Racing Teams

The CGSC competitive pathway — junior to high performance. Discover. Develop. Race. Beyond. Director-led, year-round, on Biscayne Bay.

Biscayne Bay · Coconut Grove

The Racing Teams

A pipeline, not a program.

The CGSC Racing Teams are the competitive spine of the Instructional Center. Sailors enter as juniors, develop through fleet racing on Biscayne Bay, and exit into college, national, or Olympic-track competition. Four rungs, one ladder, the same coaches all the way up.

We race 30+ regattas a season — Miami, the Keys, the Bahamas, and the regatta circuits that feed US Sailing's youth and college pipelines. The High Performance Center, Director-led by Maru Urban, sits at the top of the ladder as the next chapter — for the sailor who is no longer asking "should I race?" but "how far can I take this?"

The Bay

Year-round water, year-round training.

Biscayne Bay gives us 365 sailable days, water that averages 76°F, and no off-season. The same chop that produced David Hughes runs the same line today, every week of the year.

Our home dock at 2990 S. Bayshore Drive is a short reach from the windward marks of every major South Florida regatta. Racing Teams practice on the same water we race on. There is no training pond.

Methodology

How we coach.

CGSC's Racing Teams method rests on five fundamentals. They aren't slogans. They are how every practice, every debrief, and every regatta brief is structured.

Watermanship first. Reading the Bay — wind clocks, tide shifts, current eddies — comes before tactics. The boat follows if the water doesn't surprise you.
Coach the sailor, not the rule book. Every sailor's path is different. We adjust the rig, the goals, and the pressure to who's actually in the boat.
Race the curriculum. Tactics aren't chalkboard exercises. From a first regatta to Olympic trials, racing is how we teach.
Results in the boat. Talk is for the dock. Wins, fleet-relative finishes, position improvements — we measure where it counts.
The best still trim sails. Olympic medalists drill the basics. So do our juniors. Mastery is a return, not an arrival.

The Pathway

Four rungs, one ladder.

Click a rung to see where it leads — ages, training cadence, fleet, and what comes next. Default: Race.

Race

Age 14–18

Where the team years pay off. Sailors take the skills built on the Racing Teams to national and international regattas — representing the club and the United States, and coming home with results.

Coaches

Coached at every level of the sport.

The Racing Teams' coaching staff has seen every level of the sport — youth fleets, college nationals, World Sailing circuits, and Olympic campaigns — and coaches on the same waters our sailors race.

We don't rotate coaches by program. The same staff that runs the Racing Teams also coaches the High Performance Center. Continuity from a sailor's first regatta through their last is the point.

Meet the coaches →

Selected regattas

Where we race.

A slice of the 30+ regatta season. See the full calendar for everything else — Racing Teams sailors typically compete in 12–18 events per year.

April 10–12, 2026

Don Q Rum Keg Regatta

Snipe class · Hosted by CGSC · Biscayne Bay

Confirmed

Late December date TBD

Orange Bowl International Youth

Optimist / 420 / Laser / 29er · Coral Reef Yacht Club & CGSC

Summer date TBD

Optimist Red, White & Blue

National Optimist regatta · CGSC host weekend

Fall date TBD

CGSC Team Race Invitational

3-on-3 team racing · College & high-school fleets

See the full calendar →

FAQ

Common questions.

Who are the Racing Teams for?

Sailors ages 10–18 who want to compete. Entry is by tryout, but we hold an open practice each season — anyone interested can come sail with the team and find out if it's the right fit before committing.

What boats do you sail?

Optimist for younger juniors. 420 and Laser through the Race rung. High Performance Center sailors campaign Olympic-class equipment (49er, ILCA, FX) and travel boats where the campaign requires it.

How does year-round training work?

Practices run 3–4 days per week year-round. Sessions adjust to school schedules during the year and step up to longer days during summer and winter breaks. Race weekends are roughly two per month.

How is it different from the Junior Academy?

There is no separate Junior Academy. The Racing Teams are the junior development program at CGSC — every sailor enters here. Younger and entry-level sailors start on the Discover and Develop rungs; the Youth Sailing program offers casual or seasonal alternatives.

Can my child try before committing?

Yes. Open practices happen multiple times a season, and we run discovery weeks during school breaks. Use the inquiry form below and Maru or Rosa will be in touch.

What's the path beyond CGSC?

College sailing recruitment, US Sailing youth and senior teams, and beyond the program, Olympic and professional campaigns. The High Performance Center is built specifically to shepherd this transition.

Read the wind.

Trim your sails.

Win the race.

Join the team

Ready to race?

Tell us a bit about the sailor and a coach will be in touch within two days. Open practices and discovery weeks are scheduled regularly — we'll find the right entry point.

Give →