Sailing and competition skills are honed through daily practices and weekly racing. The team competes in regattas at sailing centers throughout the area; see more information below. Prerequisites are both Laser and 420 ratings or prior experience racing and ability to rig and right a 420. If your junior sailor is new to CBI but has prior racing experience, and is interested, please contact the Junior Program co-Director, Niko Kotsatos at [email protected].

Racing at CBI falls broadly into four categories

1. racing in practice is unscored, and generally part of a drill or training exercise, results are not the goal
2. Race Days at CBI are open to Windsurfers, Lasers, 420’s and Mercury’s, and encourage sailors to choose a teammate, rig a boat, and race with limited coaching assistance. An opportunity to put your skills to the test.
3. Events at CBI are hosted by Junior Program staff or Adult Program’s Tiller Club including the Community Cup (JP), 420 Regatta (TC), and Elmer Harris Regatta (TC) and allow sailors to compete with members of other community boating programs in familiar settings and boats.
4. Travel regattas (3-4 per year) are an opportunity to represent CBI’s Junior Program in racing at another sailing center. Racing in these is a privilege and requires some additional planning and preparation as outlined below. The CBITR also falls into this category.

Please see calendar below for practice, race and regatta schedule:

The race team enjoys a great deal of financial and administrative support from CBI, as well as from the Bemis Fund and sponsors such as Zim Sailing. As such, CBI expects that race teamers will give back to CBI in one or more ways:

• Work as a group to fund-raise to help offset the cost of travel regattas.
• Participate in weekly maintenance projects to keep equipment ship-shape and fast.
• Volunteer as an IIT, especially during Monday First Sail.

CBI also expects Race Team Members to…

• Display exceptional behavior and act as role models for other juniors.
• Represent CBI at regattas and other travel events with similarly exemplary behavior and corinthianship.

Regattas at CBI generally offer a lower-cost and lower stress way to enjoy racing outside of the regular Junior Program rhythm. Some are hosted by the Junior Program and include other invited guests and programs. Others are hosted by Tiller Club, our Adult Program racing group and the JP Race Team is invited to participate:

1. 1. The CBI Team Race presented by Zim Sailing (CBITR) is a top level teams racing event hosted at CBI with world class coaching: https://www.community-boating.org/programs/junior-program/cbitr/
   2. Please ask your coach or program director about Tiller Club events. These are listed on our calendar, and details can be found on the TC page: https://www.community-boating.org/programs/adult-program/racing/tiller-club/
   3. Community Cup is an invite regatta in Mercuries and open to all JP members with a Mercury Red Rating. This is a great event for newer race team sailors and interested parties alike. We invite other public sailing teams from Boston, Providence, Newport, Worcester and elsewhere.
   4. Kids Sail the Stars is a CBI only invite event hosted for IIT’s and other advanced JP sailors. It is more a celebration of the summer and a chance to have parents marvel at their kids skills, though racing is an important activity, followed by grillage (yum).

Travel regattas are 2-3 days each, and may fall outside JP hours, and/or on weekends. Sailors wishing to compete in them must show a dedication and positive team attitude, develop skills which will allow them to compete at an appropriate level, and help prepare and transport boats to the event. Planning begins 3+ weeks in advance, with registration 2+ weeks beforehand. At that point, boat pairings should be finalized, and we can set the details of getting boats and sailors to the event (typically sailors help load/unload the boats on the trailer which is towed by CBI). Note that sailors cannot travel in a car with an instructor.

In general, this process can seem overwhelming for first-time regatta participants (and parents) so please ask lots of questions and be supportive of each other during these events. CBI offers many advantages to a typical club which requires parents transport boats and pay additional coaching and equipment fees for racers, though regatta fees charged by host clubs will still apply.