JUNIORS DAY CAMP
The DSC’s Youth Sailing Program was formed in 1990 to make sailing available and convenient for all Baltimore-area children. Since the program’s inception, thousands of children between the ages of 8 and 16 have learned to sail with us. Sailing is an exhilarating way for children to learn teamwork, concentration and self-confidence – not to mention a deep appreciation for the environment in which we live.
We teach sailing to children of all skill levels in accordance with the well-known and respected U.S. Sailing curriculum. Each day at Juniors camp is divided into land-based and on-the-water instruction segments, with the majority of the day spent learning sailing skills first-hand on Baltimore’s beautiful and historic Inner Harbor. On-the-water time is spent with a boat group composed of a U.S. Sailing certified instructor and a group of three or four other children grouped by age and skill level. On-the-water activities include day sails out to the Francis Scott Key Bridge for picnics on the boat, racing, boat “tag” played with wet sponges and drills for the skills learned in the day’s on-land instruction. On Friday’s children are given the chance to test their skills in 10-foot-long Australian Access Dinghies. The bright-colored two-seaters are a fun way for children to test their independence on the water in a safe environment, closely monitored by instructors both on the land and in motorboats.
All classes are held at the DSC’s downtown facility at the Baltimore Museum of Industry.
Safety is the DSC’s No. 1 priority and we make sure that children know the importance of on-the-water safety. All participants and instructors are required to wear a personal flotation device (PFD), provided by the DSC. Our program uses the popular J/22 keelboat preferred by sailors worldwide for its safety and stability in a breeze and its responsiveness on light air days. Each boat comfortably carries four children and an instructor. Our keelboat program includes three levels of keelboat instruction for students of every skill level: