Welcome to the Optimist and Open Bic Blog!

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 work if a number of parents are involved (and yes, parents also retire from the Opti class at some point!).

What are the topics covered in this blog. These include:

- how to buy your first dinghy for your kid?
- how to get your kid to evolve as a sailor?
- buying a new hull? what are the options, and how to control costs?
- "aging out" of a dinghy class: what does it mean? What are the options and how to appropriately choose an appropriate next boat, and when should the transition occur?
- useful links / organizations: links towards websites that are important for being on top of the information you need to know


Popular posts from this blog

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
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20 Reasons to Choose the Laser 4.7 (part 1)

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A frequently asked question is: « Why the Laser 4.7? » While the 4.7 rig is very well known in Europe, it is less so in some places elsewhere, particularly in the United States and Canada. The reality is that there are many reasons to choose this rig, which entails a sail of 4.7 square meters (1 square meter less than the Radial sail) and a slightly shorter mast. This rig is especially suitable for youth sailing. Let's take a look at the reasons - and there are many of them - why the Laser 4.7 is an excellent choice. Below are 10 first reasons. The second part of the article, presents 10 additional reasons to choose the Laser 4.7, and can be found at this link . Note: this article is available in French . Also, don't miss our upcoming webinar on Nov. 13 " The Laser 4.7 for Youth Sailing: All You Need to Know! " 1. A Considerable International Success The Laser 4.7, launched only twenty years ago, has achieved a considerable international success. For exampl
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Laser or ILCA Dinghy: Which One is Fastest?

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A Mix of Lasers and ILCA Dinghies at the Laser 4.7 Worlds in Kingston "There's no such thing as bad publicity." -- Phineas T. Barnum The Laser is usually referred to as a single manufacturer one design boat (SMOD). But in reality, there are 3 builders (assuming LaserPerformance will be reinstated) and possibly more to come. The ILCA Dinghies are actual PSA Lasers, rebranded to circumvent the Laser trademarks. Boats from the third, Japanese, builder are much less common, except in Japan and South Korea. So, are the PSA and LaserPerformance boats the same? As indicated earlier, only one supplier of charter boats - PSA - was promoted by the Laser class at the Youth Worlds, so that many sailors did not sail by choice on the Aussie ILCA Dinghies. The fact that many of the top competitors used ILCA Dinghies for those championships is not necessarily an indicator that these are better boats. Most of the top international competitors were sailing the ILCA Dinghies
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