They have been sailing pretty much under the radar for the past five years, but not anymore. The University of Miami Sailing Canes have broken out of obscurity, with the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association preseason poll ranking them in the top 25 for the first time.

Pretty nice for a team that started as a club sport in 2004 and still has all-volunteer coaches, borrowed boats, limited recruiting and a small budget.

``We are the only one in the top 25 with no paid coaches,'' said UM oceanography professor Bill Johns, the team's faculty advisor.

Johns and coach Craig Johnson are proud of the team's growth and improvement and are hoping to make the ICSA national championship this season. Last spring, the Canes made it to the national semifinals. This season, they are off to a good start -- finishing fourth overall out of 19 teams and first in the ``A'' division at last weekend's Charleston Open in South Carolina. The University of South Florida took top honors in the regatta.

``Last year, we recruited a couple of good, well-known freshman sailors,'' Johns said. ``This year, we had a really good recruiting class. The ones that are beginners, we teach. The ones that are experienced, we get sailing as soon as we can.''

The Sailing Canes now number about 40 -- from freshmen to seniors -- including two outstanding sophomores, Miamians David Hernandez and Nick Voss, who have been sailing competitively since they were children. The team practices two days a week out of the Coconut Grove Sailing Club on Biscayne Bay aboard eight used Flying Junior boats purchased by the sailing club's charitable arm, and several 420s that it shares with Ransom Everglades.

Johnson -- a maritime recruiter in Fort Lauderdale and former sailing coach at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., and Boston College -- rides in a small motorboat with Johns, a competitive Lightning and Etchells sailor, directing team practices.

They are assisted by Jason Hill, a Coast Guardsman stationed at Miami Beach, and former Sailing Canes captain Fred Moffat, a UM law student.

Sailing 15-foot, double-handed dinghies propelled by a mainsail and jib, the students practice rounding course marks and other racing maneuvers. They are very enthusiastic. James Remeika, a 22-year-old senior math major from Boston, has been with the team since its origins.

``We thought we were going to go out and kick around on weekends,'' Remeika laughed. ``We ended up driving all over the southern United States for four years of college. I promised myself I was going to stop, but I just never have been able to.''

At a recent practice session, Remeika sailed with newcomer Danny Perez, a 20-year-old junior who just transferred back home to Miami from Madrid. Remeika foresees good things in the team's future.

``There's a huge influx of new talent, new energy,'' he said. ``We have much higher expectations this year. I think this group is capable of incredible performances.''

Ben Jassin, a freshman from Chicago, is an accomplished Sunfish solo sailor competing on a team for the first time. He hopes to crack the big time in the sport.

``I hope in four years to get as much coaching as I can and do well on the national level,'' Jassin said.

For sophomore Rachel Steinhauser of Princeton, N.J., in her second year on the team, sailing is just fun.

``I was totally new last year, and they taught me how to sail,'' she said. ``I got a lot of experience. I just do it for fun and the workout. I love the water and the wind. I want to have my own boat.''

The Sailing Canes have a full schedule of regattas in the 2009-10 season. For more information about the team or to make a donation, visit www.sailingcanes.org.

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