During the America’s Cup, Jamir Hatherley fell in love with sailing. The ten-year-old tried the sport for the first time in the AC’s Endeavour programme.

“It left me wanting more,” she said.

So last week, Jamir joined the Sandys Boat Club Summer Camp, a youth sailing programme run in conjunction with the Bermuda Education Network.

And she was not the only one there, inspired by the America’s Cup.

“This year we’ve seen a surge in interest because of it,” said instructor Lee Timothy. “The kids want to know one thing, what’s the fast track between an Optimist dinghy and an AC35.”

Very few of the 48 campers come from privileged sailing backgrounds, and many have received full bursaries from BEN to attend.

“I hope that through the programme I can become a better sailor, and one day take my family out on the water,” said Jamir. She wants to become a police officer when she grows up.

She said the hardest thing about sailing was getting the boats in and out of the water.

“The boat slip was very slippery and I fell,” she said.

But the best part was seeing marine life such as barracuda and turtles.

Fellow camper Jasir Seaman Thomas, 8, said sailing made him euphoric.

“It makes me feel like I’ve jumped 50 feet off a dock,” he laughed.

His goal is to one day have his own sailboat.

“I want to catch sharks and barracudas,” he said.

This is the second year DaMarli Minors-Pedro has participated in the camp.

“The first time I sailed I was excited and nervous,” he said. “I didn’t know what would happen if I capsized.

“I was worried that I might get stuck under the boat.”

Three days into the camp his boat turned over.

“I didn’t get stuck at all,” DaMarli laughed.

This summer he is feeling a lot more confident about sailing.

“The thing that surprised me was how good I got with it,” said DaMarli. “I think I could probably win races with it.”

Mr Timothy said learning to fully control a boat gave the children a sense of independence.

“They get to explore Mangrove Bay and beyond,” he said. “But they also learn social interaction skills as well.”

The 23-year-old learnt to sail when he was not much older than his students, growing up in Blackpool, England.

“I started in the Sea Cadets,” he said. “I started racing, and then later I taught the younger sea cadets to sail.”

Later he became a physical education teacher.

“I originally applied to work in Bermuda with the Endeavour programme,” he said. “They passed on my contacts to Sandys Boat Club.”

He worked last year on a six-week contract and then spent a year in Dubai.

“Now they are expanding the programme to run throughout the year and I’m here for a year.”

Tracy Astwood, BEN programme director, said BEN was excited to have Mr Timothy again. “He has been phenomenal with the kids,” she said. “His expeditionary learning skills are fantastic.”

Mr Timothy admitted that Bermuda was a totally different environment from his home in the north of England.

“But I love being here, hence why I came back for a second time around.”

And he said he was learning as much from the children as they were learning from him.

“I have learnt many little things about Bermuda,” laughed Mr Timothy. “I have learnt how to speak Bermudian, and what I need to be eating as part of a Bermudian diet.”

Sandys Boat Club secretary Lisa Siese said the programme had almost ended last year not long after it began.

“We suspended sailing lessons due to uncertainties in demand and resources,” said Ms Siese. “In May, we were approached by BEN with a partnership proposal to hire an instructor year-round.

“We’ve also received incredible support from the America’s Cup community, especially Oracle Team USA, who refurbished our entire fleet of optimists.

“It’s very exciting to have new equipment, a new instructor and a programme that is close to sold out for the summer.”

For more information, contact sbcsecretary@logic.bm.