Skip to main content

From The Center Console



From The Center Console

Part of, and crucial to, the Opti Apparatus is the fleet of coaches that support the thousands of Opti sailors out there. They are the heroes (and sometimes the villains) to the protagonists that are Opti sailors. Coaches are crucial to the development of sailors and critical to ensuring that kids stay in sailing. With the growth and professionalization of the class over the last few decades the Optis have seen the fleet and presence of coaches grow exponentially. Some say this is a detriment to the class as any serious Opti sailor now requires coaching in order to be competitive, which incurs tremendous costs and potentially pushes a kid out of Opti sailing

We have found that whatever is the case, most coaches are good people who just want to give their kids a chance to find the greatness in them and don't care if a sailor isn't winning regattas right after stepping on the boat for the first time. Of course, you will find coaches that are tough and rough around the edges, but that is because the sport sometimes requires coaches that will not let you retreat even an inch. Some kids will respond to that! But we find that most do not.

This is why we write the series "From The Center Console" to share tips and stories to opti coaches from opti coaches - the sport has taken great strides to create training opportunities for coaches, but at least in the US of A there isn't more than the National Sailing Coaching Symposium from US Sailing - yet! We hope you will find great information here, which is indexed and searchable through the top banner.

Fair Winds And Following Seas

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Beginner's Guide to Layering Sailing Gear (Updated October 2023)

Purchasing Sailing Gear can be confusing and brings up a lot of questions. The ones we hear the most often are ● What do I need to buy? ● Where can I buy it? Is it at west marine? ● This is very expensive, can I find it somewhere cheaper? ● My sailor lost this thing, do they really need it? Not to worry! We've put together this general guide to sailing gear to hopefully help all of you answer these very important questions. As you read this keep in mind that the most important thing is feedback from your sailor, as they are the ones who will be wearing this stuff! The first and most important thing is Sailing is a sport where you are at the mercy of the elements and the proper equipment and clothing make a world of difference in enjoying your time out on the water, or in certain cases, being able to survive it! How to choose Sailing Gear  In order to choose the proper sailing gear what you need to understand are two main points – Where in the world are you, and what ki

Ask Coach: What Is A Leebow?

 Timing + Technique = Control! Welcome to Ask Coach! Where we take your questions on Tactics, Strategy, and Boathandling. In our first installment, let's cover the Lee Bow. This is aimed at beginning to intermediate level racers in order to let them formulate questions they can bring to their coach, so we've tried to incorporate appropriate explanations and language.  We think it's important to agree on the vocabulary coaches and sailors use, so as there are many different ways to explain the same thing - make sure you know the difference between Tactics and Strategy What Are Tactics? Out on the race course, you'll be faced with many situations where you have to make a decision, sometimes before you even get to the situation (ahem - *mark roundings*). These decisions are what we call tactics. You can think of tactics as the little steps you take in order to achieve your strategy of success.  What Is Strategy? Strategy is the overarching plan for the regatta, race or par

What Should Be In Your Dock Box/Ditty Bag

 Although the Optimist class is comprised of children, the fact of the matter is that serious racing happens in the Optimist class and that carries with it needs for equipment and replacement parts. Any sailor or coach worth their salt will tell you that you need a ditty bag or tackle box to carry spare parts and tools in order to keep your Opti up or in case of technicals - breakage - out on the race course.  The historical example of a ditty bag, complete with marlinspike So what should you keep in your ditty bag? At the bare minimum, your ditty bag needs to have tools to repair or adjust parts of your boat. A good set of screwdrivers, of medium length, pliers, and a crescent wrench are absolute musts Example contents of a ditty bag. Note the ample variety of tape, tools and spare line Next, you'd want to add a roll of sail tape, the thick kind, to patch up tears or holes that might happen. I cannot stress the importance of dealing with that sooner rather than later, because a sm