Beyond the Optimist

The Optimist is THE sailing development class for kids.  There is hardly any other alternative in Canada.  But what after the Opti? This is an extremely important question, as many, too many, Optimist sailors give up sailing after the Opti, in large part because of an inadquate path of transition towards young adult and adult dinghies such as the Laser, the 420, the 49er, etc.

On the basis of various discussions with the most experienced coaches and a number of opti parents, here are key elements to consider.
  • your opti sailor can stay in the opti class until age 15, but may want to leave earlier because being too heavy, or too tall, or thinking of being so - what is key here is the weight, and indeed, while the ideal weight for Opti sailing is around 90 to 110 lbs (there is much discussion about this, so this is indicative), many Opti sailors continue to sail the Opti with a weight of 120lbs or even more ; height is less of an issue, even though some sailors will need to work on their flexibility to continue sailing the Opti - an indicative upper limit may be around 6 feet
  • what are the dinghy sailing choices after the Optimist: they are essentially the Laser (single-handed, available with 3 different rigs), and three double-handed boats: the Club 420, the International 420 (it's a different hull than the Club 420) and  the 29er. 
  • another available dinghy, which is adopted by only few clubs in Canada, but has interesting potential, is the Open Bic, which allows previous Opti sailors to sail in this dinghy for another 1, 2 or 3 years, depending on their weight and age, before opting for one of the above boats
  • a first question to answer to is whether your sailor will want to sail double-handed or single-handed in the upcoming years.  Double handed sailing is great, and allows your sailor to learn a set of new skills, yet requires a stable crew. Double handed sailing can take place just out of the Opti, but also aftwerwards - so no stress about this: your sailor may want to do one or two years of single-handed and the move towards double-handed (and the contrary is also true)
  • another question is whether you want to / can purchase a boat for a brief period only. Indeed, chances are that you will be able to keep certain types of boat  longer than others. A key example here is the Laser, which your sailor can keep for several years, using different rigs: 4.7, Radial and possibly Full Rig afterwards. So this may be a boat you will be able to keep for 5 years or more, and if well maintained, will keep a good re-sale value. On the other hand, a Club 420 may not be a boat you would keep more than 2 or 3 years, as your sailor may want then to move towards the I420 or the 29er. What needs to be taken into account is if your club has quality Club 420s that can be used by your kid.  Some clubs have, most don't. 
  • many coaches will suggest not to move from the Optimist to the 29er, because the Opti sailor is typically underweight for that boat, and the amount of skills that need to be learned for skiff / 29er sailing is much wider than for 420 sailing. This means that doing a year or two, double-handed, in the C420 or the I420, may be justified. Yet some kids move directly to the 29er, and this is facilitated if the total crew weight is at least say 260 lbs.  (so typically, two sailors just out of the Opti will be together very under-weight to sail the 29er)
  • you need to figure out what is going on at the level of your club. Indeed, competitive sailing requires ... competition, including at the club level. So no need to adhere to a class that nobody is sailing at your club level.
  • if your kid is not among the top Canadian Opti sailors, further sailing development at the club level, in club-owned Club 420s, may be fully appropriate. Club 420s are fun, and are by far the most widely sailed double-handed dinghies for youth. If you opt for the Club 420, you may still need to buy a new or quality second-hand boat, depending on what quality of boat is owned by the club.
  • for single-handed sailing, things are simpler, with the decline of the Byte class.  Indeed, the Laser is by far the most common single-handed boat in the world, is an olympic class for both men and women, and has 3 rigs - one of them - the 4.7 - being appropriate for the sailor getting out of the Opti class.
  • Canada has many relatively light wind venues during the sailing season, and an unfortunate trend has been to skip the 4.7 rig and move directly towards the Laser Radial. The radial requires however a minimum weight of about 145 lbs. Extremely fit and skilled sailors can sail the Radial from around 135lbs, but this is exceptional. On the other hand, the 4.7 world champion had a weight of 76 Kg (167 lbs), which shows that one can sail in the 4.7 well above 145 lbs and remain competitive. What is needed is for clubs, coaches, parents to get their kids in the 4.7, and not the radial, after the Opti, at least for one or two seasons.
  • The big advantage of the Laser is that the cost for moving from the 4.7 Rig to the Radial is minimal - only the bottom section of the mast needs to be changed, as well as the sail (but sails need to be regularly changed anyway).  If you buy a Radial, you can get a 4.7 bottom section and a sail, and your kid will be ready to sail for the 3 or 4 years or so, first in the 4.7 and then in the Radial.
  • For training at the club level,  and even racing at the local level, there are very affordable non-class sails, such as those by Intensity sails (sometimes on sale for as little as US$ 99 - a price that was applicable in August 2017) that can be used, and are much cheaper than Opti race sails or Laser Class sails (price over US$ 500 - similar to the price of an Opti race sail)
  • While the best sailors will change hulls regularly, a Laser can be a long term investment, and it's possible to be competitive in most races with a 10 year old hull.  The boat typically keeps a good resale value, and this should continue to take place as long as the class remains an olympic one.
  • Some regattas offer to competitors the option to sail either in 4.7 or in Radial, to accommodate a wide weight range. This is a mistake, as this has prevented the 4.7 class to develop. In light winds, there is no issue of sailing the 4.7, as long as there are competitors, and even if the speed is a bit lower than a Radial. So the advice for sailors, coaches and regatta organizers, is to have a 4.7 fleet, and a distinct Radial fleet, with separate starts (and likely different courses, as the 4.7 is slower).
  • In summary, if your sailor moves towards single-handed, the clear option is the Laser 4.7 (NOT the Radial) 
  • And if your sailor moves towards double-handed, and is not yet a top sailor in the Opti, the Club 420 is typically the most logical option.
  • Both the 29er and the International 420 are options to consider for advanced Opti sailors getting out of the fleet and who want to sail double-handed. But smaller fleets, and higher costs, are clear issues associated with these two classes.
  • And if the sailor is not ready for the 4.7, or the Club 420 for example, another interesting option is the Open Bic.
LINKS

Laser Class -- http://www.laser.org/  (this is the North American site - no Canada site)

29er Class -- https://www.29er.org/  (international  -- http://www.29er.ca/

Club 420 -- https://club420.org

International 420 --  http://www.420sailing.org/

Open Bic Class -- http://openbicclass.org/

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