Middle and High School Sailing

LMSS is the home club for four local high school and middle school sailing teams, those being Minnetonka, Blake, Breck, and Eden Prairie. With practices and regattas tailored to various levels of experience and competition for sailors grades 7-12, this popular after-school activity is the perfect way to extend sailing beyond the summer, make new friends, and travel the country.

LMSS high school sailing teams strive to be the best in the country, which means that our coaching staff and sailors expect excellence and a strong work ethic from all participants. Unless an individual is highly motivated to improve, we highly encourage beginner sailors with a desire to sail in the spring/fall to join our Spring/Fall 420 Rec class.

Fees for high school sailing cover coaching, use of LMSS boats and sails, and supported participation in local and travel regattas. LMSS fees do not cover regatta or travel costs, or additional school athletic fees.

Conference and Varsity Regattas
During both spring and fall seasons, sailors can participate in many local and regional regattas at two different levels.

  • Conference Regattas take place on Saturdays (and some Sundays) in various Twin Cities locations and are open to grade levels 7-12.

  • Varsity Regattas are two-day regional and national events limited to high school sailors. Rosters are determined by LMSS coaching staff.

Regatta Classifications:

Scholastic sailing regattas fall into one of three categories:

  • Tier 3: Low-pressure events (open to grades 7-12 and mixed teams*) (i.e.“conference regattas”). Many tier 3 regattas in MN are in the Minnesota Scholastic Sailing League (MSS).

  • Tier 2: Qualifiers for regional championships and national invitationals (grades 9-12 only)

  • Tier 1: District championships and qualifiers for national championships (grades 9-12, no mixed teams)

*A “mixed team” is a team of sailors from 2 or more schools.

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Middle & High School Sailing Calendar

Spring 2025 PRACTICES

Dryland Practice:

  • Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday from 3 to 5pm,

    • March 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13

  • Location: Minnetonka High School & Zoom

  • 1 hour workout and 1 hour chalk talk (led by coaching staff)

  • Chalk talks will be made available virtually via Zoom for absent sailors and middle school sailors who are dismissed from school later.

On The Water Practice:

  • Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday from 3:15 to 6:45pm (required practice)

    • Sailing practice begin as soon as there is enough open water to get to Lighthouse Island (estimated to be March 17th, 2025).

    • May 29th is the last official practice.

  • Optional practices may be added on Mondays, Fridays, or weekends at the discretion of the coaching staff.

  • High school sailors are expected to arrive by 3:15pm (exceptions for reasonable transportation delays)

  • Middle school sailors should arrive as soon as possible after school. Middle schoolers typically arrive between 3:45pm and 4:30pm.

**Cancellation policy: we do not cancel practice unless absolutely necessary. In the event of bad weather, we will have chalk talks inside the Minnetonka Yacht Club building on Lighthouse Island, or virtually via Zoom.

Spring 2025 REGATTAS

  • Tier 1 Regattas (most difficult, 9th-12th only)

    • April 26-27: MISSA Baker (Team Race National Qualifier) @ Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, Detroit MI

    • May 3-4: MISSA Mallory (Fleet Race National Qualifier) @ Columbia Yacht Club, Chicago IL

    • May 17-18:

      • Baker Nationals @ Mission Bay Yacht Club, San Diego CA

      • NIT @ MASSA TBD, Norfolk VA

    • May 31-June 1:

      • Mallory Nationals @ Connecticut College, New London CT

      • Phoebe King @ Tom’s River Yacht Club, NJ

  • Tier 2 Regattas (9th-12th only)

    • March 29-30: Ice Breaker Invite @ Chicago Yacht Club

    • April 12-13: Baker/Mallory Combined Pre-Quals @ Sheboygan Youth Sailing Center

  • Tier 3 Regattas (8th-12th only)

    • March 22-23: Team Race Scrimmage @ Columbia Yacht Club, Chicago IL

    • May 10-11:

      • LMSS Team Race @ LMSS

      • May Madness @ Pewaukee Lake Sailing School

  • Minnesota School Sailing Regattas (least difficult, 7th-12th)

    • April 19: MSS #1 @ Wayzata Sailing

    • April 26: MSS #2 @ Minneapolis Sailing Center

    • May 17: MSS #3 @ White Bear Sailing School

    • May 24: Minnesota Coed State Championship

General Info

Practice & Regatta Expectations

  • 100% effort 100% of the time.

  • Sailors: If you are signed up for high school sailing, you are expected to attend ALL PRACTICES and sign up for ALL REGATTAS for which you are eligible.

  • Sailors who need to miss or arrive late to a practice or regatta will need written approval from Coach Samuel. Text or email is preferred. Failing to do this may affect roster decisions, sailing time at practice, and a sailor’s ability to earn a varsity letter.

Daily Practice Schedule

  • Location: Lighthouse Island (LHI). Pontoon shuttles will ferry sailors to and from the Park Avenue Parking Lot. The address in Apple maps is “Deephaven Beach 19405 Park Ave Wayzata, MN 55391.”

  • 3:15pm: Pontoon shuttles from Park Avenue dock to Lighthouse Island begin

    • ALL SAILORS ARE REQUIRED TO WEAR LIFEJACKETS ON SHUTTLES AND DOCKS

  • 3:30pm: Rigged and ready to sail (fully dressed and stretched out)

  • 3:35pm: Briefing

  • 3:50pm: Go Sailing

    • Begin with a warmup drill and then 2-4 drills in small or large groups

  • 6:05pm: Derig and change clothes

  • 6:30pm: Debrief

  • 6:45pm: Pontoon shuttle drop off at Park Avenue dock

**Note: If you ever need a pontoon shuttle outside of normal pick up/drop off times, please text/call one or more of the coaches and/or one of your teammates to ask for a shuttle.**

Team Communication

  • Slack is the primary form of communication for all high school sailors and parents. It is where updates about practice, carpooling, team social events, etc. will be posted. An invite will be sent to all registered sailors and parents. To receive updates, you will need to download the Slack app on your smartphone and/or computer. Make sure that you turn on notifications for Slack. If you have any questions about your “invite”, navigating Slack, or if you are not receiving communications, contact the Communications Coordinator and Coach Samuel.

  • Email is the secondary form of communication for all high school sailors and parents. Coach Samuel (race@lmss.us) is your primary contact for all things related to high school/middle school sailing.

For iCal users, copy this address:

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/c_84dfb812b4640d7c1c3b102e26c4485dd8c6f4b7bf960e5f2c3cecd7ade10009%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

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