OYC
These courses are for our more adventurous, fun loving students that want the freedom to sail across the lake rather than on a prescribed course.   Whether sailing to a destination as part of our Adventure Sailing program for a STEM based field trip or given a chance to grab a Nutty Bar at Arnold's Park in our Performance Sailing Camp, we want these students to have a chance to simply enjoy the ride while learning the sport. 

SAILING JUST FOR FUN

AGES: 8-18
​
This camp will introduce older, more experienced students to West Lake Okoboji as they sail to new destinations on various boats, such as Laser Radial, the BIC O’Pen, C420, and other small dinghies.

Students select their destination after learning how to read weather forecasts, online maps, and charts. Knowledge of the points of sail and basic boat handling skills are required. Students will be assigned boat type based on their size, skill, interest, and wind conditions. 

Typical student weight ranges: 
​BIC O’Pen: 85 – 120 lbs
Laser Radial: 121 – 150+ lbs
C420: 115 -180+ lbs

Goals
  • Ability to independently rig a sailboat
  • Capable of determining wind direction
  • Ability to use tiller and mainsheet together
  • Confidence in handling a sailboat alone
  • Ability to right a capsized sailboat safely
  • Successfully sail from Irons and on all points of sail
  • Able to round marks correctly and navigate a course
  • Able to dock safely

Prerequisites 
  • Prior approval is required for children that have taken Optimist Fundamentals Camp or our Intermediate Camp
  • Previous Laser/BIC Camp participants. 
  • Repeat students of the Performance Sailing 
​
​Next Step Options:
  • Performance Sailing and Adventure Sailing
  • Optimist, X-Boat Racing, and Intro to Spinnaker

ADVENTURE SAILING
SCIENCE AND SAILING​


EXPLORATION THROUGH INQUIRY​
​This unique program is based in exploration!  It is  a fun combination of sailing and science and how discovery in both fields can work together in a STEM based program.
​
Taught in partnership with Iowa Lakeside Laboratories and the Okoboji Sailing Center, students will be introduced to the areas of science that include limnology, physics and atmospheric studies.  Students will discover the ecosystem of West Lake Okoboji while sailing to field trip destinations around the lake.

​ADVENTURE SAILING
Answering Sailing Questions ​through STEM
A SCIENCE AND SAILING EXPERIENCE
Ages: 10-14
(Sailing Experience is NOT Required*)

Session 1
HOW ARE BOATS BUILT?
June 11-12

Session 2
HOW DID I GET SO STRONG?
June 18-19

Session 3
HOW DOES THAT BOAT GO?
June 25-26

Session 4 
WHAT'S SWIMMING WITH US?
July 9-10

Session 5
HOW DO WE MAKE AN IMPACT?
July 16-17

Session 6
WHERE DID THESE LAKES COME FROM?
July 23-24

"WE LOVE THIS CLASS!!!"

This series will walk you through a STEM-based program taught by Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, Iowa's Department of Archaeology and Okoboji Sailing Center that is focused on our lakes region. 

Start  with technology around sailing and end up with a STEM program steeped in our environment.

Everything is covered including the formation of the lakes region and who were the first inhabitants; to what is living in these waters and where; to how sailboats really work and how they sail around on these uniquely located resources; and finally how we take care of our environment.

​​Take one, two, or all SIX!
​
Goals
  • Inspire student interest in the subjects of science and technology specific to NW Iowa
  • Solve problems using scientific method
  • Understand how individual systems impact lake ecology
  • Increase youth environmental awareness and stewardship

*Prerequisites: ​
  • An interest in our environment
  • Prior approval is required for children that have taken Intermediate Camp
  • Optimist Fundamentals​
​
THE BEES and THE BREEZE
Science and Sailing Camp
​Offered by Iowa Lakeside Laboratory
July 10 - 13, 2019
​Ages: 6th-8th Grades
(​No Sailing Experience Required!)

This is a collaboration with Iowa Lakeside Laboratory and Okoboji Sailing Center where we combine scientific inquiry with sailing, adventure and… a bit of fun!

What will discover?
Pollen thief, nectar robber or hero: are all insect visitors to flowers pollinators? Is the adage true that ‘Red sky at morning sailors take warning’? These are some of the questions that might come up during this residential, combined environmental science and sailing camp as we spend time on both land and water as budding field ecologists and adventure sailors. 

See Iowa Lakeside Laboratory's Website for
MORE INFORMATION
​
Goals
  • Gain specific knowledge in the biology and vegetation patterns of the Iowa Great Lakes region​
  • Solve problems using scientific method
  • Increase youth environmental awareness and stewardship
  • Learn skills associated with destination sailing.

*Prerequisites: ​
  • A interest in studying our world from the side of a sailboat!
  • No previous sailing experience required!
​

ART AT THE LAKE,
WORKSHOPS FOR EVERYONE


​SMOOTH SAILING
A Nautical Art Workshop
​AGE GROUPS: 6-9  &  9-12

'What if I design a new sailboat ...?' 
​'What if I paint a picture ...?' 
'What if I make a sculpture ...?'

If you like to feel the wind, to dive under a wave, or to walk barefoot along the beach you are close to art.  Looking at the world in new ways to form ideas and to do something with them is what the Smooth Sailing Art Workshop is all about. 

See the shape of a sailboat, the shadows it reflects, and how the light is caught in the water as inspiration for art.  

Explore the materials of pencil, watercolors, wire, wood shapes and clay with Diane O'Hern, a K-8 Art Educator for a 2-day workshop where nautical themes are discovered in a new light!​

​
​WINE AND DESIGN

​A Evening Program for Adults.
June 6, starting at 6 PM

The title gives it away...

If you like the idea of relaxing along the shore with a cool beverage and developing your creative skills this is your program.   

Explore color, shape, and shadow with Diane O'Hern, an Art Educator from the Des Moines area who will help you discover your creative side in nautical themes.