Opti TV

Video Is Everything So you've figured out that your team is ready to take it to the next level and you are ready to incorporate videos into your debriefs. Great! Video is the absolute best way to bring your feedback to the kids because they get to see themselves in whatever situation you are discussing - and learn from their own mistakes, while seeing what is working for them.  It will always drive the point home harder if the kids internalize the lesson instead of you feeding it to them. This 3-part series is dedicated to coaches who want to up their videography game and make their video debriefs with their Opti sailors as effective as possible. Note: As this is based on our experience, we hope you can adapt this set of advice to your own situation and resources! What Is A Video Debrief Anyway? It's a debrief, but with video. It seems very simple and straightforward but we've found that there is a lot that goes into one. Especially if you are coaching a large

This week we are featuring a video from our friends at McLaughlin Boat Works - regarding daggerboard trunk maintenance. With ever-sharper trailing edges on daggerboards, this yearly maintenance is becoming more and more important! You can pick up the EX-1117R2 Daggerboard Kit over on Opti Stuff. 

Self-Coaching Is Always A Good Thing Key points for analyzing your own roll tacks - ask yourself these questions!: 1. The Turn:     - Is the turn smooth? (turn through the wind slower in flat water, faster in waves).     - Do I pump in the mainsheet in a way that makes the boat head up, and propells it into the wind?     - Are my eyes on the sail until the last possible split second? 2. The Roll:     - Am I rolling at the right time (when the front half of the sail luffs)?     - Am I rolling enough? Often if you don't get enough roll its because you went out too early.    - Am I keeping my weight forward while I roll?   - Are my knees together for a compact, athletic position to spring from?   - Am I keeping the sail cranked in to stop it from luffing? 3. The Flatten:     - Am I landing forwards?     - Easing the sail as the boat flattens?    - Getting my eyes on the telltales ASAP?    - Trimming back in when the boat is flat?    -Switching hands AFTER the

What a throwback! Thanks to our friend Tom Bremen of Bremen Sails who participated in the 1966 IODA World Championship, held at Coral Reef Yacht Club in Miami Fl. Back when only 6 countries had recognized fleets! Did you know? The Miami Herald Trophy is named from the 1966 IODA World Championship where the Herald sponsored a trophy for the best overall score for a country at the event. 

Sometimes we forget to put ourselves at their level Answer the following questions: If a boat is disqualified under the Fair Sailing Rule, she may either be disqualified or issued a disqualification that is not excludable There are situations when a  starboard tack  boat must keep clear of a  port tack  boat When the  Right of Way  (ROW) changes from one boat to another, the new ROW boat must initially give the other boat  room  to  keep clear  in all circumstances. In regular fleet racing, Rule 18 does not apply until both boats reach the three boat-length  zone  around a  mark. After a boat completes a  tack  inside the  zone  at the windward  mark , she will be penalized if she causes another boat to alter course. The Race Committee may move a starting  mark  after the warning signal. If you foul another boat two minutes before you  start , you must take your two turn penalty after the starting signal At a  mark    but before the first boat rounds to b

By S. Norman and A. Olivo As the sailing world settles into its pause, we thought it would be a good time to check out what’s out there in terms of sailing apps and games to fill up our time and engaged in our favorite sport. Here are some of our picks for the iOS platforms - give them a look and share! Tacking Battle Rating 4.0 Price: Free A nice game to keep your rules knowledge sharp and does a nice job of simulating wind shifts. Solid job for a free game.  Virtual Regatta Offshore Rating 4.3 Price: Free with In-App purchases Build out your dream boat and race against other people in real-time from such famous ports as Alicante and Sydney - the game offers many different options for customizing your boat and keeping things interesting. Reminiscent of the 2009 Volvo Ocean Race games, you can trim sails and change sails in-race and live the Offshore Sailing life! Virtual Regatta Inshore Rating 3.9 Price: Free The inshore version of Virtual Regatta,

By Carol Bareuther - November 1, 2006    We’ve all been there as parents. Photo by Matias Capizzano Thrilled to see our kids take the tillers of Optimists for the first time and sail out into shallow seas unaided. Excited when our kids actually compete in regattas for the first time and beam with the pride of participation. Ecstatic when our young sailors finally put first place medals around their necks. But, what does it take to go to the next step? For that Opti sailor who’s winning all the home island regattas to win the International events held ‘round the world too? First, you need to decide if this is something that you and your Opti sailor truly want . Some kids get a kick out of being the big fish in a little pond and the self-assurance that comes from this level of sporting endeavor. For parents and clubs, Peter Barclay, Peru-based vice president of the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) who attended the Optimist North American Champio

Here's a fun little edit we did while shooting some footage on how to launch and dock properly. See if you can spot MacKenzie! And don't forget to wear your lifejacket and hat when (US) Sailing. Hey, maybe we do more of these?

Sailing In Italy Remains On Lockdown Today the IODA released the following notice to the class: The  2020 Optimist World Championship  is scheduled to take place  July 1 to 11th in Riva del Garda, Italy. IODA has been monitoring the COVID -19 issue closely as it affects our upcoming IODA events in June and July. The Organizers of the 2020 Optimist World Championship, with the support of IODA, have  made the decision to postpone the event.  The Organizers will be discussing the postponement with their stakeholders and suppliers and report back to IODA as soon as possible with  new dates. As a result of the postponement, the Organizers have agreed to  extend the 2 nd  Entry Stage Deadline to July 1st.   The NOR will be amended accordingly. IODA will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation globally and will keep our Members informed of any developments or decisions at our earliest opportunity with respect to our 2020 IODA events.

Because Information Gained Is Information Conveyed by A.Olivo For as much as we get information through video now, books are still a critical source of information for sailors. There are many different books out there for racing sailors but I've found its often difficult to equate the information in them to Opti sailing. However, in our library we have these 5 great volumes that can make a big difference in your Opti coaching. Check them out below and we've included amazon links in case you want to pick them up: (disclaimer: we are a participant in the Amazon Affiliate Program, where we earn a small commission through sales generated by our Amazon links, at no extra cost to you.)   Winner's Guide To Optimist Sailing by Gary Jobson A legend in the sailing world on his own right, Gary Jobson wrote this with the idea that any Opti Sailor can read it and gain a competitive advantage. The book is already a few years old but contains great information that is Opti-spe

IODA Organizers Searching For Alternative Dates From Official Event Website: The 2020 Optimist European Championship is scheduled to take place June 22nd to 29 th  in Tallinn, Estonia. IODA has been monitoring the COVID -19 issue closely as it affects our upcoming IODA events in June and July. The Organizers of the 2020 Optimist European Championship , with the support of IODA, have made the decision to postpone the event. The Organizers will be discussing the postponement with their stakeholders and suppliers and report back to IODA as soon as possible. IODA and the Organizers will be meeting again in early April , if not sooner, to determine if the event can be rescheduled in 2020 , and if so, confirm the new dates of the 2020 European Championship. As a result of the postponement, the Organizers have agreed to extend the 2 nd  Entry Stage Deadline to April 30 th .  The NOR will be amended accordingly. IODA will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation global

COVID19 continues to affect US Opti Circuit Today the United States Optimist Dinghy Association issued a press release stating that the 2020 Opti Team Trials are to be postponed indefinitely. From USODA.org In light of the CDC’s recommendation to postpone or cancel all events with 50+ attendees for the next 8 weeks, the USODA Board of Directors and Lakewood Yacht Club have agreed to postpone the 2020 Optimist Team Trials. The USNT Pre-Team Trials Practice is also postponed. The Board is exploring options and dates to possibly reschedule the event with the current host and if unable will consider other contingency plans to look for a suitable time window for this season to hold Trials. Factors to do this are our regatta schedule, short time frame for running this event and IODA/International regattas likely to be rescheduled. We will continue to update the membership on this still very fluid situation as we get new information and make decisions. We are sorry for the

So You Need Housing by A. Olivo You have a regatta coming up in a few months, or maybe weeks. You are looking through hotel options, maybe through your Marriott/Hilton/IHG points currency, but you are finding that the hotels are just not that close, or maybe are too expensive. Not to worry! We have an alternative solution, the housesharing platform, Air BnB. If you've never booked an Airbnb, or booked one for a regatta, this guide is for you. This article is for those who a) want to minimize costs and/or b)maximize their housing strategy for their Opti sailor. This article is NOT about why you shouldn't book an Air BnB rental, because we assume you know the pitfalls of renting someone elses property! Disclaimer: We are in no way affiliated with Air BnB, and we were not paid/compensated in any way to write this article. Advantages of booking an Air BnB rental So why even bother to look through Airbnb listings anyways? Well, for starters, Airbnb has been disrupting

CGSC Hopeful Tide Will Turn The Coconut Grove Sailing Club and Miami Sailing Week organizers have postponed racing to May 1-3 for the invited classes in Miami Sailing Week. The 11th edition of the event was due to start Friday the 13th but due to City of Miami declaring a state of emergency over COVID19 pandemic, all special event permits were pulled and regatta organizers were left with no choice but to comply with the decree. We reached out to Commodore James Gruppenhoff of the Coconut Grove Sailing Club, who had this to say: Regardless of the hours of hard work, planning, and anticipation for MSW it is obvious that the COVID19 situation is much larger of an issue, and the health and safety of sailors, parents and coaches is of much greater importance. We are postponing this event in the hope that we can still make the event happen and we are hopeful that the situation will change to a point that we will race on May 1-3. In the meantime we hope everyone will stay safe and

COVID-19 Continues To Affect Opti Class   Due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports in Argentina has suspended all sporting events for the month of March in Argentina. This has forced IODA to postpone Opti SAMs to an unspecified later date. From the IODA press release dated March 11th: Today,  IODA received notice through the Organizers of the Optimist South American Championship (SAMS) that the Minister of Sports  from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports in Argentina has made the decision to suspend tournaments, competitions, preparatory tours and / or sporting events to be held for the month of March in Argentina. Unfortunately, this decision affects the 2020 Optimist South American Championship that was to be held in Mar del Plata, Argentina from March 21 st to 28 th . As a result, with the support of IODA, the Organizers have no option but to postpone the event until a later date . IODA will be working with the Organizers on possible da

Opti sailors, Although at the 2019 AGM five Class Rule Changes were proposed, World Sailing has approved three changes to the Optimist Class Rules. World Sailing did not approve the change to digital numbers, so therefore, digital numbers will not be permited.   The 2020 Version is now published on the IODA Website. The three Class Rule Changes are: 3.2.6.6 – regarding the fixing plates for rudder fittings on the hull 3.4.1.2 – regarding the tiller and tiller extension 6.3.3.10 – regarding the batten pocket patch The changes in the rule are indicated in red text in the copy of the Class Rule. The format of the rules has been revised and the diagrams have been updated and replaced to make the Class Rules easier to read. To Note: The 2020 Optimist Class Rules come into effect on January 1, 2020. 2020 International Optimist Class Rules Full Text

This Article originally appeared in the November 2012 issue of SOUTHWINDS Magazine. Article available courtesy SOUTHWINDS, and all issues of the magazine can be found at their website. Edited for brevity and some photos have been added to illustrate certain portions. Photos by Paul Van Puffelen, video courtesy the Coconut Grove Sailing Club of Miami, FL The Origins Of The Optimist Pram By Clifford A. McKay, Jr. The idea for the Optimist Pram, the forerunner of the Opti Dinghy - the largest one-design racing class in the world - was formed at my dining room table. It was 1947. My father, Maj. Clifford A. McKay, shaped the idea from three components: first - my experience building a Soap Box Derby car, racing it down the hill three times, and putting it out to pasture; second - the fun and excitement I had experienced the past 18 months sailing and racing snipes with the Clearwater Yacht Club Snipe Fleet; third - the structure of the Soap Box Derby in which merchants sponsored the