Junior Racing

Are you competitive? Do you want to learn advanced boat handling skills, build confidence or just know how to get every last tenth of a knot out of your boat’s speed? Does your sailor have dreams of sailing in high school, college, or one day train for the Olympics? Don’t be afraid to dream big when you join our race teams! Racing builds camaraderie, promotes travel to fun and new destinations with friends, and can establish a passion for a lifelong sport.

All of our sailors learn and practice sailboat racing skills. However, junior sailors can further develop their racing skills by joining a race team and competing in regattas around the Chesapeake Bay and around the country. Opti Green Fleet & c420 sailors do not need to own their own boats to participate. Make sure your child joins the CBRYA Junior Membership and US Sailing to get discounts on regatta fees and other various discounts at retail stores. Sailors must join USODA, Laser, or c420 Class memberships to participate in Junior Olympics and National level events.

Hampton Yacht Club is committed to the health and safety of our sailors and staff. Unfortunately, the 2020 summer regatta landscape is forever changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We want the absolute best competition for our race teams and the Sailing Director and Coaches are working with US Sailing, CBYRA, and other colleagues around the country to develop schedules to provide safe competition. Each day brings new hurdles of events being postponed or canceled. The amount of travel regattas has drastically been reduced and more emphasis has been placed on collaboration with other local Southern Bay clubs. Schedule changes are updated frequently and a master schedule of events can be viewed here. There is hope that as restrictions ease each class will be able to develop the set schedule by June 1.

Our apologies for any inconvenience that this lack of structure may cause but we are still looking forward to a great summer of racing!

2023 Team Schedule

Regattas and Coaching Fees

Regattas are an integral part of sailboat racing. They allow for competition and growth and for many are considered a family vacation. Parental involvement is expected for out-of-town regattas including: help get boats loaded and unloaded, towing boat trailers, and driving sailors and boats to and from regattas. The cost of gas for trailering, hotels for the race team, food during the regatta, and regatta registration cost is not covered by the yacht club. If you are not able to help with towing or chaperoning, there will be an additional cost to help the parents that are towing boats, etc. Coaching fees consist of salary and travel expenses totalled and divided equally among the participating team members.

GUEST SAILORS:

Sailors from other yacht clubs are more than welcome to join an HYC Team for an event. Guest sailors contribute diversity to our team and more team members traveling to an event can help alleviate travel costs. If you are the parent of a guest sailor and seeking to compete at an event with the HYC Team please contact sailingdirector@hamptonyc.com for further information.

Opti Green Fleet

Every great racing sailor, including Jimmy Spithill, started out their sailing career in the number one junior fleet in the world, the Optimist. The Green Fleet program (Opti 2) is the foundational class to what could become a lifetime sport and days filled with adventure! The Opti 2 class is a developmental program for the sailors to explore what the sailing lifestyle has to offer: lots of fun while being on the water with friends and exploring new places! Being a part of a sailing team teaches life skills such as confidence, independence, critical thinking, and work ethic. At HYC we understand that our future is GREEN! That means they will still get the same expert coaching as the Opti Race Team. We do not ask our Green Team sailors to travel far, but we do encourage local regattas as far as Annapolis. However, there is no pressure at the Green Fleet regattas, all are focused on a safe learning environment. Once the sailors have bridged the gap from Green Fleet racing they will be ready and welcomed to join the RWB Opti Race Team.

RWB Opti Race Team

After sailors have gained some experience in the Green Fleet, those sailors can advance onto our RWB Opti Race Team and compete in Red, White, and Blue fleet events locally or nationally depending on the desires of the family. (Click Here for a breakdown of fleet assignments). The RWB Team competes in fleet and team racing events. Hampton Yacht Club is dedicated to the education and training of these young athletes and has sought out the best coaching for this program. Juan Manuel Briones was previously the Argentine National Team Coach and is also a coach for LISOT. Better known as Paton, this coach will provide excellent coaching to help develop your sailor to reach their goals.

The Opti Class in the US is organized by the USODA and HYC is honored to host the 2021 Optimist Team Race National Championship.

Once the Opti Racers have reached the age of 15, over 140 lbs and/or over 5ft 5in these sailors typically move onto the club 420 or the Laser 4.7/Radial.

USODA Parent Guide

Note: We believe that in order to train successful sailors, junior sailors should train in an Optimist as long as possible. Please help us with that goal by encouraging your child to sail an Optimist. There will be plenty of opportunities for them to explore new classes during this time of opti development as well. The Optimist is not only the largest sailing class in the world; it is the most competitive class for age 15 and below.

2021 Elite Laser & Laser Radial Race Team Training Program

Laser Radial/4.7 Travel Team: Ages 13-18

*Additional Regatta and Travel Fees May Apply

The Laser Radial Race Team was formed in 2020 from the need for a young adult singlehanded platform due to COVID-19. The fleet quickly expanded at the club with Head Coach Vir Menon. The team had great success competing throughout the Chesapeake Bay this past summer and is looking to expand. For the Summer of 2021, the HYC Team has partnered with Big Blue Sailing Academy, LLC. to develop a regional laser program that can provide an Elite Level Program. The team will train and compete at Hampton Yacht Club and Big Blue based out of the Old Dominion University Sailing Center. The partnership with Big Blue allows for three top-level coaches to oversee the program.

The Program Director will be Mitch Brindley, head coach at Old Dominion University with over 27 years of coaching experience at the youth, collegiate, national, and international level in a variety of one-design class dinghies with extensive experience in Laser and Laser Radials including Anna Tunnicliffe (2008 Olympic Gold Medal Laser Radial), Vir Menon will be returning as the team’s coach. Vir grew up competing in the Optimist and Laser 4.7/Radial on the Indian National Team. He received his undergraduate at Christopher Newport University where he competed in two ICSA Singlehanded National Championships in the Laser class. Joining Vir on the coaching staff will be Coach Morgan Collins, currently the assistant coach at ODU. As an undergrad at ODU, Collins qualified for four ICSA Women’s Singlehanded National Championships.

The Elite Laser Program will divide training time at both venues over the summer.

Purpose: Provide professional instruction, race training, and coaching in Laser Radials (4.7 or Laser Standard also suitable) for dedicated and experienced youth sailors in the Chesapeake Bay region utilizing the facilities and expertise of Hampton Yacht Club and Old Dominion University Sailing program. The program will be conducted and managed by Big Blue Sailing Academy, LLC in partnership with Hampton Yacht Club, for alternating sessions.

Entrants should purchase session hosted by HYC through HYC’s Club Spot account and sessions hosted by Big Blue at http://www.bigbluesailingacademy.com/elitelaserracingprogram.html

Offered:

Pre-Season, June 7-11, BIG BLUE
Session 1, June 14-June 25, BIG BLUE
Session 2, June 28-July 9, HYC
Session 3, July 12-July 23, BIG BLUE
Session 4, July 26-July 30, HYC
Session 5, August 2-August 6, BIG BLUE

The Laser Radial/4.7 Program at HYC is a bring your own boat program. If you are interested but do not own a boat please contact sailingdirector@hamptonyc.com and I will be happy to assist you in finding a good boat. Big Blue Sailing Academy does have a limited amount of charter boats available.

The Radial/4.7 team plans to travel and there may be costs (regatta fees, lodging, etc.) that are not accounted for in the weekly program fees. Any questions regarding the regatta schedule may be directed to the Sailing Director.

Prerequisite: Opti Travel Team or Dinghy 2 DDT or High School Sailing Experience

Enthusiasm and passion for the sport
Will travel (sometimes far) with the team and represent HYC at away regattas
Is confident at upwind and downwind
Can roll tack/gybe each time making the maneuver
Is comfortable in windy conditions
Is on time and focused during practice
Takes notes and is focused at team meetings
Is respectful to teammates and coaches

Summer Team, the Laser is the single-handed Olympic dinghy in the United States.
The team will compete throughout the country and are expected to work towards competing at the highest level with integrity and sportsmanship. The travel team will work on honing finely developed skills for ultimate performance in a multitude of areas. Sailors participating on the team will be expected to travel.

Objectives: Radial/4.7 Travel Team

Prepare sailors for sailing at the travel team level or in high school, college racing, and other high-performance sailing opportunities
Develop strong habits that are conducive to improving and being prepared for racing
Fine-tune boat handling
Have an understanding of tuning and sail shape
Improve tactical and strategic knowledge
Develop communication skills between skipper and crew
Prepare sailors for/Preparation for big events including tune-up regattas, practice days, and conditions based regatta prep

Chesapeake 420 Race Team

The c420 program is a great place to hone those high school sailing skills or continue on your path out of the Optimist Racing Team experience. The team focuses on serious racing skills and techniques including starting, strategy, tactics, spinnaker trim, trapezing, and light and heavy weather sailing. HYC provides exceptional coaching and has a long-term plan that will help your sailor advance in his or her sailing career.

It is preferable that you sign up as a team (skipper and crew) but we do accept individuals. If you sign up as an individual, we will pair you up with someone that meets the competitive crew weight (260-270 pounds) and your skillset. We do have 4 new Zim c420s. Boat ownership is not required but is always encouraged.

1 United 420 Race Team

The 1 United 420 Racing program is for our highest achieving double-handed sailors looking to move forward at the national and international level of competition. This program is designed to train the top sailors from multiple regional clubs looking to branch out beyond local and regional regattas. Banning together with the top tier from several junior programs allows an individual to sharpen their skills with like-competition and motivation. The aim is to prepare these sailors for a future of racing in college, the Olympics, and beyond. If you are interested in the program and would like to apply please contact the Sailing Director at sailingdirector@hamptonyc.com

Regattas

Most regattas are scheduled for Saturdays and Sundays or during the week of July 4th and do require travel.
Parental involvement is expected for out-of-town regattas including: help get boats loaded and unloaded, towing boat trailers, and driving sailors and boats to and from regattas. The cost of gas for trailering, hotels for the race team, food during the regatta, and regatta registration cost is not covered by the yacht club. If you are not able to help with towing or chaperoning, there will be an extra cost to help the parents that are towing boats, etc.

HYC is hosting two very large junior events this summer:

2021 US Sailing Junior Olympic Sailing Festival July 10-11, this event is open to Radials, c420s, RS Fevas, and all Opti Fleets.
2021 USODA Optimist Team Race National Championship August 1-4, HYC is very excited and honored to host the team race portion of the Nationals for the Optimist Class

Note: We believe that in order to train successful sailors, junior sailors should train in an Optimist as long as possible. Please help us with that goal by encouraging your child to sail an Optimist. The Optimist is not only the largest sailing class in the world; it is the most competitive class for age 15 and below.