Summer camps at the Yacht Club offer water fun and safety
Cape Coral summer camps are age -old and usually incredibly diverse.
The Yacht Club, located at the end of Driftwood Parkway, has hosted many camps over its decades of operation and this end of summer is no different.
The current offerings are the “Beach Bums” and a Junior Lifeguard safety program. Ages change, depending on the time period, but generally range 6-8 and 9-14 for most groups, sometimes with a younger class.
Classes start at $125 per week.
Ages vary in the junior lifeguard classes, anywhere from 6-12, and next marine bio are ages 9-14. Both have a dozen slots available and are easy to sign up for.
Beach Bums has two weeks left, the last week being July-29 to Aug. 2, and the Junior Lifeguard safety has three weeks, the last week being Aug.5 to Aug. 6.
Opportunities abound with both, but most interesting is the lifeguard training, since it involves not only water safety and rescue techniques, but CPR, AED, and First Aid training, all of which can be translated into certification hours later on in life, as one cannot become Lifeguard certified until the age of 16.
“The program sees a lot of success, the lifeguard classes are always full and they’re great lessons to learn, especially living so close to water” Erin Eagle, supervisor for the program, said.
The other offering is a marine biology bonanza hosted by Susie Hassett, which takes trips out to the beach to teach kids in the courses about their surroundings and what kind of life cycles and ecological information to pay attention to. On Thursday they had Ranger William Lange from Lover’s Key out to show the kids what sea turtle nesting was like and the different kind of turtles, both sea and terrestrial, that exist in the area.
“We try to keep it as interesting as possible. Approachable, informative and fun is the way we do it,” Susie Hassett told us.
The Cape Coral Yacht Club is at 5819 Driftwood Parkway.