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Youth Programs

Sailing and learning to sail is a challenging yet safe, cooperative and confidence-building activity for children of all ages.  Youth sailing is often focused on racing which helps teach fairness in competition, judgment and teamwork.  For teens racing is also a wholesome, effective and co-ed way to socialize and establish a peer group.

Sample Programs:

   -Beginning  Learn to Sail Day: 2--6 hours, 3-5 children per boat (or 6 children if they are smaller and cooperative), 1 parent/guardian/teacher per boat.  Children will rotate and learn all crew and skipper (driver) tasks.

   -Intermediate Learn to Sail Day: Same as above with more advanced skills and boat control games (if 2 or more boats) such as Sponge Tag (throwing a sponge from one boat at another), Follow the Leader.

   -Navigation Treasure Hunt:  Inside a marina and/or on the ocean, learn navigation skills by decoding clues to find buoys and other markers.

   -Racing: For larger, stronger children, approximately age 11+, since races will be done on  larger (25'--35') boats.

All programs are customized and require at least 3 children as well as each child's parent/guardian to sign a release and all children to be accompanied by parents, faculty or staff members, all of whom must be at least 18-years-old.

Staff:

For 4 years Captain Adam Colson has worked on and now is the director of Boys & Girls Club after-school and "Fast & Fun" summer camp sailing programs and has also worked with the Los Angeles Maritime Institute's TopSail Youth Program.  "Captain Adam" will sometimes speak basic Spanish on the boat in order to help Spanish-speaking children learn to sail.  He has worked as a public and independent school elementary teach and as a California Licensed Clinical Social Worker with youth and families from a wide array of socioeconomic backgrounds.  Additional Even Keel staff used, for multiple boat programs such as races, will also be U.S. Coast Guard licensed and/or Certified Sailing Instructors with experience working with youth on boats.

Safety & Insurance:

Although new to many adults and children, sailing in Southern California is usually one of the safest outdoor activities and certainly one of the safest modes of transportation.  In 4 years of working with children, Captain Colson has a perfect safety record of no children ever getting injured on boats (other than minor scrapes).  Even Keel Sailing policy requires all children (under 18) to wear an appropriate-sized PFD (Personal Floatation Device or "life jacket"), and PFDs will be supplied. (California state law requires children 11 and under to wear a PFD while on deck of a boat 26' or smaller.)  Even Keel Sailing activities are covered by comprehensive insurance from the St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company, administered by Starkweather & Shepley Insurance, Inc., one of the 3 major suppliers of marine insurance in the U.S.

All photos & text copyright © 2008 Even Keel Sailing, LLC