Eighty years on Biscayne Bay. The story, the coaches, the standards. One scroll covers the club.
Biscayne Bay · Coconut GroveThe coaches
Leadership
Maru Urban
Director · Sailing Performance & Development · ILCA Coach · High School Head Coach & C420 Instructor
Rosa Lamela
Director · Programs & Development · Opti Learn to Sail Coach
Head Coaches
Diunieski "Koki" Gutierrez
Head Opti RWB Coach
Aish Nedunchezhiyan
Head Green Fleet Coach
Orlando Gonzalez
Head ILCA Coach
Justin Louden
Head C420 Coach & High School Coach
Norlem Garcia
Head Windsurf & Wing Foil Coach
Coaching Staff
Steve Mitchell
High Performance Coach · ILCA/RWB
Raul Ramos
Opti RWB Coach
Luis Orlando "Kope" Novoa
Green Fleet Coach
Halsey Richartz
High School Regatta Coach
Sebastian Lopez
Opti Learn to Sail Coach
Alastar Cook
Opti Learn to Sail Coach
Oscar Sanchez Barreto
Opti Intermediate Development Coach
Michelle Perera
Opti Intermediate Coach
Alex Figueroa
ILCA Development Coach
Erick Demario
C420 Development Coach
Fleet Operations
Jonathan Rodriguez
Powerboat Fleet Operations Manager
Heritage
Founded in 1946 by a small group of passionate Miami sailors, the Coconut Grove Sailing Club began as little more than a dream — and a shack. With no clubhouse or moorings, early members anchored their boats in the bay and operated entirely on volunteer spirit, united by a love for sailing, a deep connection to Biscayne Bay, and a commitment to community service.
Their mission was simple but powerful: to create a safe, welcoming space to teach sailing — especially to children — and to organize regattas that brought the community together on the water.
Today, CGSC has grown into a world-renowned sailing hub with a full-service mooring field and a reputation for excellence in instruction and racing. Thousands have learned to sail here, and whether you're hoisting your first sail or returning for another season, there's no better place to begin your journey than right here on the bay.
The mission
As a nonprofit organization dedicated to championing the sport of sailing, we are committed to advancing the sport and expanding its accessibility by delivering exceptional, standards-based instruction at every level. We are passionately devoted to welcoming new sailors, preserving Coconut Grove's rich sailing tradition, and driven to delivering instruction that meets the highest national standards for safety, instruction and seamanship.
The CGSC Instructional Center exists to take a sailor — at any level, of any age — and move them up the ladder. Sometimes that ladder ends at a Friday-night cruise; sometimes at an Olympic campaign. The slope between those two outcomes is what we coach.
We don't separate programs by ambition; we separate them by stage. The Racing Teams feed the High Performance Center. Youth Sailing feeds the Racing Teams. Adult Sailing parallels the whole ladder — same coaches, same standards, different pace.
Come see the dock
Open houses are scheduled regularly; demo sails are by appointment. Eighty years tells you what we've been; come see what we're doing now.
