Youth Program
Sailing
The mission of the Houston Yacht Club Youth Program, also known as the Ragnots, is to develop knowledgeable youth sailors, while instilling in them a love for the sport of sailing, that will serve as a foundation for the future of our club and our sport.
Friends Forever - Skills For Life
The Ragnot program offers year-round sailing opportunities with after-school and weekend sailing practice. The program uses the Opti, OPen Skiff, Sunfish, 420, FJ and ILCA-Laser and Melges 15s sailboats for dinghy sailing and an Ensign and a J22 for keelboat sailing. The exciting Adventure Sailing activities, scheduled throughout the year, expose sailors to STEM concepts and inspires good seamanship while Ragnots Racing has access to high level specialized coaching from nationally recognized coaches. Please consult the “Fall, Winter and Spring Program” page for more details on our year-round offerings.
In summer, on top of continuing to offer weekend activities, the Houston Yacht Club puts on the members only week-long Ragnot Overnight Camp and many weeks of day camps. Ragnot Summer Camp is a youth sailing camp that teaches basic sailing skills for beginning sailors, helps strengthen skills for returning campers and provides loads of boat time to develop the racing skills for of more advanced sailors.
Please consult the “Summer Camps” page for more details on summer camp offerings.
Social Events
The Youth program has many social events and parties throughout the year for kids of all ages. Following the Easter Brunch, there is a giant Easter egg hunt. The lawn is sectioned off for each age group with lots of eggs for everyone. July 4th features The Great American Cardboard Boat race. Kids team up to build cardboard boats and race around the harbor. Prizes are given for not only the top three winners, but for other categories such as best decorated boat, best boat name or first to sink to mention a few.
Boo Boating is a fun event around Halloween with a fall party and a costume contest followed by Trick or Treating at the boats in the harbor. The Christmas open house features a great brunch along with a special guest that arrives by boat. Children and parents line up to see Santa Claus entering the harbor and then follow him to the ballroom for pictures with Santa and a complimentary toy.
Sailing Director Contact
To contact the Sailing Director for questions regarding Youth Sailing, Adults Sailing, Private Lessons, or sailboat charters - Call the Front Desk at 281-471-1255 and ask for the Sailing Office. You can also stop by the Sailing Office located in the Breezeway next to the Main Lobby or click here to send an email.