Your final preparation before the 2026 Youth Sailing World Championships. One week of Olympic-level coaching on the exact race course where the Worlds will be decided.
Coached by athletes who still compete. Built for sailors who want to win.
Most camps give you hours on the water. This one gives you a system. The Team Fontes method works four pillars at the same time, technical, tactical, physical and mental, because that is how a regatta is actually won.
Three weeks before the Youth Worlds, on the same course, with the same wind, you leave Vilamoura with a clear picture of your speed, your starts and your decision-making, and a personal plan to close the gaps.
Rig setup, hiking technique, steering and sail trim through every mode. Measured against the coaches, on the water, with video the same afternoon.
Starts, first beat strategy, fleet management and mark roundings. You learn to read the Vilamoura course, not just sail on it.
Sailing-specific strength and endurance from the author of Hiking Like a Champion. You go into December fitter than you arrived.
Routines, pressure management and decision-making under fatigue. The difference between a good day and a championship.
No assistants, no observers. The people in the coach boats are the people on this page, on the water with you every session.
Coached Lijia Xu to Olympic gold and Jorge Zarif to a world title. Still racing at the front of the ILCA 7 fleet at 46. Leads speed, physical preparation and the overall program.
Team Fontes · Brazil
Twenty years of Laser and ILCA racing turned into coaching. Leads starts, tactics and race-day execution, and runs the video debriefs.
SailBetter
Specialist in the transition from youth classes to high performance. Leads boat handling, mark roundings and the mental routines that hold up on the last day.
Performance Sailing InstituteTwo water sessions a day, one classroom block, one physical block. Nothing generic. Every drill is chosen for the conditions you will race in December.
Three coach boats, small groups, direct feedback while you sail. Drills are adjusted in real time to the wind and to what each athlete needs.
Every athlete is filmed every day. The afternoon debrief compares your technique to the coaches and to the best in the group, frame by frame.
Dozens of starts in a full line, with a race committee, time limits and consequences. Line sight, acceleration and the first 90 seconds.
Upwind and downwind speed tests against the coaches, then how to use that speed: when to point, when to foot, when to bail out.
A personal debrief every day and a written plan at the end of the camp: what to keep, what to fix, and how, in the three weeks before the Worlds.
Capped group size. You are never lost in a fleet of forty. Every coach knows your name, your boat and your goals by day two.
Marina de Vilamoura hosts the Youth Sailing World Championships for the second year in a row, from December 11 to 19, 2026. Preparing here in November is the closest thing to a home advantage a visiting athlete can get.
Same starting area, same marks, same swell. Learn the shifts and the current before your competitors even arrive.
Atlantic sea breeze and frontal systems give a full range of conditions in one week, from 6 to 25 knots, with real waves.
Vilamoura Sailing runs a professional base: launching ramps, boat park, charter fleet, classrooms and coach boats, all inside the marina.
Faro International Airport is 25 minutes away with direct flights across Europe. Hotels, apartments and restaurants are a short walk from the boat park.
Dates: November XX to XX, 2026. The order of sessions adapts to the forecast. Race simulation days are protected.
No surprises. Here is exactly what the camp fee covers and what you organise yourself, with our help.
Sessions in English. Debriefs and feedback also in Portuguese and Spanish.
National team members and sailors preparing for the Youth Worlds or continental events.
Pre-camp questionnaire, WhatsApp group with coaches, follow-up call in the week before the Worlds.
Join the opening briefing and the closing review. Daily updates in the camp group.
Reply within 24 hours. Spots are confirmed in order of deposit.
Groups and national teams: ask about team pricing.
Bruno is a super passionate coach as well as a high-level sailor himself. His experience in both Laser sailing and venue analysis helped me a lot. All my Chinese teammates love to work with him.
Bruno isn't just a great athlete and coach. He is one of the guys with more knowledge and expertise in the world when you are talking about fitness and hiking hard on a boat. I have improved a lot.
Bruno has been a mentor to me. He helped me so much on my path as an athlete, as a coach on the water, in the gym and in the mind, throughout my whole career. Without a doubt, my greatest reference in every sense.
ILCA 6 sailors preparing for the 2026 Youth Sailing World Championships, national youth team members and competitive ILCA 6 athletes who want a structured high-performance block before the season peak. ILCA 4 athletes can apply and will be evaluated individually.
You can bring your own ILCA or charter a boat locally in Vilamoura. Team Fontes helps you arrange charter with local partners. Charter is not included in the camp fee.
All sessions run in English. Bruno Fontes also coaches in Portuguese and Spanish, so debriefs and individual feedback are available in all three languages.
Accommodation, meals and travel are not included. Team Fontes provides a list of recommended hotels and apartments near Marina de Vilamoura and can help groups coordinate stays.
The camp is capped at a small group with three coaches on the water. Every athlete receives individual video feedback and a personal debrief each day.
Yes. Parents are welcome at the daily briefings and the final review. Club and national coaches can join the coach boats on request, subject to space.
Vilamoura in November rarely has a full day without wind. If it happens, the day is used for video analysis, physical training, boat preparation and tactical classroom work. Race simulation days move to the next windy day.
Deposit is non-refundable but transferable to another athlete. Balance refundable up to 30 days before the camp. Full terms are sent with the confirmation pack.
Team FontesSailBetterPerformance Sailing InstituteLimited spots. Confirmed in order of deposit. The Youth Worlds start on December 11.
Language: English · Português (soon) · Español (soon)