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Showing posts from August, 2017

Green, White, Blue & Red Fleets: What is it all about?

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If you were present at a prize giving ceremony for the Optimist class, you may have been puzzled by the number of categories and prizes that are involved. The reason is simple: the Optimist class is big, and there are kids sailing from age 5 or 6 to age 15, and there are some kids new to the class, and other kids with years of experience  So it's normal to recognize the efforts of everyone according to age and experience. So here is how it is organized. Green Fleet : when your kid starts mastering the boat and do short races at your club, (s)he may be ready for doing a regatta in the Green Fleet. This is a regatta where advice can be provided by the coaches during the race. And it is typically a shorter course than the white/blue/red fleets. The importance in the green fleet is to participate. So there is typically no ranking announced at the prize giving. But when your kid starts performing well in the Green Fleet, it's then ... time to move on and join the White, Blue o

Keys to Optimist Success

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What makes an Optimist sailor successful? And what is success? Let's remind us of the goal of Opti sailing, it is to learn mastering the key skills of sailing and to learn liking sailing, so that it becomes a passion for life.  What are the ingredients of success? They are many: here are a few of them. - develop friendships with fellow sailors, from the club, other clubs, other provinces and even internationally - choose a club where your sailor will be able to develop as a person, and as a sailor - a club with sailing as the focus, with good coaches and generally speaking a good sailing environment - focus on time spent on the water - Canada, like for example Scandinavian countries, is much handicapped because of the length of the winter; it's really important therefore that, during the sailing season, sailors spent lots of time on the water - work with your kids, the coaches, the club to develop realistic yet challenging goals. - participate in clinics, training

Buying an Optimist

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If your kid is new to the Opti class, you should consider buying a second-hand boat.  Kids are always leaving the class, so there is an active market of second-hand boats. How to buy a second hand boat? Here is a guide -- and you should seek advice from the coach or other parents at your club too. Getting a Hull How to buy a new hull?  There are several hull manufacturers, and a relatively significant price range. In addition, there are various types of spars, of blades, and of sails, which makes the purchase somewhat of a complex decision. In addition, it's important to know if you want to purchase immediately a top race boat, or if you want more of an entry boat, which may mean doing an upgrade later on, if your kid starts performing. If your kids is very young, you many not need to think too much about what boat he/she will need in 2 or 3 years, as it is not certain he/she will remain interested in sailing. So good second hand boat makes a lot of sense. Generally

Key Regattas and Results

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Upcoming Events: check http://www.optican.org/ 2017 Canadian Championships - https://2017opticanadians.com/ 2016 Canadian Championships - http://www.2016opticanadians.com CORK - (various years) - www.cork.org

Links

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Here are links towards key websites. Please provide us additional links that you consider useful! Canadian Optimist Dinghy Association - CODA - this is a parents run organization, which is the sole gateway to international Optimist regattas organized by the IODA.   CODA also organizes clinics.  Current CODA policy is to have only one event - the national Canadian championships - to select sailors for IODA international events. http://www.optican.org/  International Dinghy Optimist Association - IODA - It's the official Optimist dinghy class. It oversees a range of international events, including the Worlds, Europeans, North Americans etc. - The organization also oversees measurement and other dinghy class policies. http://www.optiworld.org/ Open Bic Class - it's the international class overseeing the Open Bic. It has no representation in Canada, so you need to contact the international class. It's a much smaller, more accessible setting than the IODA.  Registrati

Welcome to the Optimist and Open Bic Blog!

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Welcome to the Optimist and Open Bic Sailing Blog - an initiative primarily aimed at parents of opti sailors who would like to share their knowledge about how best to steer kids into sailing development, within the Optimist Dinghy class, and beyond. The blog also covers the Open Bic - a class that is likely to emerge in the coming years in Canada, as it does in various countries such as France, New Zealand and the US. Indeed, parents are facing many questions, choices, both during the time their kid(s) sail(s) the Optimist and afterwards, particularly during the transition period towards adult sailing dinghies. We intend to bring you quality advice, yet not definitive, as this does not really exist. We will keep the blog in English for simplicity, but do not hesitate to contact us for any explanations, clarifications in French, and we will be pleased to converse with you in French on that occasion.  If you want to get involved, please contact us, as this initiative will only wo