SSA Junior Race Teams

ILCA // 29er Orange & Blue // Opti Green & RWB

This page is your one stop shop for all things SSA Race Team. Our Race Teams have produced many high caliber one-design racing sailors over the years. Our goal is to create lifelong sailors and give them the tools they need to succeed at the next level.

Race Team information, registration, regattas, and gear information can be found below.

29er

Opti RWB

ILCA

Opti Green

ILCA

  • Originally known as the Laser, the ILCA dinghy is a single-handed racing dinghy. The biggest attraction of the ILCA dinghy is that it is protected by strict one-design class rules, which means that no changes are allowed to the boat unless they are specifically permitted in the rules. The result is that all ILCA boats are virtually identical, whether they are brand-new or 10 years old, making it the sailor that wins the race – not the boat. The ILCA dinghy is a challenging boat that rewards athleticism, subtle steering, and trimming techniques, as well as tactical excellence. It is a single-handed Olympic-class boat for both men and women and is sailed at club, national, and international levels. With over 225,000 boats in 140 countries, it is the world’s most popular adult and youth racing sailboat. [Description from laserinternational.org]

  • Up to eight fully-committed sailors ranging from 13 to 18 years old. Boat ownership is mandatory and a set of race sails are encouraged.

    Full Summer. June 15 - August 14

    8-9 weeks of practices, drills, workouts, clinics, and local and national regattas. We hold our ILCA team's bar high and our sailors push it to the limit every summer.

    Opportunities to travel outside of the summer circuit may include Orange Bowl, Midwinters, and miscellaneous ILCA regattas throughout the southern, national, and international circuits.

    Summer 2026: $4,000 + Travel Fee

    Application Required.

  • Our team will travel to both CBYRA & National Regattas.

    National Regattas MAY include:

    Brooke Gonzales Clinic @ RI:

    Youth Champs

    US Champs

    Great Lakes Champs

    Youth Worlds

    CORK International Youth Regatta @ Kingston, Ontario, Canada: TBA

 29er

  • One-design, double-handed, single trapeze skiff with a fully battened mainsail, self-tacking jib and asymmetric spinnaker. Teams compete as men’s, women’s and mixed pairs. Skiffs are fast and fun. The 29er provides an Olympic pathway to the Men’s 49er and Woman’s 49erFX.  

    The 29er is currently the boat of choice for doublehanded skiff at U.S. Youth Champs and continues to grow within the CBYRA circuit as well as across the nation.

    Learn more here: https://us29er.org/the-boat-2/

  • Both the Orange and Blue Fleets of the 29er Development Team include 6-8 fully committed sailors ready to learn and send it to the next level.

    Orange Fleet

    This team of beginner-intermediate sailors will practice 4 days per week for the entirety of the summer in club-owned skiffs and occasionally in FJs to sharpen boathandling skills. Sailors will begin the season by learning the basics of the boat, how to rig, and introductory boathandling. As the summer progresses, sailors will learn more advanced sailing techniques and racing tactics and will be encouraged to participate in at least 2 local regattas.

    Pre-Requisites for Orange Fleet:

    • Open to ages 13+ (<13 with Coach Approval)

    • Previous sailing experience in doublehanded boat or racing experience in singlehanded boat. 

    • Motivated to try something new, open to pushing personal boundaries to achieve goals

    • Moderate to Confident understanding of upwind/downwind sailing, tacking, and gybing.

    • Basic knowledge of knots

    • Good understanding of body position and boat balance

    There will be full-summer, half-summer, and 2-week session options for the Orange Fleet of the 29er Development Team. You do not need to own your own boat but you are encouraged to seek ownership in order to move into Orange Fleet or a more high performance travel team.

    Practice schedule: 4 days per week, Tues-Fri.

    2-Week Sessions

    Session 1; June 16-19 & June 23-26

    Session 2; July 7-10 & July 14-17

    Session 3; July 21-24 & July 28-31

    Session 4; Aug 4-7 & Aug 11-14

    Full Summer: $XXXX // Half Summer: $XXXX // 2-Week Session: $XXXX

    Blue Fleet

    The Blue Fleet is for sailors who are moving up and out of Orange Fleet and looking to commit to a full-summer practice and regatta schedule. Sailors will practice 5 days per week on personally owned or chartered* 29ers. Classes will focus on more challenging boathandling and racing tactics and the team will travel to several local and national regattas throughout the summer.

    Pre-Requisites for Blue Fleet:

    • Successful completion of Orange Fleet or Coach Recommendation to move up.

    • Boat ownership highly encouraged, otherwise summer charter boats will be offered (See Charter Info below*)

    • Confident in intermediate boat handling, tacking, gybing, spinnaker work

    • Familiar with racing rules and courses, has competed in at least 2 regattas in the 29er

    • Knowledge of basic knots (bowline, clove, cleat, stopper, 8)

    *Charter boats are available through the Annapolis-based 29er Class President, Jim Bonham. Contact US29erClass@gmail.com for more information on charters or charter-to-buy options for Summer 2026.

  • Local practices, CBYRA events, and some national events when feasible.

    Regatta schedules MAY include:

    Orange Fleet

    • West River Sailing Club (6/29)

    • SSA Sandy MacVickar (7/1)

    • Tred Avon Oxford Regatta (8/8-9)

    Blue Fleet

    • Hampton YC (June )

    • Annapolis Race Week (June 29-July 1)

    • North Americans

    • Nationals

    • CORK International Youth Regatta @ Kingston, Ontario, Canada: August

    • ACC’s (Sept 5-6)

    We also may have opportunities for Clinics and Mini-Regattas with 29er Development Teams from NJ, RI, and ME.

    *dates are approximate - events are TBA

Optimist

  • The Optimist is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy intended for use by young people up to the age of 15. It is 8' long and just under 4' wide and features a pram bow, single sprit-rigged sail, and several fine tuning points to keep young sailors engaged and learning.

    The Optimist is one of the two most popular sailing dinghies in the world, with over 150,000 boats officially registered with the class and many more built but never registered. It is sailed in over 120 countries and it is one of only two sailboats as an International Class by World Sailing exclusively for sailors under 16.

  • Green Fleet & Opti RWB

    Opti Green Fleet is an introduction to racing. Green Fleet is a stepping-stone for sailors who are new to racing, but interested in competing in sailing and ultimately moving up to the Optimist Red, White and Blue fleet. Parental involvement is expected to facilitate travel, trailering, and chaperoning. 

    Successful completion of the Optimist Rookie Racers program is a prerequisite for this program (but may be waived at the discretion of the Junior Program Director).

    _______/)_____/)_____/)_____/)_______

    The Opti RWB (Red/White/Blue) Team is for more advanced racing sailors who compete primarily in regattas in the Annapolis and surrounding areas, but also supports team members traveling to more distant regional and national level regattas. The Opti RWB Team, while subdivided into 3 age groups, practices and races together. The Red/White/Blue designations are age bands used to score age groups separately at regattas: White (10 or younger), Blue (11-12), and Red (13-15). The Optimist RWB Team is ideal for sailors who are comfortable and proficient at racing. Parental involvement is expected to facilitate travel, trailering, and chaperoning. The Optimist RWB Team Coaches will be present at all supported regattas to help team members both on and off the water. 

  • Green Fleet: 3-5 local CBYRA regattas throughout the summer. Typically each Half-Summer group will attend 2 or 3 regattas.

    Possible schedule: Fishing Bay (June 21-22), West River (June 30), AYC (July 1), SSA (July 2), Lewes (July 23), Miles River (August 7), Oxford (August 9-10)

    Opti RWB: Heavy CBYRA travel schedule including VA Race Week, Annapolis Race Week, Eastern Shore Race Week, and generally will include USODA Nationals.

    Possible Schedule: VA Race Week [Fishing Bay, Hampton, Norfolk] June 21-27, Annapolis Race Week [WRSC, AYC, SSA] June 30-July 2, USODA Nationals, MD State Champs (Rock Hall, July 24-25), Oxford (August 9-10)

  • Green Fleet: Full-Summer or Half-Summer commitments. Application Required for scheduling purposes.

    Full Summer: $3,750 + Travel Fee

    1st Half Summer: $2,400 + Travel Fee [June 9 - July 11]

    2nd Half Summer: $2,200 + Travel Fee [July 14 - August 8]

    Opti RWB: Full Summer commitments preferred but Half-Summer options available as well. Application Required. Priority registration for Full Summer applicants.

    Drop-In's for both teams may be available for a fee with advanced notice.

    Full Summer: $4,000 + Travel Fee

    1st Half Summer: $2,400 + Travel Fee [June 9 - July 11]

    2nd Half Summer: $2,200 + Travel Fee [July 14 - August 8]

  • Opti Green Fleet and Opti RWB sailors must provide their own boat, which must be equipped as follows:

    • 27’-30’ Floating bow line (6mm/1/4” min. diameter), secured to mast step

    • Two bailers that are secured to the boat

    • Three air bags which must be firmly inflated and able to hold air

    • Rudder retainer clip (secures rudder to transom)

    • Daggerboard lanyard (to prevent it from floating away if capsized)

    • Mast tie in system (line and/or locking collar)

    • Bridle/Mainsheet connection, must be a shackle-type quick connect, no carabiners or other self-opening clips are permitted for safety reasons.

    • Mainsheet Bridle, no looser then approx. 4” from boom, and must have safety line.

    • Paddle or Praddle with lanyard

    • Opti sail tie kit and spares (purchase a kit HERE)

    • Follow the Optimist Class Rules: READ HERE

    Participants will need to bring the following things to camp every day, clearly labeled with their name:

    • PFD/Life Jacket (Coast Guard approved) with whistle

    • Closed-toed shoes that can get wet

    • Change of clothes & towel

    • Sunglasses & hat

    • Sunscreen

    • Lunch & Healthy Snacks (NO PLASTIC BAGS)

    • Reusable water bottle

C420

  • The Club 420 is a two person dinghy which forms the base of many local, high school and collegiate programs in North America. Simple for beginning sailors and yet challenging enough for collegiate champions. The Club 420 offers more learning opportunities than any other double-handed boat. Over 5,000 Club 420s are sailed in youth, high school and collegiate programs all over the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

  • Clinics Only.

    3-6 pairs (skipper & crew) interested in building skills and practicing at a high level in order to compete in both CBYRA and Triple Crown events.

  • Clinics will be held by local coaches with practices out of SSA. Sailors are encouraged to compete at both local and national events but travel and logistics will be independently scheduled.

    Clinic Schedule

    C420 Summer Clinics

    June 10-13 // Women’s Clinic (Ida Lewis Prep)

    July 7-10 // Clinic w/Ian Burman

    July 28-31 // Clinic w/Ian Burman & Bradley Adam

    Recommended C420 Regattas:

    New England Champs

    North Americans (Triple Crown)

    Canadian Nationals

    CJ Buckley Team Race @ RI

    Nationals (Triple Crown)

    South Shore Champs @ Sayville, NY

    Atlantic Coast Champs

    Orange Bowl

    Midwinters (Triple Crown)

  • 3-6 C420's committing to full-week clinics when scheduled. Registration for each clinic will be a separate event.

    Weekly clinic prices will vary based on coach.