Summer Camp FAQ
- What is the minimum age?
Camp attendees must be 10 years of age.
- Does my child need to a good strong swimmer?
All camp participants must be able to swim and be comfortable in the water. They will be wearing buoyancy aids (personal flotation device) on the water at all times, but they must be able to swim.
- Does my child need to have sailed before?
No your child can be a complete beginner, but you must fill in this information (experience/level of sailing) on the form when booking on the website.
- Do I need my own boat?
No, the club has a number of boats which can be used by the participants.
- What equipment does my child need?
We recommend that each child/teenager has their own wetsuit as it can get cold on the water once they get wet even on nice days. Each child/teenager must also wear appropriate non-slip shoes (closed toed) that can get wet (wetsuit boots or older runners). The club will provide buoyance aids for all participants.
- What times are the camps?
Camps are Monday to Friday for 2 weeks. Commencing at 10 am to 4pm each day. Children /teenagers must be dropped off and collected between these times.
- What facilities are available?
We have changing rooms, toilets and a large kitchen/recreation area.
- What does my child need to bring to camp?
- Towel
- Shoes to get wet (neoprene booties/wetsuit boots or old runners no flipflops)
- Rain gear
- Wetsuit (if you have one, but highly recommended)
- Hat (recommended)
- Change of clothes
- Sunscreen
- Lunch/snacks (healthy)
- Water/beverages
- Can I cancel once I have booked and paid for the camp?
You can cancel and get a full refund up to 14 days before the camp commences or a refund up to 7 days in advance if a replacement can be found to take your child’s place on the camp?
- Do I need to do ‘Parent Duty’?
We require a parent/guardian each day of the camp to do shore duty. Before the camps commence an email/text will be sent asking for volunteers to do a day. Some parents are just not able to do this, and that is fine, but we do ask if at all possible to assist. It is an enjoyable place to spend the day!
- Does my child get any qualifications after doing this camp?
Sailing is a fun and enjoyable skill which is taught to camp participants. We encourage children/teenagers to participate in The Irish Sailing Passport programme (see ISA website https://www.sailing.ie/Training/Courses/Dinghy-Keelboat-Catamaran-Sailing for more information). The Irish Sailing passport is an online skills tracking system, which allows new skills to be tracked as you progress through your course so you can check in at any stage to see what you’ve achieved and the other skills you’ll cover. Please note these levels are not always easy to achieve (especially as they progress) and they require that the children/teenagers pass certain skills during the course which can sometimes take longer to achieve than anticipated and these can be weather dependent. The most important aspect is that they learn how to sail or improve their skills on each camp and have fun in the process. Your child will be a member of the Club for the duration of the camp but we would recommend that if they enjoy the sport to become members and take part in sailing sessions on Thursday evenings and Sundays throughout the season (see website for membership fees).
- What if there is no wind or too much wind?
We will endeavour to teach junior sailors about safety on and off the water, teach knots, respect for the environment and play games on and off the water as ruled by the weather. Camps will take place but safety is foremost and they won’t sail (will be shore based) if weather deems to be unsafe.