ACMYC Program Leaders

The 2024 program is led by Lizzie Cochran, ACMYC Program Director (lcochran2126@gmail.com). She will be assisted by Abby Crane, Lead Instructional Program (abbycrane501@gmail.com). On the racing side, Ryan Petrush will be our 420 Race Coach (rfpetrush@gmail.com); Hannah Cronin will be our 420 Development Coach (hannahkcronin@gmail.com); and finally, Audrey Pozen will be the Opti-Race Coach (audreypoz@icloud.com). Lizzie will lead a staff of sixteen experienced instructors and eager volunteers. Her team of sailors consists of numerous collegiate sailors, high school sailors, an experienced members of the Cotuit sailing community. Their staff chosen theme this year is curriculum development, and they will work to articulate milestones for each class that can be achieved in a fun and supportive environment.

Overview of Program

After feedback from parents, sailors, and instructors, we have returned to 3-hour class meetings three times per week, except for the 420 Race and Opti Race - Championship, which will meet four times a week most weeks (depending on regatta schedules).

Full class descriptions are posted on the website, but the highlights are below:

• Opti 4 will no longer be offered; most sailors by this point are either starting to race Optis or ready to move on to two-person boats in the Junior Sailing Program.
• Sailors who have completed Opti 3, are not interested in Opti or 420 racing or are not ready to race should enroll in the Junior Sailing Program, which will be housed in the Instructional Program. JSP will focus on advanced seamanship skills and developing a lifelong appreciation for sailing in Cotuit!

Important Note: Sailors must bring or have access to their boats! We will no longer use borrowed lasers provided by club members. Laser owners interested in renting out their boats will post availability on the website. Lasers, Skiffs, or other small sailboats fitting 2-4 people are acceptable. 420s will sometimes be used, but this class is NOT a racing or pre-racing class.

• You do NOT need to have arranged a boat to register; boats are needed by the first day of class.
• Students who have completed Opti 3 and are interested in learning about racing should enroll in the Intro to Opti (Green Fleet) class in the Racing Program.
• Students who have completed Opti Race should enroll in Intro to 420s in the Race Program. (If your sailor has not completed Opti Race but has a similar experience, please contact Lizzie Cochran if interested in moving to a racing 420 class).
• The 420 Race instructors and students will have much more time to work on advanced race skills, including trapezes and spinnakers during class time because of last year's addition of two new 420s.
• Team racing will also be a focus at the 420 Race level, utilizing our six club 420s. Our existing fleet of all 420s recently underwent significant maintenance; we have new sails and spinnakers for the current race boats.

And, thanks to the excellent work of our boat committee, we now have six working motorboats to support the programs!

The ACMYC Council is very excited about the 2024 summer, and we thank you for your loyalty and support. We have complete confidence in Lizzie Cochran, ACMYC Program Director, and all our instructors to provide the best possible experience for your children.

Finally, the parent coordinators for 2024 are Jen Creedon (617- 285-0144), Heather White (336-908-4376), Kirsten Scannell Peek (646-831-8527), and Jonathan Chenard (415 -725-8443). We continue to use the acmycinstructionalprogram@gmail.com as our centralized email address.

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to a fantastic summer!!!