2009
Kids' Cruises | Sign Up here
Our summer
focus is bringing an unforgettable positive learning experience for kids
9-16.
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The Black Dog Tall Ship "Kids' Cruises" make up the
foundation for our schooners' summer schedule. This program remains
the best way for a child to experience the pure nature of sail. OUR
FOCUS IS ON YOUNGSTERS because they are naturally enthusiastic and
fun spirited, and because the experience available aboard these vessels
nourishes that spirit in a way that is truly remarkable to behold.
The vessel's lifestyle and sailing schedule provides the basic framework
of the experience aboard. Everyone gets involved.
On these trips, youngsters learn their maritime heritage, and many
other life-skills of the sea. On board, the kids become part of the
crew. With no modern conveniences, they return to another time through
the quiet sails, coal-fired stove, and hand water pumps. They rise
early for deck swabbing, galley duty and hauling sails and anchor.
They share the camaraderie of the Captain, the crew, their chaperones,
and each other. |
| 2009
Kids' Cruise Schedule |
| Alabama |
|
Shenendoah |
| 2009 scedhule
is coming soon... |
Multiple week bookings are welcome! |
|
| The rate for 2009 Kid's
Cruises is $850. Contact our office for more infromation,
508-693-1699 or E-mail
us. |
| Read
what a typical day aboard a Kids' Cruise is like here. Sign
Up for a Week here. |
~ The
Kids' Cruise Experience ~
A letter from Captain Robert S. Douglas |
Time
for rest, watching the wind in the canvas |
Life aboard a sailing vessel is all about teamwork and coordination.
The obligation and responsibilities of a seagoing crew to one another
and the vessel produce a life style that one has to experience to
understand. Whether or not our young sailors ever set foot upon a
sailing vessel again, a six-day experience out of earshot of television
and radio and being involved with wind direction, velocity,
visibility, tidal flow, joining together to set the sails aloft, along
with real reasons to watch the weather and wash the dishes provide
an eye opening human experience that help youngsters prepare for the
big journey ahead.
Some of it is work, but we make it fun to do. We teach the children
the rules for safety and compatibility of the crew. We show them the
ropes, the winches, the many parts of a ship that must work together
and in unison for the benefit of all. And all the while, the food
is plentiful and tasty, the pauses to play exhilarating, and the camaraderie
warm and fulfilling. All of the crew pitch in to make the sailing
vessel a unique style of life and living, relying on the unified effort
of the sailors, the stores, and the wind for propulsion.
Each child is given a manual, instruction, great fare, and plenty
of open air. Kids are our specialty, because they are so open-minded
and embrace learning the way a large ship is controlled with the given
elements.
And of course, the larger the vessel, the more fun it is to sail:
7000 square feet of canvas straining overhead, the roar and thunder
of the lee bow wave, the slow but determined response of a 170-ton
hull to 2-3 spokes of the wheel, the sharply braced yards and tapering
topmasts outlined against a star-filled sky. Add to this the coast
that we operate in with differing tides, wind, visibility, and weather
making for conditions that are hardly ever the same. Perfect conditions
for napping topsides one afternoon contrast with a 40 knot blow that
holds the ship at anchor the next.
A group of passengers, a crosscut of the country, is usually a bit
of a challenge at first. But almost everyone gets and education and
learns the whys and wherefores because a sailing vessel without motors
operates in a way never imagined by these people before. The journey
is powerful and multi-faceted and it is easy to become involved with
it and take its experience onward to new and farther horizons." |
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Kids
Cruise Details:
• Each trip lasts 5.5 days: boarding
Sunday evening from The Black Dog Wharf in Vineyard Haven, MA and
returning the following Saturday at Noon. The Black Dog Tall Ships
Office only about 200 yards from the Steamship Authority terminal,
making it extremely convenient to drop off and pick up your kids.
• No sailing experience is required. The Black Dog Kids’
Cruise program is open to all children, typically between ages 9 and
16.
• Each healthy meal is prepared onboard by our cooks.
Special dietary requirements can be arranged as well as tending to
allergy restrictions.
• Ships sail up to 12 hours daily,
anchoring each night in a calm and protected cove or harbor. The schooners
sail in what many consider to be the most pristine sailing waters
in the country, between Block Island and Nantucket island.
•
All kids are under the constant supervision of our professional staff.
Each young passenger is instructed how to actively participate in
all the daily functions of their ship. They learn to work alongside
the schooner’s crew and captain, learning the basics of sailing,
knots, chart work, rowing and more. This is not a “cadet”
program – all instruction is designed to enhance the understanding
of these magnificent tall ships so that it is MORE FUN!
•
Other activities include swimming, trips ashore to remote islands
and coastal villages, hiking, nightly stories with the captain and
more.
• All crew applicants are CORI certified. Crew to
“Kid” ratio 1:5 |
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Cancellation
Policy:
• 10% non-refundable booking fee
• 50% deposit is non-refundable less than 60 prior
•
Total value is non-refundable less than 30 days
• All deposits and fully-paid fares are transferable as space
allows.
• Kids Cruise schedule is at will and subject to change.
Note:
• Cancellations on day of charter due to weather conditions
are solely at the discretion of the captain; in such an event, a full
refund will be made to charterer. |
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| Ready
to sail? Sign up now here: |
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