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There are camps with activities as traditional as model rocketry and riflery and those that are nontraditional such as aviation, computers, language studies, golf, martial arts or community service. There are overnight summer camps with a focus on self-improvement, weight loss and grief counseling too. Selecting an overnight summer camp for your child, teen or other children deserves a great deal of consideration and attention to even the smallest details.

Planning early is important; you should be diligent in your efforts to visit camps during the peak season to make plans in advance of the upcoming camping year. The more artistically minded might want to consider arts and crafts, clowning, drama, photography, or dance to be important elements of having a well-rounded camp experience. Basically, if you can think of any subject area, there's probably a camp that specializes in it.

Special needs camps try to meet the needs of a wide range of children with disabilities; these camps provide an outdoor summer camp experience along with a therapeutic environment. Generally camps are divided by gender - girls only, boys only, or co-ed and again by age group. Selecting the right camp that fits with your child or teen's interests, special interests, needs, special needs and abilities is one of the first steps

Try to determine whether the camp director incorporates a similar philosophy to running the camp as you do in parenting your child or children. The best overnight summer sports camps do much more than try to improve a camper's soccer, tennis, lacrosse, or wrestling skills - they help each child become a more skillful athlete, a more gracious competitor, a more committed team player and a more confident person. Is there a special topic (e.g. religion, sports, educational, performing arts, arts and crafts) that you want your child will gain ability and experience in?

Camp tuition can be expensive; similar to travel insurance, there are now insurance policies for families sending their children to overnight summer camp to cover a last minute cancellation, homesickness, any medical emergency and emergency evacuations. You child or teen could typically explore subjects new to them like marine science, photography, creative writing, community service, drama, magic, scuba diving, video production, comic book design, crime scene forensics, cooking, yoga, rappelling, etc. If you have more than one child do you think, they would benefit from attending the same summer camp together?

Visit the camp; you can view campers and counselors in their element, witness activities as they occur, and just get an overall feel for the camp - something that cannot be accurately experienced when the camp is closed. children will get more individual attention and supervision with fewer campers per counselor. Non-profit camps often range anywhere from $1200 to $3000 for four weeks and $2500 to $5000 for eight weeks.

Although camp counselor jobs don't usually pay very well, minimum wage or less, counselors receive free room and board; many take the job primarily for the camping experience. And most camp counselors are in their late teens or early twenties and are high school and college students on their summer break. There are many types of overnight summer camps with a focus on education that cater to students of differing ages and academic interests.

If you find a traditional overnight summer camp or sleepaway camp that is not the right fit, or an expense that isn't possible at this place in time, know that there are other options that can keep your child occupied throughout the summer. Look over and evaluate the fliers, brochures and promotional materials; read the fine print. If you think there's a possibility you might have to cancel an overnight summer camp reservation, then camper's insurance is a good idea. The summer is a key time to visit overnight summer camps or sleepaway camps because you can determine whether they'll be the right fit for your child, children or family while the camp is in full operation.

For more information on choosing the best overnight summer camp and finding the best sleepaway or overnight summer camp online and offline go to http://www.OvernightSummerCamp.biz a nurse's website specializing in overnight summer camp tips, help, facts, free tuition resources, including information on overnight summer camp reviews

Have you heard from your insurance company lately? If you have not and you are the Captain, Owner or Operator of a recreational vessel Power or sail, expect to and soon!

One insurance company in no uncertain terms categorically states on its severe weather Plan Questionnaire for Crewed vessels Wind coverage will not be afforded to vessels located south of Morehead City NC between 30 June and 1 November unless an acceptable severe weather Plan is completed and Approved by a *** Private client Group Yacht Underwriter.

The questions can be as detailed as how many lines are going to be used, which direction is the slip facing and of course a wonderful catch 22 do you have alternative plans if your primary plan becomes unlikely?

In short, if you are to have a reasonable chance of collecting from your insurance company, they expect a reasonable effort to protect the vessel and real efforts to mitigate loss or damage, now more than ever before.

Understanding that yacht crew may have shore side responsibilities, house car etc. they cannot just tie the vessel to the dock and run, after all the vessel that they are being paid to care for is their job and may have funded those shore side assets in the first place! Therefore that word again PLAN.

The components of that plan far exceed how many lines are in inventory. Is the vessel kept topped off? (If there is, a severe WX warning fueling might not be readily available or waiting for it might affect your plans). A recheck of just what is the vessels range at speed, if the plan is to get out of the way. What is your window, that is just WHEN do you make the decision to run? Of course WHERE TO? If you are short of crew, it might be a bit late to augment the crew compliment 2 days before a hurricane is forecast to strike (after all it is the middle of summer). Like shore side people, you need stores to last a week. Someone needs to feed the crew and grocery stores are notoriously busy at the last minute.

The devil is always in the details, if you are at a dock up a river or if you are going to a dock up a river, what are the local regulations on Bridges? Most south Florida communities have ordinances that affect opening hours and they have ordinances that dictate how their bridges will operate during severe weather events. It may seem overly cautious to depart a seemly safe slip or dock 3 days in advance of a warning or watch however timing is indeed everything. Too late may preclude getting into that hurricane hole you had in mind or being trapped behind a bridge in an unsafe location.

Broward County has a Flotilla Plan for the New River; you can review it at www.broward.org/hurricane/hm-boats.htm

On the East coast of florida the perennial question is to go north or to go south, the united States Navy in Norfolk VA usually takes the big ship option, they go to sea. That may not be the best option for a 10-knot vessel however.

Good weather forecasting is imperative and taking those actions to keep your or your clients vessel out of harms way in a timely manner is the responsibility of the Captain and his crew Make a seaman like decision based on all available data and be prepared to alter or modify that decision as events dictate.

Consultation with the owner to establish practical time parameters is an essential part of any plan That when question needs to be addressed and agreement reached.

It could result in an expensive voyage to nowhere or prudent action could save the vessel. However, running away from the storm just might be the best run the vessel ever made. If nothing, else such a trip could provide an excellent opportunity to exercise the vessel and do some real crew training.

A Plan is not a unilateral thing, the owner, and insurance carrier, crew; need to be on the same page with the captain if it is to be workable (emergency funds for example, relocation of the vessels vehicle, the crew working together to secure their personal assets in adequate time to implement the vessels plan etc.)

The middle of the Season may not be the optimum time to develop a plan, reduce it to writing, and organize the necessary supplies and assets. However, it is better NOW than when storm damages are being negotiated with a claims adjuster or trying to get into the yard behind a hundred other vessels.

The Author would like to Thank Mr. Frank Atlass of ATLASS insurance for his help and direction particularly with insurance companies questions regarding plans, as they all are a bit different.

Captain Jeffrey R Herbik
USCG 1600 ton ocean master (3000 ton itc) british MCA cec.
Contract yacht delivery & special projects
fort Lauderdale, florida 33316
e-mail: yachts Deliveries

For more helpful yachting information go to http://www.yachtinginsider.com

Captain Jeffrey R. Herbik

USCG 1600 ton Ocean master ( 3000 ton ITC ), STCW 95 compliant, british MCA cec, ex united States marine Corps Officer (Armored amphibian landing craft) FAA Commercial Pilot with instrument and Multi-engine ratings. BS Villanova University.

Late season tropical Depression number twenty-seven is here and is forming into what will soon become tropical Storm Gamma. It will be just south of jamaica by Friday. The surface temperatures in caribbean are warm and will easily allow tropical hurricane Gamma (pronounced gama in the Greek alphabet to form.

The chances of Gamma becoming a Large Category Storm are not likely, but possible. The chances of it getting into a position to threaten the united States shoreline is not likely, but too early to completely rule out. The next named storm will be Delta and Epsilon.

tropical Storm or hurricane Gamma will be the twenty-fourth named storm and is likely to flood up to 15 inches of torrential rains on the Windward islands, puerto rico, Virgin islands and Leeward islands, which are already still trying to dry out from previous storms this year. Gamma is building slow and getting bigger each day and we still have over 2-weeks left in the Official tropical hurricane Season this year, which could be extended 2-weeks due to warm waters.

A hurricane Gamma could be a significant storm for many islands in the caribbean and it may not be the last named storm or hurricane this year. Think on this

"Lance Winslow" - online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, washington