Come spend an amazing summer on the coast of Maine. Castine Yacht Club is looking for a sailor and leader to run our summer program. We have boats ranging from Optis and 420s to Colgate 26s and locally built wooden boats. We serve the entire community (summer and year round) and most importantly have lots of fun–pig roast, Lord Nelson model boat race, and the Pond Island Lobster Fest are just the start. You will have a great experience, time off, access to golf, tennis, competitive pay, and if you need it housing. We are looking for 2+ instructors–find a friend and come have a great summer.
Responsibilities include supervision of a 4-6 person sailing instructor staff, managing an established curriculum, parental interaction, teaching sailing and boating skills to junior and adult sailors and maintaining a professional environment for over 100 full and part time summer students. Some race committee duties and local travel required.
Castine Yacht Club is proud to offer its summer junior program to its members, community children, visitors and all Downeast coast residents.
Our program continues its strong tradition of teaching the art of seamanship via weekly classes beginning June 25. Our classes will have students learning knots, charting, simple navigation, proper yachting etiquette, the skills necessary to launch and bring a boat back safely as well as how to make a sailboat go as fast as it can in all wind directions. Our classes are designed to have as much ‘on-the-water’ time as possible without sacrificing the lessons necessary for mastery of the equally important knowledge of boat maintenance, anchoring, docking and general yachting protocol.
Our classes begin with the Novice level for children just starting out – ages 6-8. This class meets three mornings a week and will include nautical games, hands on classroom lessons and time on-the-water in Turnabouts, Optis, powerboats, larger sailboats and rowboats. See Schedule
Our Apprentice class is for our 8-11 year olds who may or may not have a summer of previous class time. This class will be on-the-water in Turnabouts, Optis, powerboats, larger sailboats, our Castine Class sailboat and rowboats. This class meets four mornings a week and will focus on basic boating skills as well as the finer art of sail trim, knots and dead-reckoning navigation.
Our 10-13 year old Helmsman class will be held three afternoons a week mostly in Optimists. This single handed sprit rigged dinghy is a wonderful teacher as well as a tutor in humility. ‘If one can sail an Optimist well, one can sail any boat he/she steps aboard.’ In addition to the Opti, we will be on-the-water in our Castine Class sailboat, powerboats, rowboats and larger sailboats. Class time will concentrate on advanced rigging and line techniques, charting, general nautical awareness and the Racing Rules of Sailing. We will introduce racing. In addition to the three afternoon classes, the Helmsman level participates in a Wednesday picnic cruise.
This year, our older sailors will have the opportunity to participate in 420’s, Colgates or Mercuries for lessons in short course racing, general navigation and team racing as well as classroom discussions. The class meets each Monday, Tuesday and Thursday in the afternoons. On Wednesday, the class will participate in the picnic cruise. Inter-club regattas in 420’s will be held several times throughout the summer See Schedule
What is the schedule for the Helmsman classes?