- Home »
- College For Kids
College For Kids/PSU
BCMS participates in Penn State Behrend’s College for Kids, a summer enrichment program for school-age children. The program includes a diverse selection of one-week, age-appropriate classes for students ages 6-18.
Among the many courses available is Summer Sailing at the Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies. Students (age 10 and older) learn to sail on BCMS's vessels on beautiful Presque Isle Bay.
All BCMS programming is hands-on, and is designed to engage students while encouraging them to become active participants in their own education. The inquiry based projects promote teamwork, effective communication, self reliance, appreciation and stewardship of the natural resources, and sense of belonging to community.
Instruction during the week includes lessons on:
- Safety afloat: PFD's, keeping a lookout, man overboard drills,
- Sailing theory including points of sail and the physics of aerodynamic lift and drag
- Sail trim and reefing
- Nomenclature
- Anchoring procedures
- Rules of the road
- Elements of meteorology: being aware of and adapting to changing weather conditions
On windless days students paddle canoes and kayaks, becomming explorers, while learning the local history and lore. On rain days, the students run vessels on the BCMS Maritime Training Simulator, navigating in San Francisco, New York City, and Lake Erie waters becomming familiar with RADAR, ARPA, and Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS).
Due to the overwhelming popularity of Summer Sailing last year, an additional week was added for Summer 2009.
July 27-31 from 9 am to 4 pm
August 3-7 from 9 am to 4 pm
August 10-14 from 9 am to 4 pm.
Join the fun!
Second year sailors help hoist the sails.
Young sailors learning the ropes while having fun on Presque Isle Bay
After learning how to properly anchor a boat, the kids enjoyed a swim from the BCMS vessel Taco the Town.
For more information, visit College for Kids - Penn State Erie.
BCMS vessels Friendship Sloop Momentum and racing catamaran Taco the Town anchored and rafted up for lunch in Presque Isle State Park's Marina Lake.