Joakim Karlsen and the USODA National Team

We Talk To The Performance Director Of The USODA NT

When we sat with Joakim to hear about his thoughts on the Opti Class, we did not expect to learn that he has such an interesting background - we've been finding from our guests that community and a DIY approach led to their passion in sailing and the sport. Check out the interview below so you can see why Joakim thinks community is the key to any success in sailing as a sailor or a coach.

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The Post-Opti Life: 29er Sailing And Skiff Culture

A New Series To Connect Sailors To What's Out There We tried something different with this one as we constantly get questions about what comes after the Opti. Part of what we want to do at Opti TV is to connect the class with the next steps, so naturally we went to take a look at the 29er class from the viewpoint of what kind of sailor wants to compete in 29ers. The 29er is a deceptively simple boat that requires agility and strength, and a mindset of sharing and growth. As a pre-olympic boat it's not for the faint of heart. We went over to the US Sailing Center in Miami to meet up with 2Niner Head Coach Phil Muller for day 1 of racing in the 2nd event of the Skiff Generation Grand Prix, a really great event that he has put together with US Sailing and the 49er class. It was a great day of racing, albeit light and notably it had several of the US Sailing Team members racing on 49ers and the 49erFX. We'll let you read the recap here: SGGP Event 2 Recap because we were more

3 Year Review: The Spyderco Atlantic Salt Knife

When It Comes To Safety Knives, Less Is More The Spyderco Atlantic Salt Knife The Spyderco Atlantic Salt For our 2nd ever review we figured we'd pull out our favorite safety knife, the Spyderco Atlantic Salt in Yellow. This thing has been around for some years now, and we've owned one for 3 years already, but we feel like it does not get the attention it deserves because it is definitely is worth taking a look at as a choice for safety knife in your kit. From the spyderco website: It's been speculated the sheepfoot shaped blade originated with mariners who found the rounded tip especially beneficial when the knife was accidentally dropped (think working on a ship in pitching seas) as it couldn't stab the foot when hitting the deck. It's also been hypothesized that commanding officers on these ships preferred rambunctious hardworking sailors carry knives without pointed tips, especially while in port blowing off steam after months at sea. Spyderco

Resources For Opti Sailors Looking To Take The Next Steps In Sailing

It's Not About The Boat, It's About You. Navigating the waters post-Opti is sometimes quite the challenge because we, in Optiland, tend to get tunnel vision and only see the possibilities in sailing within the context of the Optimist class. In reality, the Optimist is the first step of many into a wide world of sailing that's out there. Out of the many, many classes out there most of them will remain inaccessible to a fresh-out-of-the-class sailor who is transitioning from the Opti into another boat. There are many youth fleets out there and although the typical pathway is to jump into a 420, Laser or such there are no hard rules about what to do after the Opti. Here are some resources and words of advice we've put together for those who are eyeing the next steps already, whether they're reaching the age cutoff or are getting too big for the boat. Remember that because there are so many options out there, its not about the boat - its about the sailor and their kin

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