty of room in all directions regardless of what the wind is doing.  None of that is available in other areas.  In fact, it’s safe to jump in and swim in our waters!  And they’ll do that sometimes.

INSTRUCTORS

Chosen for enthusiasm, experience, and effectiveness – and headed up by our own Director, Captain Stephen Glenn Card, who is Lead Instructor for our Kid & Teen programs.  Captain Card started out in a similar enviroment over 40 years ago, and still remembers what it was like!  As instructional cross-training for our younger students, Captain Card did it the hard way – he taught snowboarding part time for three winters to work with kids and teens in a much more demanding environment: a prominent ski resort in Vermont!  What he discovered?  The snowsports industry is far more developed in teaching and learning concepts and methodology than the sailing school industry, and it’s a harder (and potentially much more dangerous) environment in which to teach.  Mr. Card became a certified instructor (AASI Level I) half way through his first season teaching.  The lessons learned were invaluable to the sailing school business – which is the primary benefit that he correctly anticipated getting out of the experience.  And he brought it back to apply to students of all ages – including 10-12 year olds on our industry-1st Kid/Parent Trip in the Virgin Islands!

BOATS

We teach on boats that don’t flip over – keelboats.  Ours are smaller, lighter, and more responsive than most, and they’re the perfect platform for teens to start on.   They’re also the only sailboat design ever endorsed by a national sailing school organization!  Our Beneteau First 21.0 sloops are the same hull (body),  keel, twin rudders, and sail plan as the boat it inspired – the ASA First 22.  It’s a high performance boat that’s forgiving enough to allow proper learning and development, all while remaining fun.  And, it’s physically easy to sail so smaller, lighter sailors won’t be overpowered.

From there, teens can up to larger keelboats, or down to dinghies – if they don’t choose to stay right around this size range.

FORMAT
The program can be done as one week (most of the benefit) or two weeks (refinement and more practice).  Days are Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm.  We break for lunch, and also take B&B breaks (bathrooms and beverages, so we have the attention of their brains and not their bladders).  We have a fair amount of potential instruction and Plan B activities, so within reason, it’s a ‘rain or shine’ deal.
 
SAFETY
We will NEVER go out in weather that is unsafe, or might become so before we can get back ashore and be long gone!  Our 50 year family history, combined with on-line weather updates and real time radar tracking, make it easy for us to maximize time and minimize risk.  While theoretically there is always risk involved, we have never had a serious accident or injury – and we do not intend to start with your teen.  US Coast Guard approved PFD’s (personal flotation devices, or life jackets) are worn at all times, and many teens will be able to wear our automatic inflatable jackets that are much more comfortable in warmer weather.  The boats are unsinkable due to strategic foam floatation.  The cockpit seating area has bench seats with backrests.  And, the boats have corner rails and lifelines around the entire boat – a final line of defense lacking in many other programs.
 
DATES
The program is offered weekly, starting the week of June 24, with ‘new’ sessions starting every two weeks.  Those with some prior experience might join on the ‘second’ week of each two week block.

SKILLS EARNED

Teens will have the ability to truly skipper the boat they sailed on.  That means they will be able to sail semi supervised in practice sessions without an instructor on board.  What do we mean by that?  Simple.  They do it; we watch and coach by radio and chaseboat.  An instructor is always on standby ready to advise, give suggestions, and step aboard if necessary to demonstrate a skill again (and, of course, to take charge if there were an emergency).

Specifically, they’ll be able to…

  • rig the boat
  • assess weather conditions for short sails close by using VHF radio and phone apps
  • hoist the sails
  • get underway from the mooring without an engine
  • sail and maneuver the boat confidently in open water and also near other moored or moving boats
  • return the boat and stop at the mooring without an engine!
  • And, of course, put the boat to bed

There many more details involved including tying knots, reading charts, ‘rules of the road,’ etc…. but these are the major skill sets.

CERTIFICATION

Teens can potentially earn proof of their training!  If they apply themselves, they will get ASA 101 Basic Keelboat certification, the first stepping stone in a ladder of progression.  American Sailing Association certification is widely recognized in the US and abroad, and can help sailors to rent and charter boats.  Students are more likely to earn the certification in the two week program.  Certification costs are included, if earned, in 2-week programs and there’s an additional fee if earned in a 1-week program.

WHAT THEY CAN DO NEXT

Sail our boats!  They can rent the Beneteau 21 sloops we trained them on, or join the Teen Club for continued practice with other teens and potentially older adults from our other programs, depending on who is available to sail.  (Parents will know in advance and approve before we send their teen out with other adults.)

TUITION
One week program: $650
Two week program (consecutive or with a gap between sessions): $1150

Want more info, or just to speak to a live human being?  Contact us!