Explorers, our youngest group, is for children ages 4-6. We hold one week of camp for Explorers before formal camp begins. It is a land-based group, they do not sail. Children will explore the Fort Getty marine environments - the rocky shore, the sandy beach, and the salt marsh. Children will discover and learn about marine animals and their habitats through hands-on activities. The goal of the class is for kids to have a positive experience at the water's edge, while learning more about the marine environment.

Children must be able to communicate verbally and be fully toilet trained. All campers should bring a snack. No food will be provided. A water refill station will be on-site, so please bring a reusable water bottle. 

*NOTE: There is NO swim check for this age group since it is a land-based class. They may get their feet wet in the water, so please bring a life jacket for your child/children. However, they will not be going swimming.

Marine Adventurers is for children ages 5 - 8 (Children age 5 must  have completed Kindergarten to participate. No exceptions will be made). Children will participate in hands-on investigations of the beach, salt marsh, tide pools, and bay at Fort Getty. Through fun games and outdoor activities, kids will learn about the Bay's ecology and the marine ecosystem. They will go crabbing, add creatures to touch tanks, and generally immerse themselves in the marine environment around them. 

Children will also go sailing on CISF's Hobie Waves in groups of 4 or 5 with an instructor. Life jackets will be provided, but those who have a life jacket are encouraged to bring theirs. Children will have a safe, fun experience sailing around Dutch Harbor & the Bay (an informal swim check may be done before the kids go sailing. The swim check consists of the kids swimming a short distance away from and back to shore with their life jackets on. This is done so that instructors get a feel for every child's swimming ability and comfort in the water).

In this age group, Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp focuses on introducing marine science and environmental education coupled with learning to sail (adventure sailing). Days are mixed to combine both sailing and marine/environmental learning. Each week's schedule may be slightly different due to weather conditions, though children will always be learning through fun, hands-on activities. Arts and crafts are interspersed throughout the day, and Thursday is tie-dye day. No prior sailing experience is necessary; those with experience will enjoy sailing Hobie Wave catamarans and sailing with their friends. 

Incorporated last summer, the 7 - 12 age group is aimed to allow more flexibility for families to send all their children in one week. Campers in this age group follow a similar schedule to that of 8-10, and are half-day.

Campers in this age group, 11-16, are our eldest group, and are thus encouraged more autonomy in sailing and marine education. Campers with sailing experience--or those who are looking for more experience--may be allowed to sail without on instructor on board. Autonomy in this way builds confidence and leadership, as well as sailing skills. Sailing without an instructor on board is at the discretion of the sailing instructors. Not all 'solo' sails will be successful, meaning some may end in a capsize. In terms of safety, there is always a powerboat on the water to help. Campers are briefed about capsizing and have experienced capsizing before being allowed to sail solo. Capsizing can be a valuable learning experience, and to be honest, is pretty fun.

Launched in 2021, O’Pen Skiff Adventures is for children that have had previous experience in the O’Pen Skiffs and are 11 or older. This will be a small class where the focus is only on sailing (as opposed to sailing and marine education). Children will have the opportunity to improve their sailing skills and comfort on the water in a more challenging boat than our signature camp boat, the Hobie Wave. We have 5 O’Pen Skiffs available and class will be led by an experienced sailing instructor. Students will sail in a pair and will switch off practice in steering and trimming the main sheet. Topics that will be covered in this class are the basics of sailing which include points of sail, tacking, gybing, capsizing and recovery, rigging, launching off the beach and coming back to shore safely, as using the tiller extension. 

If you are unsure whether your child would love and/or thrive in this class please reach out to us at Fiona@JamestownSailing.org. We are excited to challenge children, but want to make sure that kids are comfortable and excited to participate.

Leadership Program, for ages 12- 16, runs in conjunction with Sea Adventure camp, but provides a more focused experience for youth who are ready for something more: Either hoping to become a CIT or JI in the future, or just wanting to gain confidence and challenge themselves to grow as leaders and people. Participants should have experience in at least one year in Sea Adventure Camp before joining the leadership program.

Sailing is an ideal platform for gaining confidence and leadership in its own right. CISF takes the next step by directly helping foster youth leadership through discussion, reflection, leadership challenges, and working towards personal and group goals. This group will have discussions and challenges as a stand alone group, but will also spend time immersed in the larger camp group putting their new skills into practice. Every day will include working on building sailing skills and confidence. All youth will get the opportunity to sail alone.

Vince Lombardi once said “leaders are made, not born”. The skills that will be taught in CISF’s Leadership Program are life leadership skills. Our goal is not just to create the next group of Sea Adventure Camp Instructors, but to empower youth with skills that will enable them to grow into good people and members of the community. Focuses are to help youth gain self-awareness and practice being reflective, present, and open to growth, learning about different ways to be a leader and how they can use their own strengths to benefit others, and working to shift focus from their own camp experience to enriching the experiences of others.

Campers in the Leadership program will continue to participate in Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp but will be in their own pod, or group. At the conclusion of each Leadership Course, students will receive a certificate of completion. There will be a Leadership overnight camp-out on a Friday towards the end of the summer. Any participant in this program throughout the summer is eligible to attend. The Leadership Course is valuable for multiple weeks of attendance.