When Your Child Has Outgrown “Kids” Programs
Being a teenager can be rough in so many ways: the hormones, the peer pressure, the insecurities. Sailing can offer a great remedy and give teens a lifelong skill that will bring them joy throughout their life.
Many sailing programs start them young, as little as five years old. But what if you’re 13 or 14 or 15 and have never sailed before, or you’re a sailing teen who hit a growth spurt and can’t possibly fold yourself into an Opti anymore? Thankfully there are summer sailing programs just for tweens and teens.
Not just sailing
One of the keys to success for a teen sailing program is to offer more than just sailing. Sailing as a stand-alone skill may not seem very appealing to older kids, but sailing as a part of a larger adventure will get their attention. Sailing is the tool is unlock exploring, travel, and independence, which is something teenagers are constantly craving.
Places such as The Sailing Academy in Deale, MD, and schooner Sultana out of Chestertown offer classic Chesapeake adventures for teens up to 18 years old with sailing overnight camps.
Drew McMullen, president of Sultana Education Foundation, says teens on their program get to experience the Chesapeake in a completely different way.
“This is not a 40-mile per hour speed boat weekend on the Bay. It’s also very different from getting on a small sailboat for a few hours each day and then going home. We have so much to offer from the appeal of a tall ship, to learning everything from navigation, engineering, science, and leadership skills,” McMullen says. “It’s really about personal development. Our week- and week-and-a-half-long overnight trips are very ambitious and have the sort of challenges that appeal to teens.”
Age matters
When choosing a teen sailing program, one thing to look out for is age range. Many programs offer classes for eight to 14-year-olds. Fourteen-year-olds do not want to spend their precious summer days on a beach with eight-year-olds. Other programs age out at around age 14, and after that, teens can join in the adult sailing programs. I ran this idea past my own teenager, and his eyes rolled so far in the back of his head I thought they would never come back.
“Age grouping is everything,” McMullen says enthusiastically. “We have different summer programs divided by age. There is a younger teen and tween program for 11- to 14-year-olds. And then an older teen program for 14- to 18-year-olds. It’s so important that they learn with their peers.”
Choose your own adventure
Sailing camps for teens on the Chesapeake have many similarities, but it’s the little things that can make or break the experience for your child. Are you looking for more of a water sports adventure with fishing, kayaking, and paddleboarding as part of the camp? Or is your child more the science and history buff? Check into the itineraries to make sure the sailing camp is a good fit.
McMullen says that Sultana sometimes has teenagers come to their summer programs who know how to sail, but want to get the experience of a tall ship and learn new skills they can’t get on their family sailboat or on small boat sailing. He says many of them have no sailing background at all, and that’s not a problem.
“It’s about the Chesapeake, not just about sailing,” McMullen emphasizes. “It’s the experience of sailing under the stars, standing a watch, and being a meaningful part of a crew. It’s a big deal!”
Look at staff-to-student ratio for the program, type of boat, and cruising grounds if it’s an overnight. Find out how involved the kids will be in meal prep and boat work, and of course, look at the fine print about electronic device usage onboard (hint, most of the time they are not allowed).
Beyond the beautiful gunkholes of the Chesapeake, there are teen sailing adventures offered all over the United States. World Ocean School on Schooner Roseway and teen sailing adventures on Oliver Hazard Perry are both popular programs that cruise along the East Coast. And there are programs scattered all over the Caribbean, but let’s be real. If your teen goes sailing in the Caribbean, there better be a parent tag along boat offered, too.
By Cindy Wallach
Find sailing schools listed at the bottom of our Start Sailing Now page. .... Find ideas about other kids’ sailing programs here.
