A girl smiling in a sailboat with two boys.

beginner sailing

Beginner Sailing - The First Step for Teens

Beginner Sailing is offered in both an AM (9:30am-11:30am) and PM (12pm-2pm) timeslot. The AM and PM sections are separate camps, each with limited capacity. If your child plans to attend camp with a sibling/friend, please ensure both are enrolled in the same program, as transfers may not be available due to strict capacity limits.

As an activity that can be performed over a life time, sailing will produce a unique sense of accomplishment. Shoreline’s experienced and well-qualified instructors provide a supportive learning environment covering water safety, boat handling basics, rigging and de-rigging as well as knot tying. Daily lectures and on-the-water exercises progressively develop each essential skill as campers’ alternate skipper and crew duties with their partners to learn and work cohesively as a team. To give each camper an objective idea of their progress, an individualized skills assessment is provided.

Shoreline Lake holds the highest US Sailing standards as our own with priorities encompassing Safety, Fun and Learning. In this weeklong course, students will learn fundamental boating to prepare them for a lifetime of fun opportunities.

You’ll learn the following skills:
  • Weather & Water Safety
  • Vocabulary, Boat Handling
  • Navigation and Steering
  • Sail Trim, Right of Way
  • Capsizing, Teamwork & More
A girl with a hat on in a sailboat
A group of kids in a sailboat
A boy learing how to sail.

Prerequisites: Age 9-15.

What to Bring

Time for lunch is not included in this camp, due to the shorter timeframe; a short snack break is typically included. Please send your camper with a snack, and lunch if needed (such as if they will be staying in extended care). Due to planned renovations to the Bistro which will be ongoing throughout 2026, Shoreline Lake will not be providing a camp lunch with any camp programs this year. Additionally, there may not be food available for purchase onsite so please send your camper with enough to carry them through the full day.

Campers should bring comfortable clothes, a jacket or fleece, a towel and change of clothes, lots of sun protection, a lanyard to secure their glasses around their heads, a reusable water bottle, and shoes or booties to wear while on the boats and in the water. No flip-flops allowed. Campers should have a pair of water shoes/aqua socks to wear while boating, and a pair of athletic shoes to wear before and after boating.

Important: Please arrive 10-15 minutes before your class to check in.