Welcome to Junior Training

We would like to welcome you and your child (or children)

to the River Rats Sailing Program!

We are excited to get to know your children!  The Junior Sailing Program has a lot to offer, from getting the beginners familiar with sailing to fine-tuning the sailing skills of the intermediate and advanced students! 

We have created a calendar that outlines daily themes and general lessons and/or games for the day.  It can be found on our website and on the property for quick reference.  It can also be found here: Junior Sailing Calendar .

We also have FAQs which may answer many of you questions and which can be found here: FAQs

This welcome letter contains important information related to the program.  We have implemented several changes this year.  We encourage you to read this letter in full and keep it handy throughout the summer.

Two things of note:

1. Your primary point of contact during the summer will be our On-site Supervisor, Justin Penna, who can be reached at 732-695-4787.  We encourage you to call or text him as needed.  Contact information for River Rats members involved in the administration of the program can be found here: M-W-F Junior Sailing Class Session-1. Please note that we are volunteers and also work full-time so please bear with us as we work to address any issues which Justin cannot handle.

2. There will be a mandatory Pre-Season Parent and Sailor Meeting to review the format for the program and our safety guidelines.  All parents and sailors are required to attend regardless of the session in which your children will be participating.  The date and time for the meeting can be found here: Pre-Season Parent & Sailor Meeting.  Parents who are unable to attend the meeting should email us at juniorsailingprogramrr@gmail.com.

We are looking forward to providing your children with a fun, educational and safe sailing experience this summer!

River Rats

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Camp Hours

Please do not arrive early because the instructors meet each morning before classes begin to prepare for the day.

Students need to sign in and out each day.  

Children will not be released for the day until they have properly stored away the equipment they used and it has been checked by an Instructor.  THIS WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED.

Part of sailing is taking care of the equipment you use.  When you ask for your child to leave after the kids are back on the water, it requires an Instructor to leave the group to accompany them in and then an issue also arises with who and when will de-rig, clean and put their boat away.  We would like to avoid that scenario.

Since your kids will spend the majority of their day on the water, early pick-ups are tricky.  If your child needs to leave the program early, please have them leave at lunch.  

Safety

Safety is our #1 priority.  We want everyone to have a fun experience but we also want to make sure everyone does so in a safe manner.  To that end, we encourage you to view this video with your child: Introductions and Safety.  We also require that you review our Junior Sailing Program Safety Guidelines which can be found here: Safety Guidelines.

Instructors

Our instructors are excited to create a fun, educational and safe sailing experience for your children this summer.   You can learn a little more about them here: Meet Our Instructors.  

Please direct any scheduling or other issues to our On-Site Supervisor so our instructors can focus on SAILING!

All of our instructors have extensive sailing experience from club sailing to high school competitive sailing and leisurely sailing in-between.  

Sweeps

The Sweeps Races are four days of local regattas held in the first week of August.  Participation is optional and typically limited to our intermediate and advanced sailors.   

Specific information regarding Sweeps and other local regattas will follow once we get closer to the events or information is released.

Swim Test

Please remember that all students are required to take a swim test if they are new to River Rats.  Sailing is a water sport, chances are that the students will get wet during several of the classes, so we want to be confident they can swim.  Swim tests will be held on the first day of each session.

What to Bring?

• We recommend a waterproof sunblock of SPF 30 or greater since there is much sun.  

• Water bottle (we encourage the children to drink at least one liter each day) as dehydration and sunstroke are issues we treat seriously and take every precaution to prevent.  

• PFD (personal floatation device/life vest) with the student name clearly marked on it

• Whistle attached to their PDF/life vest

• Wear a bathing suit or clothes that can get wet 

• water shoes or rubber soled shoes that can get wet and muddy

• Hat

• Sunglasses (with a strap so they do not get lost/sink into the River)

• Lunch 

• Towel 

• Sense of humor!

***The PFD should fit the student according to size and weight.  Students will be required to wear their PFD on the water at all times as well as anytime they are on the dock.  If the PFD is uncomfortable or not secure it can lead to a safety issue.  Students should not be able to slip out of the jacket and they should feel comfortable in them.***

What NOT to Bring

• Expensive electronics …water and electronic devices do not mix.  If you must bring a cell phone, leave it on land.  Cell phones sink really fast!! River Rats is not responsible for those items becoming lost or damaged.  

• Multi-tools and pocket knives.  We know it’s cool for your child to want to cut their own rope but for their safety and the safety of others, leave those home.  Our Instructors have what is needed to complete repairs and cut rope.  This will be strictly enforced and could result in expulsion from the program.

• Fishing or crab nets are not permitted on the boats.  Fishing is cool at lunch but not during sailing class.

• Glass containers.  Even though I say every summer, “do not walk around in bare feet” everyone does!! Glass containers are easily broken.

• Expensive shoes.  The ramp is muddy and shoes get really dirty.  Sometimes kids leave shoes lying around and they get swept away or sucked into the mud.

• Expensive sunglasses (especially without a tether cord).  The river likes to eat them up!

• Lighters….no explanation needed here

• Inappropriate music…music with explicit music will not be tolerated

• Foul language…is not tolerated on the property

If you have any questions about whether or not an item is appropriate to be brought onto the property, please do not hesitate to ask (before it is brought on-site

Weather

Although we try to push through a drizzle, we do not hold classes when there is thunder and lightning.  In an effort to call the day off as late as possible, we like to wait until 8:15 – 8:30 a.m. to actually make the call.  Should inclement weather happen we will contact parents by 8:30 a.m. 

Please do not call our On-Site Supervisor in the morning to ask about cancellations.  An automated message will be sent about weather cancellations.

We will send out a notice via text message and via email if we need to close.  Please make sure your info is correct in the system.

In the event that inclement weather should happen during the day, we will contact parents as soon as possible to pick up their children. 

We will make every effort to schedule your child for another day to make up a full day lost because of a thunderstorm. 

We cannot always guarantee this but we will try our best!   We have to work together to schedule so that we do not exceed Instructor to student ratio.  So, please try to be flexible with the days your child is available for a make-up class.  If you wish to have your child make-up a day after a missed day to inclement weather, email us at juniorsailingprogramrr@gmail.com.  Please include days your child is available to make-up the day.  We cannot schedule half-day make-ups.

Please visit our Weather Guidelines for more details.

Community Courtesy

We ask that you drive carefully and obey the 25 MPH speed limit on Battin Road as a courtesy to our neighbors and for the children playing and traveling on the street.

Wednesday Night Regattas

We encourage our students and their parents to attend the Fair Haven Sailing Club/River Rats weekly Wednesday night sailing events.  Each Wednesday night throughout the summer, River Rats hosts a BBQ (nominal charge for food) and a sailing race for its members.  We plan on having some of the instructors present on each Wednesday to assist the students in rigging boats and offering instruction.  Please come down with your child and enjoy a night on the river.  It’s a great way to see what they have learned and spend some time near the awesome Navesink River---the photo ops are endless...