The Pine Beach Yacht Club (PBYC) Jr. Sailing Program began in the summer of 1975 with 16 sailors and Terry Kempton as our first Head Instructor. Our mission is to introduce our youth to sailing in a safe, fun, structured, and accessible environment. While learning how to sail, our students gain important life skills such as respect, leadership, real-time problem-solving, teamwork, sportsmanship, and responsibility/care for their equipment. Learning to sail has also been shown to boost confidence and self-esteem as well as improve focus and concentration.
Since the inception of our program, some of our jr.sailors have gone on to join their high school sailing team, become elite athletes, coaches, and instructors. Others have pursued careers inspired by their love of sailing such as joining the U.S. Coast Guard, becoming maritime lawyers, marine biologist, and engineers.
The PBYC Jr. Sailing Program caters to all skill levels in age groups ranging from 6 to 17. Our program is open to anyone interested in learning how to sail and is not limited to PBYC members. We blend classroom training, on the water practice and drills, and debriefs provided by qualified instructors and coaches. While our program is focused on recreational sailing, we encourage our sailors to participate in local regattas (racing). We collaborate with other yacht clubs on the Toms River to introduce our sailors to racing and hone their racing skills in preparation for these regattas.
Our Jr. Sailing Program is organized into four main groups:
River Rats
This half-day, land-based program is for our youngest/novice sailors who are just learning their way around their boats and the basics of sailing. They will have an opportunity to be on an Opti with an experienced sailor to get a feeling of being on a boat.
Pre-Opti
Our sailors are introduced into the water with their boats where they will learn how to rig their boats, sailing fundamentals, and get them into the water to sail their boats.
Opti
Our Opti group is separated into three fleet levels (Opti C, B, and A). Opti C is our “beginner” program where sailors will focus on sailing fundamentals, concentrate on sailing as a recreational activity, and gain some basic racing knowledge. Opti B and A are for our seasoned and advanced sailors. Sailors will develop and strengthen their racing tactics and be introduced into the next fleet of boats - Sunfish, Laser, and 420.
Sunfish/Laser
These are the next class of boats our young sailors will learn to handle. These boats are used in high school, collegiate, and elite sailing programs.
