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ROCKPORT BOAT CLUB

Youth Sailing Program

The Rockport Boat Club has been offering sailing lessons to kids since 1973! Many locals who learned to sail at The Rockport Boat Club now enroll their own children to learn to sail in Rockport.

At the Rockport Boat Club we hope to create a love of sailing and the ocean that will bring former students back to the water for fun, relaxation, and enjoyment throughout their lives.

We believe that to create a lifelong sailor, comfort on the water must be grown and nurtured. Personal connections between students and the community must be created. Students should be encouraged to engage with and learn from the environment. Joyful memories should be created through land-based games, harbor exploration and sailing adventures.

When enrolling your child to learn to sail at the Rockport Boat Club, you are opening the doors to a lifetime of rewarding experiences on the water.

The Rockport Boat Club believes sailing should be accessible for all children. Scholarship funds are provided by Rockport Boat Club members, local businesses, and private individuals who value the program we run here in Rockport Harbor.

Thanks to all who contribute to the scholarship fund which helps make youth sailing financially accessibly for everyone!

If your family will be applying for a scholarship, please write a letter of intent to the Sailing Director, Jeni Conover at youthsail@rockportboatclub.org. In addition you may fill out the RBC Scholarship Application

All classes will focus on safety, seamanship, and boat handling. The core values of our program kindness, respect, and integrity will be instilled and highlighted daily. And most importantly being kind, communicating healthily, and treating each other, equipment, and our environment with respect!

Some things covered in your sailing classes:

  • How to check the weather and tides
  • How to get into/out of boat safely
  • How to row
  • How to read wind direction
  • How to put on a life jacket in the water
  • Parts of a boat and a sail
  • How to rig a boat
  • How to read and steer by a compass
  • How to read a chart
  • How to anchor and where
  • All about tides, currents and winds
  • How to steer a boat on all points of sail
  • How to trim sails
  • How to dock a boat
  • How to put a boat away and fold sails
  • All about knots, coiling lines, and cleating off boats
  • How to capsize
  • Basic rules of the road
  • How to talk on a marine radio
  • What to do in an emergency, man overboard, and safety
  • How to reef a sail


Contact Youth Sailing Director Jeni Conover at  youthsail@rockportboatclub.org with any questions

Rockport Boat Club is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization.  PO Box 254, Rockport ME  04856

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