I’d like to teach your kid to sail, but …

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Leo Robbins Summer Program

I hate to admit that teaching kids to sail is not my stick or schtick; it’s just not my metier, not my forte. But there are a couple of programs that excel at the job and can make a stay-at-home summer for pre-highschool-age kids a lot of fun.

First up, my pals at the Leo Robbins Sailing Center. This is a program run and subsidized by the City of Ventura. Their priorities: safety, fun and -finally- learning to sail. I worked with Dean Prophet and Dave Bowen, both USCG captains, my first summer in Ventura, and I can tell you from first-hand experience that they run a tight ship and that the kids have a great time. (I will also tell you a secret – I learned a great deal as Dean’s assistant that first year. He’s a middle school teacher most of the year and though I am a reformed high school teacher myself and have been sailing for 50 years, I learned some very useful teaching skills as well as some sailing tricks working with him.)
kayaking at Leo Robbins
So the instruction is first-rate. They have 30 kids/week, ages 9-13, and each session is cut in two with half the class sailing in the morning while the other half kayaks. At noon, they switch.

The “camp” operates from 0730 to 1730 and costs 145/wk for Ventura residents and kids can sign on for multiple weeks.

The kids sail Capri 14.5 sloops with never more than three in a boat. They’re great little boats, very forgiving and nearly indestructible. After a couple of sessions, most kids can skipper these craft quite competently.

To learn more about the boating programs at Leo Robbins, click LEO or call 805.658.4726.

2 thoughts on “I’d like to teach your kid to sail, but …”

  2. Cap’n Dan, you spell worse than me. But I know that the schtick holds the mainsul , the metier tells you how much juice is left in the battery, and you is WAY past forte…

    Shirly, you betcha I remember. That’s when I learned to play the flute…