Can you imagine spending your summer on a tall ship, sailing around the Great Lakes while making friends and building teamwork and leadership skills?

That's exactly what happens at Toronto Brigantine, and it's just one example of an adventure camp experience. Adventure camps are an opportunity for children to take on exciting, new challenges within a safe environment with qualified leaders and quality equipment.

For teens aged 13 to 18 who get involved with the camp, it's an experience of a lifetime, says Melanie Croft-White, alumna of and spokesperson for the program. "How many kids when they go back to school in September get to say, ‘I got to sail on a tall ship?'" she asks.

That's part of what makes an adventure camp special—it's something different from the norm, a cool experience that can live with your son or daughter long after summer is over. But that's not to say it doesn't develop many of the same life skills that other camps do. In fact, the very challenge built into a camp like Toronto Brigantine contributes to character building, Croft-White says.

"The kids take part in everything," she explains. "I think it really builds self-confidence and self-esteem because as they are presented with challenges, they overcome and deal with those challenges."

With the challenge comes the potential risk and parents should look closely at that before enrolling their child in a more adventurous program, says Catherine Ross, communications officer for the Canadian Camping Association. "I guess the important thing for them to establish is that the risk is well managed and that the equipment is high calibre and the leaders are well qualified," she says.

With all of that in place, youth like Tessa Alexanian know there's plenty to gain from the adventure camp experience. The 18-year-old from Toronto just spent her third summer on one of Toronto Brigantine's tall ships. She started off with no sailing experience, but this past summer she was a senior officer, the equivalent of a camp counsellor. In addition to the skills she has learned—including sailing and woodworking as well as teamwork and leadership skills—she admits that she just loves the feeling of being out on the water, sailing into lakeside towns to be met by the locals and seeing places only viewable by boat.

It's an experience so appealing to some campers, they make it a lifelong ambition. "We do have people who move on into the marine industry," Alexanian says.