| TAYLOR POND YACHT CLUB |
TAYLOR POND REGATTA 2023 AT HARRASEEKET YACHT CLUB |
SAILING PROGRAM 2024
LESSONS FOR YOUTH AGED 7 TO 18
TPYC uses the following sailboats for instruction:
Turnabout – A ten-foot, single sail, boat ordinarily sailed by two people, but which can be handled by one person. Under suitable wind direction, a spinnaker can be added to the sail plan.
Optimist Dinghy – An eight-foot, single sail boat ordinarily sailed by one person.
FJ, or Flying Junior – A fourteen-foot boat carrying main and jib, widely used by high school and college sailing teams, capable of planing in moderate wind conditions.
PROGRAM OFFERINGS:
Kids Discover Sailing – A five-day (June 17-21) introduction with short classes for young children unsure of the attractions of sailing. For this class only, seven-year-olds who will attain eight years of age by 15 July 2024 will be eligible. Class will meet 12:30-2:00, Monday through Friday. Enrollment limited to five sailors.
Junior Sailing Lessons – Three, two-week sessions (June 24-July 5 (no class on July 4); July 8-19; and July 22-August 2) are available and sailors may enroll in one, two, or all three sessions. Classes will meet Monday through Friday from 1:30-5:00. Turnabouts and Optimists will be used ordinarily for sailors from age eight through twelve. FJs will be used ordinarily for sailors twelve and older based on skill. Upon the recommendation of instructors, younger sailors may advance to FJs. Monday through Friday will focus on the learning and improvement of skills. Fridays will offer sailors their choice of racing or supervised recreational (non-race) sailing.
Students with sufficient skills will be encouraged to participate in Taylor Pond Yacht Club sailing and racing activities including racing every Sunday, and special regattas including The Andrews Cup (club championship), the Horsman Cup (club junior championship). These activities are not part of the lesson program, and no fees are required.
Inter-club regattas – From time-to-time qualified students will be encouraged to participate in regattas including students from other clubs at Taylor Pond, or at other yacht clubs. Parental transportation may be required.
Enrollment Limits – Enrollment is limited by the number of boats owned by the Club and additional Turnabouts owned by individuals. Early registration is encouraged, and preference of placement is offered to TPYC members.
Fees:
- Kids Discover Sailing: $100.
- Junior Sailing Lessons:
- Members
- $175 per two-week session
- $500 for all three sessions
- Non-Members
- $255 per two-week session
- $700 for all 3 sessions for non-members.
Scholarships: The Taylor Pond Yacht Club Board of Directors has established a scholarship fund to defray sailing lesson fees for students unable to afford them.
If you have additional questions, please email lessons@TaylorPondYachtClub.com. To register for sailing lessons utilize our Events page.
Why sail?
Taylor Pond Yacht Club is a sailing club, founded by adults who built boats, sailed them, and taught their children to build and sail.
We’ve been teaching sailing to young people and some adults for over 80 years. Our young people have gone on to be lifetime sailors, be selected for college sailing teams, run one Olympic sailing qualification campaign, buy ocean going boats and cruise far and wide.
As our membership changes from time to time it is good to make sure we all know what a special opportunity our sailing lesson program is for kids 8 through 18. This year that opportunity is even more special because we have a nationally recognized sailing program director with decades of experience teaching young people: Mike Horn.
You might ask, why do I want my child to spend time learning an obsolete skill? When faced with competing challenges for their children’s time, why should our members choose sailing?
Kenneth Grahame says in The Wind in the Willows that “…there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”
Here’s our longer answer to why our children should learn to sail.
Sailing is peaceful, challenging, exhilarating, satisfying, absorbing, and fun.
Children who learn to sail get healthy outdoor exercise and learn a lifelong skill, self-reliance, responsibility, teamwork, physics, meteorology, and sportsmanship, and have fun.
Sailors have self-confidence, coordination, technical knowledge, character, passion, pluck, good social skills, adventures and, did we mention, fun.
There’s too much about sailing to learn it all in a summer, or a lifetime. Start young and have fun.
We have received two gifts from members to fund scholarships for students in need. Contact the lessons coordinator with questions at lessons@taylorpondyachtclub.com.