Red, White & Blue

Optimist RWB Fleets are age group fleets that Green Fleet sailors graduate to after proving proficiency at sailing and racing. The RWB Fleets are solely driven by the sailor’s age as follows:

White Fleet is for skippers who are 10 and under
Blue fleet is for skippers who are 11 or 12
Red fleet is for skippers who are 13, 14 or 15 

Sailors receive world class racing instruction from top coaches in small groups and are supported with coaches and motorboats at designated regattas. The program emphasizes focus, personal responsibility and the principles of Corinthian yachting excellence. CRYC team racers are renowned for being among the best prepared and highest achieving young sailors in the nation. These skills are highly valued at private high schools with sailing programs and the best Northeastern Colleges and Universities.
 

Coaches

The CRYC RWB Fleet Program has some of the highest caliber, highly experienced, and winningest coaches that Biscayne Bay and the sport have to offer.
 

Omari Scott

Opti RWB Program, Head Coach

Coach Omari Scott is from the tiny island of Antigua. He earned a Sports Management degree from Hampton University in 2008, where he was the leader and captain of the sailing team for four years. Omari arrived at Coral Reef Yacht Club (CRYC) in 2013 after serving as the National Sailing Team Coach for Antigua, St. Lucia and the British Virgin Islands. Omari currently serves as the Head Optimist Coach at CRYC and coach of the US National Optimist Team. Over the past 12 years, Omari has coached and competed in numerous regional and international regattas and clinics. Such regattas include, but are not limited to; St. Thomas International Optimist Regatta, Orange Bowl Regatta, Flanders Regatta in Belgium, Trofeo de Palamos in Spain, US Optimist Team Trial, US Optimist Nationals Championships, Schoelcher International Regatta in Martinique, IODA North Americans Championships etc. With his aggressive coaching style Coach Omari has developed many top sailors. Recent results include the Bronze medal at the 2016 South American Championships, Gold and Bronze medals at the 2016 North American Championships, winning two US National Championships - 2014 and most recently 2016, Silver medal at US Team Race Nationals and Gold medal at 2016 New England Championships. Omari believes that sailors race the way they train and with that in mind, maintains a high level of intensity at each practice.
 

Chris Craven

Opti RWB Program, Coach

Chris Craven was born and raised in Miami, sailing on Biscayne Bay with the CRYC Youth Sailing Team demonstrating excellence on-and-off the water. During his time in the Optimist class, he qualified for four IODA North American Championships and the 2007 IODA World Championship in Turkey. He continued his exemplary performance in the 420 class, sailing in a number of top-level events, around the country.
As Captain, Chris lead his University of Virginia sailing team to its second berth, in school history, to ICSA Nationals. He was an integral part of the organizational side of the team, handling budgets, logistics, and schedules.  After graduating from UVA, Chris followed his passion for sports and business, heading to Georgetown University for his Master’s in Sports Industry Management, where he graduated Spring 2018.
Throughout his collegiate career, Craven returned to CRYC to coach our sailors, helping achieve podium finishes at the Orange Bowl Green Fleet Regatta and a first-place finish at the Orange Bowl 420 Regatta. Craven brings a wealth of experience and unique coaching style that will mold sailors into better athletes and people.

Bernat Gali Bou

Opti RWB Program, Coach

Coach Bernat Gali Bou brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to CRYC’s program. A native of Spain, he most recently served as Head Coach of the top-performing Lakewood Yacht Club Championship Team. Coach Bernat is no stranger to our team, having coached CRYC sailors in past USODA and IODA events. Coach Bernat’s impressive resume includes his personal success as an Opti and Laser sailor, as well as more than a decade of coaching elite youth sailing programs in Spain, Myanmar, New Zealand, and the United States.  
 

Practice

During the Fall and Spring racing seasons, the RWB Fleet meets at CRYC to practice three times per week - once during the week and twice over the weekend. For the current racing season, practice is held, weather permitting, based on the following schedule:
 
Saturday and Sunday from 10:30am to 3:30pm
Wednesday from 4:00pm to 6:00pm 

Private coaching is also available for non-practice days and can be scheduled directly with the CRYC coaches. On weekends that our sailors are participating in a regatta, our coaches will determine if practice will be held and will communicate this to the team in advance. See our guide for Practice Details  for more information.

 

Regattas

During the Fall and Spring racing seasons, the RWB Fleet may attend one or more local or regional regatta per month - primarily within a one to three hour drive from CRYC. You may opt-out of attending a regatta if your sailor has already qualified for a national team or international regatta. 

 

Communications

If you are already a RWB Fleet sailor or family member, you can request access to our dedicated and active TeamSnap account that we use to communicate information about practices, regattas, and other events. Contact [email protected] to request access or if you already have an account you can login to TeamSnap here .
 

How to Sign Up

Please contact Waterfront Director Stuart deLisser at [email protected] to inquire about registering for the Opti RWB program.