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Showing posts from October, 2023

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 tough mom

The Post Opti Life: Club 420

Which 420 Sailboat Are You Talking About?   Trust us, we know it gets confusing when talking about the 420 Sailboat. There's the Club 420, the International, the Collegiate... which one is right for you? Well, in the latest installment of The Post-Opti Life we take a look at the family tree of the Club 420 and dispel some rumors and confusions about the boat. As always, we are looking at a sailing class from the lens of someone who is looking to move on from the Optimist class and isn't sure what to pick. The Club 420 class is a close cousin of the Olympic 470, designed for learning double-handed sailing skills like flying a spinnaker and trapezing, all while being easier on the bank and taking a beating as compared to more fragile International 420. Dive into the Club 420 Class in our latest video above, let us know what you think!

Episode 8 - Level Up Your Sailing With Racing Clinics

 Get The Best Perspective And Training So we all know that sometimes the fleet we sail in isn't the biggest, or the highest level, and we want to do better. Thats what clinics are for! In Episode 8, we took a trip out to Toms River Yacht Club to see how they run preseason clinics and found that they are a great tool to warm up before the racing season, and how you can find good clinics for specific topics in, or outside of, your area! Check out Episode 8 and let us know your thoughts -

Fast Forward To End Of 2023 - A Letter From The Editor

Wow. I can't believe it's already mid-October, 2023. It's been quite a ride this year for this Sailing Director, sometimes coach, sometimes video man, keeping this not-so-little project going. I've gotten the chance to meet so many people and young sailors that have given me feedback on the channel and information sets and this keeps me motivated. The downside of all of this is that keeping a full-time job, running a business to fund this project, finding and attracting sponsors; not to mention the entire process it is to produce even one video, has made it difficult to keep publishing content consistently.  Yes, OPTI TV is a one-man band at its core - BUT that is not to complain about the awesome places I've been able to visit and the people I've been able to meet, quite the opposite. What I am saying, if anything, is that I am currently in search of help to produce content and it is going well - You will get an update very soon.  In any case, thank you for con