Summer Sport Camp: Sailing

Join this classic water sport at any level; and if you put your mind and effort to it, you can become a skipper, too. Give it a try- take the tiller in your hand and helm the boat in your very first sailing lesson! What better place to learn then in the shadows of the Adirondack Mountains.

Sailors have the opportunity to progress through four skill levels in the Adirondack Camp learn to sail program:

• CREW members become competent and capable assisting on the boat at all times. They learn basic boating safety rules and proper crew position and gain confidence when righting a capsized boat.

• FIRST MATES learn on a single sail boat on all points of sail (either solo or with a crew member) and learn to leave and return from the mooring to tack, jibe, and recover from a crew overboard.

• SKIPPERS learn to demonstrate and teach all the Crew and First Mate skills in a sloop rigged boat and understand the use of sail shape to power up and down.

• PERFORMANCE SAILORS learn how to roll tack and roll jibe, sail backwards, round marks, and how to race using strategy and tactics.

Adirondack’s diverse fleet of sailboats includes: A Mercury sloop and a Capri sloop for an instructor paired with beginning sailors, Two single-sailed Lasers and two Sunfish for beginning solo sailors, A JY sloop and two classic 420 performance sloops for more advanced sailors, and a fleet of 6 Flying Juniors for crewed match racing by the advanced sailors.

Campers who take sailing also have the opportunity to work towards the US Sailing Small Boat Sailors certification by demonstrating many of the above skills in either light and/or heavy wind; and our camp sailing activity is offered as a double period, in order for sailors to spend more time on Lake George and have the opportunity to move through the skill levels over the course of the summer.

However you set your goals for this exciting water sport, you will be encouraged to push the envelope as you build confidence in your skills and judgment as well as respect for the forces of wind and water. When our sailors are on Lake George, camp sailing instructors will be on the water too, standing by on our Boston Whaler safety boat to provide assistance and instruction as needed.