Registration opens March 1, 2024 at 8:30 am
Camp Objectives:
– Provide a fun, safe, and positive learning environment that is respectful of both fellow campers and the environment
– Teach children to sail and feel comfortable on the water
– Familiarize children with the environment around them and instill a sense of connectedness to it
Philosophy:
Water dominates our landscape and is a valuable resource. Being comfortable on, in, and around the water, as well as, preserving our marine environment is critical to current and future generations. CISF seeks to introduce more children to sailing and the marine environment by providing a unique learning opportunity in a safe and spectacular environment, Fort Getty.
Camp Description:
Conanicut Island Sailing Foundation holds eight week-long camps for local and visiting children called Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp. Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp is a Conanicut Island Sailing Foundation program focused on educating children aged 4-16 about the principles of sailing and the importance of preserving the marine environment. Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp is held at Fort Getty State Park in Jamestown, RI. (*Children age 5 must have completed Kindergarten in order to participate – no exceptions.)
Each week-long camp focuses on introducing campers to foundational concepts surrounding marine education and sailing. Days are mixed to blend sailing experience and exploration of the marine environment. The schedule and curriculum for each week varies due to weather conditions and the interests of each individual group, though children will always be learning through fun, hands-on activities. Arts and crafts projects are also interspersed into camp each day. Lunchtime speakers will last 20-45 minutes and are typically hands-on programs.
Please check out Camp Photos here!
Sea Adventure Camp Groups:
CLICK EACH FOR MORE INFO!
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.
General Information
CISF has five Hobie Waves that campers will have the opportunity to sail during their time at Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp. Hobie Waves are 13′ catamarans that are fun, stable, and great boats for children learning to sail or those looking for more experience.Those with prior sailing experience love sailing with their friends and sailing these catamarans! Children learn to sail and explore Narragansett Bay in small groups aboard each boat with a US Sailing Level One Certified Instructor. This is an introductory boating class so no prior experience is necessary or expected.
Campers are never allowed on the water without an instructor on the water, whether that be in a powerboat or another Hobie Wave sailboat. Camper safety is of the utmost importance at Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp as well as with all CISF programs!
Children will be taught the basics of sailing in a controlled and safe environment. Instructors will teach the following: wind direction, parts of the boat, rigging, knots, points of sail, tacking, gybing, and basic boat care.
Children will take turns doing each job on the boat so that they will each experience and learn the skills of steering the boat as well as trimming the sails. This provides confidence-building and leadership opportunities in addition to the development of sailing skills.
Marine education lessons are hands-on. Campers will investigate life in Narragansett Bay through in-depth explorations. Children will investigate the three main marine environments – a sandy beach, a rocky shore and a salt marsh – all present at Fort Getty State Park in Jamestown. Campers will discover what types of crabs, fish, invertebrates, birds and other species live along our coastline. A typical day will include marine and/or environmental science lessons followed by first-hand explorations of various marine habitats. There will also be fun games and activities involving the lessons of the day. If your child is a budding oceanographer or just likes to spend time outdoors on the Bay, this is the camp for them!
Camp Location– Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp is held at Fort Getty State Park in Jamestown, RI under a tent located near the boat ramp. As you drive along Fort Getty Road, you will see a large decorated office trailer marking the site for Sea Adventure Camp. The tent is placed over half of an existing foundation, just down the east side of the hill from the public bathroom facilities. The tent has sides that can drop down in case of inclement weather. (Camp does NOT meet under the new Pavilion). A cooler for lunches will be provided, as well as a small lockbox for medications and other small items.
What to Bring – Days are spent outdoors with hikes, games, sailing, and swimming. It is recommended that kids wear shorts, short-sleeved shirts, sneakers or close-toed shoes (bare feet not allowed), and a hat for sun protection. Sun protective clothing is also a great idea. Closed-toed shoes are a MUST as campers spend a lot of time on their feet during the day and can encounter any number of potential hazards. (Croc’s are not stable enough for hikes nor sailing, and are not accepted as closed-toed shoes.)
Children should bring the following to Sea Adventure Camp: a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, a change of clothes, raincoat (as needed), swimsuit, towel, water shoes or old sneakers for aquatic studies, an old t-shirt for tie-dying and/or messy projects, a sweatshirt or jacket, a snack, lunch, and a water bottle. A water refill station will be provided but no cups are provided as we try to remain as environmentally conscious as possible.
Sunscreen should be applied before campers arrive for the day. Instructors will remind kids to reapply sunscreen regularly throughout the course of the camp day.
Campers should bring their own life jacket to camp if they have one. If you do not have a lifejacket to send with your camper, CISF will provide a lifejacket for their use during their week at camp. Life jackets are to be worn at all times when on a boat, on the water, on the pier, and on the docks.
What NOT to Bring – Please leave pocket knives and weapons of any kind at home, as well as radios, electronic games, toys, pets, and valuables. Please do not bring valuables to camp. CISF, nor Sea Adventure Camp Instructors, will not be held responsible for the loss of valuable items intentionally or unintentionally brought to camp.
Cell Phones – Campers may bring their cellphones to camp but they should remain in a safe place and on silent for the day. Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp is an outdoor education camp. Please use this time as it is meant: to have children engage with one another and in nature, not with their cellphones on and in use. CISF and Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp will not be held responsible for any lost or damaged cell phones. Campers’ phones are absolutely prohibited on the water; all Instructors will have cellphones on their person in the event of an emergency.
Garbage – Please try to be as environmentally aware and friendly with food containers as you can when packing lunch and/or snacks for your camper. Suggestions for reusable containers: washable cloth bags, Lunch Bots stainless steel containers, reusable plastic containers, napkins, bandanas, thermos, and reusable water bottles.
Marine Debris – During each week of camp, children will learn about, study, collect, and catalog marine debris. Children will discuss what marine debris is, where it comes from, how it travels, the consequences of marine debris, and how to help solve the problems inflicted by marine debris. Appropriate gloves will be given out prior to collecting any marine debris. Additionally, instructors will brief all children on what is safe and what is not safe to pick up. Over the past several summers, campers have collected thousands of pieces of trash along our coastlines and disposed of it properly. All of the collected items are cataloged and input into a national database called Marine Debris Tracker.
Swim Check – All children in a camp for children ages 8-16 will have a swim check. This happens during the first day of class. The swim check consists of kids going in the water without their life jackets, swimming to a designated place in the water, treading water for 1 minute, and putting on a life jacket while in the water and swimming back. Instructors will be at the water’s edge watching and waiting to assist if needed. Swim checks are mandatory at every sailing program throughout the country. This is a national safety standard and an insurance requirement. Children must pass the swim check to go sailing. Instructors reserve the right to re-check a student should they struggle during the first attempt. If a camper struggles during the initial swim check, the re-test can be done with a life jacket on. We want children to pass the swim check and will do what we can to ensure they pass and are safe on the water.
Children in the Explorers camp will not have a swim check. (Camp for this age group is entirely land-based). (There is only one week of this age group in 2022.)
Children in the Marine Adventurers camp will not have a formal swim check. If there is an opportunity to hold an informal swim check with life jackets on, instructors will do that to see the children’s comfort level in and around the water, as well as the swimming ability.
Swimming – Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp is not a swim camp. It is a sailing and marine education camp. However, the camp day takes place in, on, and around the water all day. When kids are allowed to swim, they must do so with their life jackets on. Instructors keep a close eye on kids when they are swimming, but we do not employ a lifeguard, nor are our instructors lifeguard certified.
Instructors & Educators – The staff comprises very competent, responsible, and talented educators and sailing instructors. Sailing Instructors are US Sailing Level 1 certified.
Two quick notes relevant to all age groups:
1.) Thursdays are Tie-Dye Day for ALL groups. You can buy a Sea Adventure Camp t-shirt for $15 during the registration process or during your camp week, or you can bring a t-shirt to tie dye.
2.) On Fridays, all groups EXCEPT the Explorers, sail to get a Del’s Lemonade at Mackerel Cove. The Explorers group is a land-based group, thus they cannot sail to get Del’s. While it would be great to include them in this activity, it gives them something to look forward to when they advance to the next age group. Please send your child (not in the Explorer (age 4-6) group) with $5 on the last day of camp.
Lunch – Campers need to bring their own snacks and/or lunches each day. There is no place to buy lunch or snacks and no food will be provided by Sea Adventure Camp. A cooler will be provided to keep lunches in. An email will be sent out at least the weekend before each camp begins to notify all campers of foods that may not be brought due to allergies of other campers, i.e. peanuts or tree nuts. We do not have an environment that allows us to easily separate children with allergenic foods, as happens in schools. Thus, some weeks we ask campers not to bring allergenic foods (i.e. tree nuts and the like) in any form to camp for the safety of other children. We thank you in advance for understanding.
What to Expect – We try to ensure an equal amount of time for marine education and sailing each week. However, many of the activities are weather-dependent and thus, the ratio of activities may not be equal at the end of the week if there is inclement weather. (Heavy rain and thunderstorms preclude sailing.) Instructors always strive to sail as much as possible and will make every effort to get campers out on the water during their time at Sea Adventure Camp as circumstances allow.
Marine Adventurers, the 5* – 8 year-old age group, is split into two equal groups. One group will go sailing and the other will go crabbing, exploring, and learn about the marine environment around them. The two groups will switch activities after at the program’s halfway point. Campers in the Marine Adventurer group should bring a snack each day to enjoy and refuel during their break between activities. (*Children aged 5 must have completed Kindergarten in order to participate – no exceptions.)
Explorers, the 4 – 6 year-old age group, are entirely land-based. Activities for this age group include topical arts and crafts projects, active games, and hands-on explorations or different marine environments at Fort Getty State Park. Campers in the Explorer group should bring a snack each day to enjoy and refuel during their break between activities.
Weather – Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp is held each day, weather permitting. In the event that there is extreme rain, flooding, or severe thunderstorms, camp may be canceled for the day. We will do our best to offer a make-up day(s) for participants should we be forced to cancel a day. Please check your e-mails in the event that rain and thunderstorms are expected during a camp day of camp. E-mail is our best and most efficient means of communication when it comes to important announcements. This summer, 2020, we will again attempt to implement a text communication channel as well. Any cancellations or postponements will be texted, emailed, and posted on our Facebook page.
The instructors and Meg Myles, Executive Director of CISF and Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp, are constantly monitoring the radar for storms. All are in constant contact via cell phone. If there is an impending risk of thunderstorms, no one will go sailing as we do NOT want anyone on the water in a thunderstorm! Occasionally, a storm can pop-up and be missed by radar. We do the best we can to avoid having kids on the water when there is thunder and lightning. In the past, there have been occasions when our sailors divert to Saunderstown Yacht Club instead of having them sail back to Fort Getty. In that case, an e-mail is sent out as early as possible, and a CISF Board member will be on-site at Fort Getty under the tent to direct parents and answer any questions.
If it is ‘just’ raining, kids may go sailing. Hobie Waves are wet boats anyway, so sailing in the rain is not risky or unsafe in any way. In the case of mild rainstorms, please remember to send your child to camp with extra layers, a raincoat, and a towel.
Also, please remember that the water can still be cool in July. Hypothermia can happen in water as warm as 70 degrees. If it is very hot at your house, please continue to pack extra layers for your camper as the cool Bay water creates a very different climate at the shore.
Making the Program Work for Your Child – If your child communicates dissatisfaction, discomfort, or anxiety about any aspects of Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp, please let the staff know immediately, or feel free to contact Meg Myles (CISFSailing@gmail.com) or 401-855-6643, or Haley Barber on-site at Sea Adventure Camp for any reason. Instructors can be emailed as well: CISFInstructors@gmail.com. We can only accommodate kids and solve issues that arise if we know about them.
Feel free to contact Meg Myles (CISFSailing@gmail.com) or Haley Barber on-site at Sea Adventure Camp for any reason.
Instructors can be e-mailed as well: CISFInstructors@gmail.com
If your child is on any medication, or has a medical or emotional sensitivity, it is in your child’s best interest to let the staff know. This will help us to avoid aggravation or trauma. We strive to provide the best possible experience for all children participating in Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp. All medical information is private and shared with staff only as they need to know. CISF does not share any personal information or data with anyone. Children with disabilities or special needs of any kind are welcome in any week of camp. We will do our best to accommodate every child as best we can. Please contact Meg to discuss any problems or issues, or any questions that you may have.
Sea Adventure Camp’s Weather Station – In past summers, Jamestown Sea Adventure Camp had its own weather station! We are currently in need of a new one. Please contact Meg Myles if you can help us procure a new weather station.
Private Lessons – Private lessons are available with the Instructor of your choice. Rates are: $60 per hour, with a 2 hour minimum requirement. There is an additional $10 per hour charge for each student added (up to 4). Private lessons can only be scheduled at times when the CISF boats are not otherwise being used, which is select afternoons, evenings, and weekends.
Refund policy –
1) Prior to June 1st, a $20 administrative fee/person will be assessed, with the balance refunded.
2) After June 1st, a $20 administrative fee will be assessed and the balance will only be refunded if and when the spot if filled.