Tara Foster has been the Privateers’ Head Sailing Coach since August 2023. She is also the Sailing Director at the Maritime Waterfront, as well as a US Sailing-certified Level 1 Small Boat Instructor Trainer. In the summer of 2025, she lent her expertise to the popular YouTube channel WIRED’s Tech Support series, answering users’ questions about boating and demonstrating several techniques.
During Foster’s first season at the helm in 2023-24, the Privateers qualified for the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) National Championships. Under her tutelage, Spencer Barnes finished second individually at the Laser North qualifier, and he skipped Maritime’s “A” boat to a first-place showing at multiple different regattas.
Foster came to Maritime after a stint as Sailing Director at the Toms River Yacht Club in New Jersey from 2022-23. She also previously served as the Sailing Director at the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA (2019-22), and the Executive Director of the Venice Youth Boating Association in Venice, FL (2017-19). In addition, Foster has prior coaching experience at the Edison Sailing Center in Fort Myers, FL, and the Hoover Sailing Club in Westerville, OH.
She has been a member of the US Sailing Small Boat National Faculty since 2019 and served as a panelist on SafeSport implementation at the US Sailing National Symposium in 2021. Foster holds a SafeSport certification, as well as a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) license. She is a certified instructor in powerboat handling and safety by US Powerboating, and maintains US Sailing Level 3 certification as a Head Instructor/Program Director.
A 2014 graduate of Denison University, Foster was a four-year member of the sailing team, holding leadership positions of Commodore, Captain and Vice Commodore.
