The Roundup: August 05, 2020

The 2020 Guide To Optimist Blades

McLaughlin has been putting out some fantastic content this summer with technical information that every coach and sailor should be paying attention to. This latest article is an updated guide to the foil sets out on the market at the moment, what makes them different, and some hard data for your consideration. Definitely bookmark this one!

New IODA Code Of Conduct

IODA has released a new Code Of Conduct that will be adopted by the member associations this year - so best to read up and get to understand your role a little better!

Throwback: 2017 Australian and Open Opti Champs IN 4K

Harnett Media started as Sailing Shack, which a couple of years ago was putting out some bangers that made their way around the interwebs. This is their video from 3 years ago covering the 2017 Australian Open Optimist Championship. Not what we would have picked as the soundtrack, but its AWESOME video! Check it out!

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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...

The Roundup Returns: October 2023

SailGP Upset: USA Climbs To 3rd After Cadíz For those who don't follow SailGP, the Formula 1 of Sailing, Team USA has come in with the sneak and climbed to 3rd overall for Season 4 with a decisive win in Cadiz this past week. Skipper Jimmy Spithill together with flight controller Taylor Canfield (who we interviewed here in 2020) took the team through light wind, non-foiling conditions and surprised everyone with the win. The U.S. beat both rivals across all metrics - picking up the highest average speed of 32.7 km/h, highest 58% flight time and executing the fewest number of maneuvers - just six. The Americans also sailed the shortest distance - a total of 4.9 km/h versus ROCKWOOL DEN’s 5.7km and Australia’s 6km. Spithill went on to dedicate the win to the team’s flight controller Hans Henken, who was injured during an incident in Taranto. While this was ‘such a massive blow for the team’, the incident gave the team ‘a real amount of purpose’, Spithill said. “It was a...

A Guide To Your First International Orange Bowl Regatta (Optimist Class)

Never Been To the Orange Bowl Regatta? Read This Guide! In 2020 we covered the International Orange Bowl Youth Regatta in this video, and an accompanying article HERE . If you've never been to the regatta, and are attending for the first time this year we figured we'd put together a helpful guide to The Orange Bowl Regatta and the area with tips on parking, the format, racing and events surrounding the Orange Bowl. So take a seat and let's dive in! A Brief History Of The OBIYR Lester Johnson introduced the idea of a youth regatta on Biscayne Bay in Miami through the established name of the Orange Bowl Regatta in 1978. The purpose of the youth regatta was to organize a youth sporting event during a time when families were looking for a fun pastime during their winter break. The Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta has continued that tradition through today for the last 42 years. The regatta has grown from 450 youth sailors in 2002 to over 600 today. In the past five year...

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