Morning Sailing
Mini-Mariners - Ages 5 - 8. Morning Session
Designed for kids ages 5 - 8, this fun first program aims to build comfort in and around the water while instilling respect for the ocean and water safety. Based primarily on our small keelboats (J-22 and Boothbay Harbor One Design) our Mini Mariners will spend time sailing a variety of small boats, with instructors present right by their side. While using sail and rowboats to explore Boothbay harbor, our shoreline and nearby islands, our Mini-Mariners will learn some sailing basics while gaining comfort and desire to learn how to sail on their own in the future. While the Minis will be sailing most of the time, the Mini Mariners is more like a water focussed summer camp than our other instruction based programs. We want our youngest sailors to gain comfort followed by curiosity. The Mini's will learn how to safely board and launch small boats, knots, sea-life, boat parts, water safety, and teamwork while sailing alongside our staff.
Our goal with Mini-Mariners is to learn to love and respect boats and the water that floats them.
This program runs from 9 to 12 with an early drop off (after 8) and supervised lunch (12 to 1) available to all participants.
Beginner Sailing - Morning Session(8+)
Our goal with Beginner Sailing is to learn fundamentals. We teach basic sailing skills including: rigging, boat handling (tacking and jibing), sailing on a reach, docking, balance, steering, and knots. Our Beginner sailors will typically spend a day or two in a Tech dingy with an instructor aboard before transitioning to solo sailing in an Opti, although changes are made due to sailor size and weather among other factors.
To move out of the Beginner class the sailor will be comfortable and proficient sailing alone in an Opti (or Tech if they are older and/or larger), able to sail off of the dock on their own, tie a figure eight and a clove hitch, and are able to tack and sail reaches by themselves. Of course every sailor is different, but in general our youngest sailors require 5-6 weeks while older beginners might only need 2-3 before being ready to move onto intermediate.
In general, if your 8 year old has some comfort in the water and in small boats that are inherently tippy (canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, sailing and rowing dinghies, etc.) we would recommend they start with the Beginners, and otherwise we would recommend at least a couple of weeks in the Mini Mariners. But feel free to reach out with any questions
This program runs from 9 to 12 with an early drop off (after 8am) and supervised lunch (12 to 1) available to all participants.
Intermediate sailing - MORNING SESSION(9+)
The Morning Intermediate Course builds on the skills taught in Beginner sailing with a focus on controlled gybes, independent rigging, more advanced knots, use of the tiller extension, basic upwind sailing, and comfort sailing alone in more wind. Sailors are expected to be comfortable sailing an opti by themselves at the beginning of the course. While the class may do some basic and fun racing, this is not the focus of the group.
Primarily taught in Optis, this class will also make occasional use of other boats in our our fleet to help learn new skills and explore further in and around the Harbor. Sailors move on to the advanced group once they are comfortable with basic upwind sailing, sailing to and from the dock, and rigging independently. Most sailors will spend a bit more time in the intermediate group than they do the beginners.
This program runs from 9 to 12 with an early drop off (after 8am) and supervised lunch (12 to 1) available to all participants.
Advanced Sailing - Morning Session (10+)
The Morning Advanced class continues where the intermediate group left off and primarily uses our fleet of RS Fevas to learn teamwork, rigging a sloop, depowering techniques, basics of the asymmetric spinnaker and more. This class will feature some racing and cover basics of racing (right of way rules, starting sequence, basic courses, etc.) but is still not racing centric. Sailors will move on from this group to the afternoon based on size, skill, schedule and other factors and may sail all day by sailing in this group in the morning and another in the afternoon.
This program runs from 9 to 12 with an early drop off (after 8am) and supervised lunch (12 to 1) available to all participants.
Afternoon Sailing
Intermediate Sailing - Afternoon Session
Please note: Depending on enrollment and daily plans/conditions afternoon intermediate and advanced groups may be separate or combined.
Building on our morning programs, the afternoon Intermediate Sailing Course refines boat handling skills, including upwind and downwind sailing, different landing and departure techniques, performance boat handling, and exposes the sailor to basic racing techniques. Marlinspike skills including knot tying, and boat care are emphasized. Sailors will sail primarily C420's, RS Feva's and Tech's depending on size, skill, and interest, but will also make use of our laser, J-22, and BHOD.
This program runs from 1 to 4 with an early drop off for supervised lunch (12), and a late pick up (until 4:45) available to all participants. Please provide your own lunch.
Advanced Sailing - Afternoon Session
Please note: Depending on enrollment and daily plans/conditions afternoon intermediate and advanced groups may be separate or combined.
Our goal is to advance the sailor from being able to sail around the harbor to sailing well around the harbor and beyond. This is geared towards 420 able sailors who do not wish to race, or who do not want it to be a major focus of their sailing. Through drills, trips, rendezvous and the hopeful borrowed boats we will be teaching basic navigation, distance sailing, formats of racing not often seen in Junior sailing, seamanship skills such as anchoring and mooring, and more advanced knot work. These sailors will sail a wide variety of boats, including 420's, Techs, J-22, and Boothbay Harbor One Designs.
This program runs from 1 to 4 with an early drop off for supervised lunch (12), and a late pick up (until 4:45) available to all participants. Please provide your own lunch.
Racing - Afternoon
Afternoon Race Programs - Opti and 420
Our program builds on the successful Spring/Fall Scholastic Sailing program. Our primary goal is to inspire lifelong sailing through competition with a secondary goal to develop winners with esteem among their peers.
The BHYC Racing program advances Opti and C420 sailors through the Racing Pyramid. Sailors will learn to rig their boat for the conditions: adjusting standing and running rigging tension, and conduct minor maintenance and repairs to avoid breakdowns. Practices will primarily focus on: Boat Handling, Boat Speed, Starts and Mark Roundings, Strategy & Tactics, and the Rules.
Perpetual trophies are at stake for Sportsmanship, best Crew and Skipper.
Those who want to improve their racing performance and learn good sportsmanship will enjoy this class.
This program runs from 1 to 4 with an early drop off for supervised lunch (12), and a late pick up (until 4:45) available to all participants. Please provide your own lunch.
All Day Sailing - Big changes for 2024!
Making use of our new fleet of RS Fevas, keelboats and techs we are now able to offer an all day sailing format for all of our sailors ages 8 and up, with the primary target being sailors from 8 to 14. While we will adjust the afternoon groupings week to week and even day to day based on weather, sailor interest, and enrollment (among other factors) their are two major pathways within all day sailing. Our beginner and intermediate sailors will sail in the matching morning Opti program and then will sail with an instructor aboard one of our keelboats (either a J-22 or a Boothbay Harbor One Design) in the afternoon, while are morning advanced sailors will sail Fevas in the morning and then Optis or 420's in the afternoon depending on size/skill and interest.
We are very excited that this will both make sailing more accessible to working families and also make it so that sailors can spend part of their day racing, but not necessarily all of it. In 2023 we offered this to our advanced morning sailors, but now we are able to open it beginner and intermediate sailors as well. When signing up, you will chose the morning level and note if the sailor currently is interested in racing, and we will handle the afternoon selection. As always, we reserve the right to make changes to the morning selection based on skill as well.
This program runs from 9 to 4 with a supervised lunch break from 12 to 1 (no lunch provided), and sailors can be dropped off as early as 8 and picked up as late as 4:45, with supervision from our staff.
Please reach out with any questions about format or eligibility.