Not all learning happens in a classroom. In fact, one could argue, the most important lessons in life probably won’t happen in a classroom setting. Which makes the summer holidays an excellent opportunity for a young person to broaden their horizon in different ways. Travel, explore, get out of their comfort zone, meet new people and make new friends. Learn about life in ways that have very little to do with what they learn during school term… or, that put all this classroom knowledge into a new, more hands-on context!
We are probably a little biased when we say that our sailing summer camps for teens provide the perfect opportunity for young people to spend their summer holidays with a purpose. But then again, the driving force behind everything we do is the goal to provide young people with an experience which will empower them to learn and grow in new ways, and see the world with different eyes. So, here are six reasons why coming on board one of our Sail Camps is not just a fun and exciting adventure, but a unique experience our participants will benefit from for years to come:
Let them get outdoors in their summer holidays!
We all spend far too much time inside and sitting in front of screens, and in between classes, homework, video games and time on phones, this is more and more true for young people as well. We believe they deserve to have a break from it all and spend their holidays using all of their energy sailing, swimming paddling and playing with others all day!
Social interaction beats social media
Talking of phones time: This is very limited on board our Sail Camps! There are some practical reasons for this (phones are terrible swimmers!), but mostly, we want to create an environment on board where social media is replaced by real social interaction – with meaningful discussions, sometimes challenging conversations, but most of all, lots of real laughs, giggles and real smiley faces. 🙂
Transferable life skills
Sailing is never just about sailing. Learning to sail means learning to work as a team. It means learning to communicate effectively with the people you sail together, live together, spend all day together. It means learning to keep a tidy deck, to plan ahead, and to adapt quickly to a new situation. Sometimes, sailing means staying on the helm or hauling the ropes even though your socks are wet, but it also means feeling incredibly proud of yourself for sticking it out afterwards.
When science is fun…
We’ve talked about the transferable life skills involved in learning to sail, but do you know what else sailing entails? Proper national curriculum classroom skills!
Physics to trim the sails. Geometry for taking bearings. And our hands-on Marine Biology sessions on board introduce Sail Campers to the amazing marine wildlife surrounding them, because we believe it is important to know and understand whose home we are sharing while at sea…
Meaningful friendships
The friendships developing from the shared experience of a sailing adventure – the wet socks and lunch time swims, the starry night sails and sunsets at the beach – bring people from all over the world and all backgrounds together.
Young people who may otherwise never have met and connected become the best of friends, leading to broadened horizons and increased understanding.
And those friendships often last for years to come. If you don’t believe us, feel free to ask our team how we all know each other. 🙂
Real achievements
The sense of achievement that comes with learning new skills, getting out of your comfort zone and immersing yourself in a completely new environment is an amazing experience. However, receiving an internationally recognised and highly-valued certificate at the end of your voyage only adds to it. Participants of our Pioneer Sail Camps receive their RYA Start Yachting qualification and can level up to RYA Competent Crew on one of our RYA weekends. And for those working towards their Gold level DofE Award: All our youth voyages qualify as the Residential section, and we offer DofE sailing expeditions as well.
