Junior Sailing
Summer Camps
Sail camp is the perfect way to practice safety and respect in and around boats and the water, all while having great FUN. This lifelong sport develops motor skills while building self-confidence and encouraging teamwork. BYC Junior Sail offers both full and half day Summer Camps. We teach the basics to beginning sailors and build on prior experience as they advance through the program. Open to all children ages 8 to 16.
Sailboats: Dewitt Dinghies
Youth Camps
Ages 8-12 / Under 115lbs and less than 5ft tall
Designed for children with little or no experience sailing a single-handed small sailboat. Students learn basic sailing skills and seamanship as well as common sailing knots, parts of the boats, and right-of-way rules. They also learn the points of sail, basic tacking and gybing, and basic sail trim. The US Sailing certified instructors provide a safe and fun learning environment promoting teamwork and camaraderie on and off the water The first day of each "Learn-to-sail" camp week, students will participate in a capsize drill to teach self-rescuing and staying with the boat. There will be 3 certified instructors closely working with 12 students during these drills.
The capsize drill consists of the following:
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Instructor will place the student's life jacket into the water, a few feet from the dock.
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The student will jump into the water and put their life jacket on while treading water.
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Once the life jacket is on, the student will swim to the capsized boat, a distance of about 25 ft.
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At the capsized boat, the student will climb onto the daggerboard, right the boat, then move to the stern while maintaining contact with the boat.
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The student will enter the boat over the transom.
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While in the boat the student will capsize the boat for the next student, then swim to the ladder to exit the water, approximately 40 ft from the capsized boat.
Teen Camps
Ages 13-16 / Over 115lbs and over 5ft tall
Designed for students who have completed basic "Learn-to-Sail" courses or are able to learn on larger and faster boats as both skipper and crew. The focus is on boat handling, sail trimming, and working as a team. This class works well for those that have become too big to comfortably sail in the singlehanded Dewitt sailboats. Designed to develop basic water safety skills, tack, gybe, steer and trim. Knot tying and learning the unique sailing vocabulary. Teens will also learn the basics of rounding marks and docking. Teens will also go through the same capsize drills as the youth camps.
