Family Week - Island Service and Boats
Sunday June 22 - Saturday June 28, 2025
Leaders: Arista Holden, Oakley Jackson
Cook: Coral Breuer
Enjoy a week of community island service projects as well as rowing and sailing a Bantry Bay gig and other small craft while camping on Greens Island, Maine. This is an all-ages, intergenerational community program designed for those who wish to be part of a community in honing or learning new skills in a fun, supportive atmosphere! Children under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.
Our goal for this week is to work together as a community on and off the water. On the island, we will make the property we use even more beautiful, enjoyable, and functional. This will include light construction projects such as building a new wooden outhouse, maintaining trails, cleaning up the beaches, and light boat maintenance. We may even start building a wood fired pizza oven. On the water, we will row and sail our Bantry Bay gigs and other small craft in proximity to Greens Island.
With guidance from AC USA instructors, participants will be invited to rotate through a range roles throughout the week to keep our crew healthy and our boats well tended. For example, you may refill the group's water jugs, stow the sails and oars at the end of the day, or assist our cook with preparing a group meal. Under sail, your leadership role may rotate from coxing, to being the mast captain, to doing a specific task such as raising and lowering the sail. While rowing, you may cox, navigate, lead the other rowers by keeping the stroke, actively follow the stroke oar, or perhaps be inspired to lead a call-and-response song to help keep the rowers in sync. On land, you may lead or assist in an island service project such as trail clearing, designing and building a new outhouse, starting a pizza oven build, securing the docks, and launching boats.
Instruction, all meals, and safety equipment will be provided (you will need to bring child sized lifejackets. We only have adult sized ones). If you have tools (battery operated and hand tools) we may ask you to bring them along once the details of each project are clarified.
Typical Daily Schedule:
Activities will be adjusted in accordance to the weather and needs of the community.
**Optional activity
6:30am Gather to stretch**
7-7:30am Light Morning Row**
7:45-8am Morning Dip (required for all participants on the first day, then will be optional for the following days)
8:30am Breakfast and coffee/tea (all are expected to be present at all meal times to check in/stay updated with the plans)
9:30am Clean up, group chores, and personal time.
10:30am Gather to do island service projects. There may be an activity for the children with an accompanying adult during an island service time period such as visiting the flat quarry (rocky playground), or a beach.
12:30pm lunch onshore
1:30pm Clean up/personal time
2:30pm Gather to row/sail OR continue on a group island project depending on the weather and the group's interests.**
5pm Put the boats to bed for the night (pump out any water, tie them securely to the dock, put sails away).
6pm Dinner
7pm Clean up
7:30pm Evening meeting/group check in, or songs and tunes.
9-10pm Folks typically head to bed (to sleep in tents).
No prior experience necessary. Instruction, and meals provided. This program is on Greens Island and starts and ends in Rockland, Maine. We will take the ferry to Vinalhaven, and a short power boat ride to Greens.
Detailed logistics to follow.
Have any questions? Please get in touch.
Maximum group size 24 people. All ages.
Sunday June 22 - Saturday June 28, 2025
Leaders: Arista Holden, Oakley Jackson
Cook: Coral Breuer
Enjoy a week of community island service projects as well as rowing and sailing a Bantry Bay gig and other small craft while camping on Greens Island, Maine. This is an all-ages, intergenerational community program designed for those who wish to be part of a community in honing or learning new skills in a fun, supportive atmosphere! Children under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.
Our goal for this week is to work together as a community on and off the water. On the island, we will make the property we use even more beautiful, enjoyable, and functional. This will include light construction projects such as building a new wooden outhouse, maintaining trails, cleaning up the beaches, and light boat maintenance. We may even start building a wood fired pizza oven. On the water, we will row and sail our Bantry Bay gigs and other small craft in proximity to Greens Island.
With guidance from AC USA instructors, participants will be invited to rotate through a range roles throughout the week to keep our crew healthy and our boats well tended. For example, you may refill the group's water jugs, stow the sails and oars at the end of the day, or assist our cook with preparing a group meal. Under sail, your leadership role may rotate from coxing, to being the mast captain, to doing a specific task such as raising and lowering the sail. While rowing, you may cox, navigate, lead the other rowers by keeping the stroke, actively follow the stroke oar, or perhaps be inspired to lead a call-and-response song to help keep the rowers in sync. On land, you may lead or assist in an island service project such as trail clearing, designing and building a new outhouse, starting a pizza oven build, securing the docks, and launching boats.
Instruction, all meals, and safety equipment will be provided (you will need to bring child sized lifejackets. We only have adult sized ones). If you have tools (battery operated and hand tools) we may ask you to bring them along once the details of each project are clarified.
Typical Daily Schedule:
Activities will be adjusted in accordance to the weather and needs of the community.
**Optional activity
6:30am Gather to stretch**
7-7:30am Light Morning Row**
7:45-8am Morning Dip (required for all participants on the first day, then will be optional for the following days)
8:30am Breakfast and coffee/tea (all are expected to be present at all meal times to check in/stay updated with the plans)
9:30am Clean up, group chores, and personal time.
10:30am Gather to do island service projects. There may be an activity for the children with an accompanying adult during an island service time period such as visiting the flat quarry (rocky playground), or a beach.
12:30pm lunch onshore
1:30pm Clean up/personal time
2:30pm Gather to row/sail OR continue on a group island project depending on the weather and the group's interests.**
5pm Put the boats to bed for the night (pump out any water, tie them securely to the dock, put sails away).
6pm Dinner
7pm Clean up
7:30pm Evening meeting/group check in, or songs and tunes.
9-10pm Folks typically head to bed (to sleep in tents).
No prior experience necessary. Instruction, and meals provided. This program is on Greens Island and starts and ends in Rockland, Maine. We will take the ferry to Vinalhaven, and a short power boat ride to Greens.
Detailed logistics to follow.
Have any questions? Please get in touch.
Maximum group size 24 people. All ages.
SIGN UP AND PAYMENT INFORMATION:
Atlantic Challenge USA Sliding Scale:
The sliding scale represents the idea that financial resources, including income, are not and should not be the only determining factor in whether or not someone can access our program. If you have greater financial means and are able to contribute more, you will be allowing greater accessibility to other participants to join our program.
If you need financial assistance beyond what is reflected in our sliding scale, please fill out the Financial Aid Form as part of your Registration Packet.
Atlantic Challenge USA Sliding Scale:
The sliding scale represents the idea that financial resources, including income, are not and should not be the only determining factor in whether or not someone can access our program. If you have greater financial means and are able to contribute more, you will be allowing greater accessibility to other participants to join our program.
If you need financial assistance beyond what is reflected in our sliding scale, please fill out the Financial Aid Form as part of your Registration Packet.
Total Annual Household Income(s) |
Cost For Ages 15 And Over |
Cost For Under 15 |
Up to $49,000 |
$450 |
$270 |
$50,000 - $69,000 |
$563 |
$338 |
$70,000 - $89,000 |
$750 |
$450 |
$90,000 - $119,000 |
$863 |
$518 |
$120,000 - $184,000 |
$938 |
$563 |
$185,000 or more |
$1050 |
$630 |
To Sign Up:
Payment questions: Please email Erin Ferree to discuss payment plans or financial aid questions.
Cancellation:
In the event that you must cancel, please do so by sending an email no later than 1 month before your program starts. Cancellations received on or before 1 month prior to your start date will be refunded the cost of tuition minus the $100 deposit. Cancellations received within 1 month of the start date will be refunded 50% of tuition minus the $100 deposit.
Atlantic Challenge USA reserves the right to cancel programs in cases of emergency, insufficient number of registrations, or other situations. In the event of program cancellation, all tuition and deposits will be refunded.
All program participants are responsible for finding their way to the Rockland Ferry Terminal at noon on Sunday, June 22 and home again from the Rockland Ferry Terminal at 2:15pm at the end of the program.
- Select the appropriate tuition on the Sliding Scale table above.
- Sign up here. Fill out the Registration Packet and make a $100 deposit (or complete the Financial Aid Form) to hold your place in the program.
- You will be notified by email once your application and deposit have been received and to confirm your place in the program. If a program is already full, you will be put on the waiting list and subsequently notified when there is an opening.
- Final payments must be received 1 month before your program start date, example: If your program starts on June 23rd, you need to have paid in full by May 23rd, 2025.
Payment questions: Please email Erin Ferree to discuss payment plans or financial aid questions.
Cancellation:
In the event that you must cancel, please do so by sending an email no later than 1 month before your program starts. Cancellations received on or before 1 month prior to your start date will be refunded the cost of tuition minus the $100 deposit. Cancellations received within 1 month of the start date will be refunded 50% of tuition minus the $100 deposit.
Atlantic Challenge USA reserves the right to cancel programs in cases of emergency, insufficient number of registrations, or other situations. In the event of program cancellation, all tuition and deposits will be refunded.
All program participants are responsible for finding their way to the Rockland Ferry Terminal at noon on Sunday, June 22 and home again from the Rockland Ferry Terminal at 2:15pm at the end of the program.
