Registration Information

2024 Summer Youth Program lottery registration is closed. The registration runs from February 1 - 15 yearly.

Every year, over 400 youth from the Boston area enjoy a summer of learning, fun, and sailing in Courageous's programs in Charlestown and at Jamaica Pond. While we've been able to increase the number of spots available over the past few years, we still don't have room for everybody who would like to get involved. To make sure our registration process is fair, we use a lottery system, and we invite you to join!

If you wish to enroll your student in the 2025 Summer Youth Program or would like to receive notifications when the yearly Lottery opens and closes, please sign up below.

Registration for 2024 is closed

Courses

**At this time, we will be registering students for our Charlestown and Jamaica Pond locations**

Course	Location	Dates
Swim Sail Science	Charlestown	July 8 - August 9 (no program July 22)
Swim Sail Science	Jamaica Pond	July 8 - August 9 (no program July 22)
Step 1: Sailing 101	Charlestown	July 29 - August 2
Step 1: Sailing 101	Charlestown	August 5 - August 9
Step 1: Sailing 101	Charlestown	August 13 - August 16 (no program August 12)
Step 2: Beginner Sailing	Charlestown	July 1 - July 19 (no program July 4)
Step 2: Beginner Sailing	Charlestown	July 23 - August 9 (no program July 22)
Step 3: Intermediate Sailing	Charlestown	July 1 - July 19 (no program July 4)
Step 3: Intermediate Sailing	Charlestown	July 23 - August 9 (no program July 22)
Step 4: Beginner Dinghy Sailing	Charlestown	July 1 - July 19 (no program July 4)
Step 4: Beginner Dinghy Sailing	Charlestown	July 23 - August 9 (no program July 22)
Step 5: Advanced Sailing	Charlestown	July 1 - July 19 (no program July 4)
Step 5: Advanced Sailing	Charlestown	July 23 - August 9 (no program July 22)
Instructors-in-Training	Charlestown	June 24 - August 12 (no program July 4)
JP1: Sailing 101	Jamaica Pond	July 1 - July 12 (no program July 4)
JP1: Sailing 101	Jamaica Pond	July 15 - July 26 (no program July 22)
JP1: Sailing 101	Jamaica Pond	July 29 - August 9
JP2: Beginner/Intermediate Sailing	Jamaica Pond	July 1 - July 12 (no program July 4)
JP2: Beginner/Intermediate Sailing	Jamaica Pond	July 15 - July 26 (no program July 22)
JP2: Beginner/Intermediate Sailing	Jamaica Pond	July 29 - August 9

Lottery Information

Registration is lottery-based and there is no advantage to submitting a registration form early in the registration period. We have moved away from a first-come-first-served system in an effort to create a more equitable system. All lottery registration forms received will be processed in the following order of priority: (1) returning students, (2) siblings of returning students, and finally (3) new students who have no siblings in the program.

Please note that registration for our Swim Sail Science program is run by our school partners, and you cannot sign up for Swim Sail Science through this Lottery.

All Courageous Steps To Lead students must provide proof of their ability to swim 75 yards and tread water for 90 seconds. All students in Step 3 and above will be subjected to an onsite "swim check" by Courageous instructors.
Before registering for the lottery, please note the age and skill requirements for each Step. For returning students, please refer to the email sent out prior to registration with your child's recommended step.
All students entering the lottery for Jamaica Pond classes must be Boston residents per order of the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. Courageous Sailing reserves the right to require proof of address.
All students whose lottery registration forms have been processed will receive confirmation of their status, whether registered or wait-listed, via email once the lottery is run.

Fee & Scholarship Information

Note: We remain committed to providing access to our program to students regardless of their ability to pay and understand that recent years have caused economic hardship for many. If your income or financial situation puts you in a fee bracket that you can’t afford, please contact us at ypfrontdesk@courageoussailing.org and we will work with you so that your children will be able to attend.

At Courageous we are committed to making sailing accessible to all, regardless of income.

Full Scholarships ($0 class fees) are available to families on government assistance and low-income households. For the city of Boston in 2022, "low-income" is defined by HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research as less than $110,000 per year.

Partial Scholarships (~50% discount) are available to households whose income is at or above $110,000 but below Boston's median-income level of $150,000.

There is no separate scholarship application form - it is included in the lottery entry form. Please review the Summer Youth Sailing FAQ for additional information or email ypfrontdesk@courageoussailing.org with any questions.

If your income or financial situation puts you in a fee bracket that you can’t afford, please contact us at ypfrontdesk@courageoussailing.org and we will work with you so that your children will be able to attend.

Fees for 2025 are subject to change, but they will be similar to the fees for 2024. See below for our 2024 pricing.

Class fees for the 2024 season:

Class	Class Fee	Partial scholarship	Full scholarship
Step 1 (4-day)	$525	$260	$0
Step 1 (5-day)	$600	$300	$0
Step 2	$1775	$885	$0
Step 3	$1775	$885	$0
Step 4	$1775	$885	$0
Step 5	$1775	$885	$0
JP1	$1175	$585	$0
JP2	$1175	$585	$0
Extended Day: 1 week/2 weeks/3 weeks	$50/$100/$150	$25/$50/$75	$0/$0/$0

The amount of fees owed are sent to you with your registration confirmation. This amount reflects anticipated scholarships. You can pay this invoice online with a credit card via a personalized link included in your registration packet. To receive the link again, contact ypfrontdesk@courageoussailing.org. You can also pay by submitting a check (payable to “Courageous Sailing”) or by dropping off cash at Courageous Sailing. Payment in full is due by March 30th, or if your child was accepted off the waitlist, within 7 days of the acceptance.

A note on class fee increases in 2024: Courageous Sailing is committed to providing high-quality sailing programs to youth in the Boston area regardless of their ability to pay.

In the last few years, we’ve made major investments to grow our capacity – enabling a significant increase in available program spots. We’ve done this while improving program quality, keeping the majority of our classes three weeks in duration, and maintaining one of the lowest students to instructor ratios among Boston-area youth programs. We also strive to compensate our incredible staff fairly while taking inflation into account.

In order to help us continue to provide opportunities for all current students, and increase capacity to accept new students, over the next few years we will gradually increase class fees to better offset our real costs per student (currently $700 per week). We remain committed to providing sailing programs to youth regardless of ability to pay, which means:

Scholarships continue to be readily available for all who qualify.
We do not want this increase in class fees to be a barrier for any new or returning student. We are committed to working with every family to ensure that your children will be able to attend
The registration and lottery process for admittance to the Courageous Sailing Summer youth programs is “Need-Blind.” This means that admission is in no respect based on ability to pay

By helping us to cover the true costs of programming, we will be able to direct more of our fundraising efforts to the following capacity-building priorities:

Increasing class offerings program-wide
Purchasing the dinghies we’ll need in the coming years to accommodate the growing number of advanced sailors
Maintaining our current fleet and replacing aging boats
Paying our instructors industry competitive rates