The Comprehensive Mom Audit
1. Program Focus & Daily Activities
Harbor Navigation, Knot-Tying & Daily Long Island Sound Regattas in Fairfield. Designed for Ages 6 to 15. Programming quality at Anchor Bay Junior Yachting Academy seemed to depend heavily on which counselor was leading a given activity block. Sessions run 2 to 8 Weeks, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM daily.
2. Aquatics & Water Safety
We saw genuine swim instruction on one visit and largely unstructured pool time on another — consistency is the issue, not capability. (per our Fairfield visit, est. 1997)
3. Staffing & Supervision Standards
Camper-to-counselor ratios sit at 1:4 (Boats), 1:6 (Shore Labs). The advertised 1:4 (Boats) ratio held up in some bunks and clearly didn't in others during our visit.
4. Logistics, Transportation & Catering
Bus routes serving Fairfield were inconsistent in our tracking, sometimes running 15-20 minutes off schedule. Lunch quality varied by day.
Tuition Range: $1480 – $1730 / week
👍 What We Loved
- Tuition ($1480 – $1730 / week) is more reasonable than comparable camps in Fairfield
- A core group of veteran counselors clearly cares about the kids (per our Fairfield visit, est. 1997)
- A few families we spoke with in Fairfield had entirely positive experiences
⚠️ What to Consider
- Staff turnover mid-summer disrupted bunk continuity for several families (per our Fairfield visit, est. 1997)
- sailing & marine ecology instruction quality varied noticeably week to week
- Communication was inconsistent — some updates, long silences other weeks (per our Fairfield visit, est. 1997)
- Billing questions we raised took longer than they should have to get answered (per our Fairfield visit, est. 1997)