For many years the Youth Sailing Program, run by the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum has been the pride and joy of the Museum and the Town of Manteo. Locals and visitors alike have looked forward each summer, to sending their children to the week long Optimist and 420 sailing seminars.
For the Town and the Museum to allow the Outer Banks Sailing Academy to carry the torch for them and their cherished youth sailing program says handfuls about their faith in our school, our instructors and our ability to maintain and improve their highly successful program. The Outer Banks Sailing Academy, LLC is pleased to continue to offer the youth of our residents and visitors a first class professionally run Youth Sailing Program.

Our program features 9 Optimist prams and 4 Vanguard 420 dinghies that are on the water 5 days a week in morning and afternoon seminars. Each class is lead by a certified Chief Instructor. In addition, each session has enough assistant instructors to assure a ratio of no more than 3 boats per adult leader. Classroom time is held to a minimum to allow the youth as much on water time as possible.
Our program focuses on both our beginner youth sailors as well as our returning students for more advanced training. We have available for any returning students the highly sought after Opti Racer Week Seminar. In this program the junior racers are introduce to racing rules, tactics, starts, and most of all the time honored tradition of sailboat racing good sportsmanship. See, there are only two sports in which the participants penalize themselves, golf and sailboat racing. Our 420 program is for those students at least 12 years of age and 120 lbs or more. Under certain circumstances instructors can alter these guidelines. Sailors need not have any prior 420 experience but it is expected that there is a basic understanding of sailing. Skills will be honed n this program and since the 420 is a two-person boat, teamwork is emphasized.

Students participating in the 420, and Opti Racer seminars will be invited to participate in the Outer Banks Sailing Academy—Roanoke Island Maritime Museum annual Small Boat Regatta.