JY15 Program: Week-Long Sailing Program Vermilion Sail Camp

Program Structure

The JY15 Program is designed for children ages 8 to 16 years old who are interested in learning the fundamentals of sailing including boat and water safety, parts of the boat, knots and lines, boat handling, and wind awareness. The program will be conducted entirely in JY15 sailboats, a 15-foot- long two to three person boat with two sails, which allow participants to learn both positions of skipper and crew. JY15s are safe and comfortable, and the skills learned are easily transferable to any other class of boat. Through the close supervision and encouragement of experienced counselors, the participants of this program will have a fun, safe, and instructive opportunity through which boating and life skills can be learned.

The JY15 program will be conducted for one week from 8:30am-12:00pm. Rain or shine, we will have camp. In one week, we will be able to teach the participants the fundamentals of sailing and boating safety, forming the foundation for a life-long appreciation in water activities.

Fast Facts

• Open to members and non-members of the Vermilion Boat Club and Vermilion YMCA, ages 8-16 years old. • 5 mornings of sailing – typically the 3 rd week of July – See program Application for exact dates - 8:30am-12:00pm each day. • Instruction provided by skilled, trained counselors in a fun, safe, and encouraging environment. • Refer to the VBC Handbook for information on Mission, Goals, Policies and Procedures, and Equipment.

Curriculum

Day 1 • Welcome and Introduction to the program. • Water safety concepts. • Equipment and grounds maintenance. • Parts of the boat. • Rigging and de-rigging the boat. • Skipper/Crew responsibilities. • Boat steering basics. • Collision avoidance. • Safety Position. • Knots and lines. • Application will be leaving and returning to the dock, tying up, steering under powerboat tow while in the river, and beginning sailing. Day 2 • Review of sailing fundamentals. • Wind awareness. • Points of sail and sail trim. • Being “in irons” and ways to get out of irons. • Tacking and Gybing. • Capsize/Overboard avoidance and recovery. • Focus on point of sail reach. • Introduction of Figure 8 and Loop course. • Mark rounding. • Application will be on Lake Erie sailing through the Figure 8 and Loop course and practicing the safety position drill. Day 3 • Review of points of sail and sail trim. • Review of skipper and crew positions. • Powering and de-powering the boat. • Application will be on Lake Erie through exercises including starting/stopping on the whistle, tacking/gybing on the whistle, and follow-the-leader. Day 4 • Focus on points of sail of close-hauled, reach, and run. • Sailing upwind and downwind. • Right-of-way. • Introduction of Square course. • Application on Lake Erie through Square course. Day 5 • Review points of sail and right-of-way. • Introduction of starting-a-race concepts. • Introduction of racing concepts. • Application will be on Lake Erie through sailing a mini-racing series on a Square Course. • Awards.