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Why the Optimist?

Fifty six years ago in Clearwater, Florida a group of citizens wanted to stop their children getting bored. So they asked a local designer called Clark Mills to make a boat for kids to sail. The Optimist was born.

Fifty six years later his design is still being sailed by hun dreds of thousands of young people in over a hundred countries worldwide.

Truly this is the boat in which the young people of the world learn to sail.

It looks funny, doesn’t it? But Clark Mills knew a thing or two about kids.

It doesn’t tip over! Beginners easily learn to balance themselves, the wind and the boat.  It can’t run away with you! Let out the only rope and the boat will just sit there. The more water gets in, the less it moves. And it won’t sink.

Being alone in the boat is the quickest way to learn. Imagine trying to learn to ride a bicycle on a tandem with daddy!

You quickly learn from your own mistakes and gain that essential of sailing - and perhaps life - responsibility for your own decisions.

Why Sailing?

What is your child going to to this summer? Sit in his bedroom with his computer? Go for nice long walks? Help in the garden?

Sailing has much to offer. Sadly man’s old enemy the water is often safer than what man has made of the streets.

All sorts and sizes of people sail. You don’t have to be taller, stronger, thinner or, initially, even fitter than the average. Boys and girls have the same capability.

Sailing brings families together. Boats need to be transported and kids cannot drive. So driving to regattas at weekends becomes a family activity.

This is not an exclusive world. 40% of top sailors have parents who do not sail themselves.

IODA and the boat

Excerpts from 2004 IODA Yearbook

The objective of the Optimist Class is:

“to provide racing for young people at low cost”

If racing is to be fair and at low cost, then hulls and associated equipment must be alike, with no advantage to be gained from spending extra money. The ongoing task of IODA is to ensure that this is so.

In 2004 IODA worked hard to police and maintain this one-design principle

• Luis Miguel Horta, our prototype measurer, made several visits to builders, including measuring new prototypes from the growing number of moulds in Asia. In late 2003, following a course organised in con-junction with the Chinese Yachting Association, three new Chinese measurers were appointed and their ongoing education continues.

• At Easter in Europe Luis Miguel weighed no less than 36 boats from 16 builders. He found that 15 of these 16 were producing boats which were not only of the correct weight but varied by at most 3.5. Corrective action has been taken by the other builder.

• Scrutineering (check measurement) at the Worlds and continental championships was conducted, usually by IODA’s team of International Measurers.

• The first of the new foils, agreed in 2003 to gradually exclude some types of exotic and expensive products and to eliminate rudder shapes ideal for illegal propulsion, became available.

• Experiments with exotic sail shapes, which threatened to create an “arms race” between competing designers, were firmly rejected by our Annual Meeting.

The first thing you need to go racing is a boat!

All the same

Unlike most sailboats the Optimist is a true one-design. The boats are all the same. If you want to race a boat where money or technology make a difference, look elsewhere. Every builder is regularly inspected to ensure that his hulls conform to tight tolerances and uses similar raw materials and building techniques. But this does not mean a monopoly or a cartel. Any boatbuilder can build after he has satisfied IODA that he is compe-tent to do so. Nearly forty builders in 25 countries have approval,

Accessories

There is greater choice of spars and sails. The Optimist is used for everything from teaching 8-year olds to world-class racing by 15-year olds. This is reflected in the equipment available. But by the time a sailors needs top-level gear he or she will be addicted to their lifetime sport.

Price?

Prices vary according to markets but in Europe a new hull ready to sail with basic gear should not cost over US$1,700 + sales taxes. The “best of everything” as used at the Worlds, has a list price of around US$2,500, but ex-charter boats used for only a few days are a lot cheaper and bulk purchase can reduce the price still further.

Make it yourself

For those with some practical ability it remains possible to build your own wooden Optimist.

Racing

Excerpts from 2004 IODA Yearbook

First steps

It is a small step from sailing round a triangle to trying to do it faster than the next person. Good instructors will ensure that this step is taken under carefully controlled and, above all, safe conditions. It is only too easy to frighten the sailor at this stage.

Local travel

And it is a small step from racing in your own club to sailing at a regatta along the bay. Boats have to be transported and kids can’t drive. Parents can easily become full-time weekend chauffeurs but in many of the most successful countries this is the job of the club coach. Another idea is to alternate trips with another parent. Then you have at least two kids to look after which stops you getting obsessive about your own. And it is amazing what you will learn about your children and their friends three hours into a five hour car journey!

Parents

It is very natural to want to help your child, especially if you are a sailor yourself, and to watch and criticise his every move. It is also natural to question your daughter’s first boy-friend in great detail. We recommend that you don’t do either!

The Rules

The rules of sailing are actually quite simple and are taught as part of sailing. They should be enforced from the start.

“If you look at competition at junior level you find that rules are often bent or forgotten with the excuse that they are only children. Just when do you expect them to learn manners or rules if not at this level”

(HRH The Princess Royal Member, International Olympic Committee)

Racing is the core activity of the Optimist Class

Learning to sail may be the first step but in most countries this can be safely left to clubs and sailing schools under the direction of National Sailing Associations.

But if young people are not quickly and intelligently introduced to racing they will get bored and leave the sport.

International Racing

Other parts of the world

Parents rightly believe that experience of other countries and other cultures is a vital part of education. But it can be difficult to organise. Exchange visits and language schools are often disappointing, and we have all seen at holiday hotels and campsites bored kids just longing for some excitement and to meet new friends.

International regattas

At Optimist regattas you won’t find many bored kids. Immediately they have a common interest with the people of their own age from different parts of the world, and the excitement of using their existing skills in a new environment.

Calendar

You don’t have to travel abroad often and it is entirely possible to reach the top without doing so. But if you can there are literally hundreds of regattas worldwide to choose from, almost all of them welcoming foreign sailors of all levels of experience. At Easter thousands of young sailors in the northern hemisphere head south to begin their sailing year. In the summer those not selected for championships can find a warm welcome at national events which are almost always open.

and it’s so easy

If you can drive there, an Optimist fits easily on the roof of almost any car. And if you can’t there is a good chance of chartering or borrowing a boat when you get there - just like the one at home!

Travel sells sailing!

The function of an International Class, as stated by ISAF Regulation 26.1, is to provide international competitive sailing.

Young people today have many attractive choices and sail -ing will not keep them interested if it is confined to little regattas with the same sailors in the local club.

International travel has been the growth industry of recent years and in sailing this has led to the boom in sailing holidays in the sun.

The Optimist, with its international network, has made use of this trend to offer opportunities to the young people of the world.

IODA Championships

Excerpts from 2004 IODA Yearbook

Excerpts from 2004 IODA Yearbook

Asia

Excerpts from 2004 IODA Yearbook

The rise of Asia

It is hard to imagine that just ten years ago Asia was represented at our Worlds by just seven sailors, five of them from Japan. Now we not only have a Chinese world champion but hot competition between the “big four” - China, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia, any of which can produce world-class sailors.

Two Asians

2004 in fact saw part of two IODA Asian Championships with the 2003 event, held in December for weather reasons in Mumbai, India, actually finishing in the new year. In their home waters India showed that they may be the next force in Optimist sailing taking team bronze and a 7th place for their best sailor.

South Asian Regatta

A direct result of the Mumbai Asians has been the revival after 23 years of the South Asian Yachting Regatta, a tri-nations event between India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Held in Enterprises and of course now Optimists, the event includes team-racing in both. As a further development efforts are being made to establish an Optimist fleet in the Maldive Islands.

ASEANs

The ASEAN (South East Asian) Championship, which is actually older than the Asians, was held in Myanmar in December 2004. Michael Myint wrote that this event was widened to include Asian and Australasian sailors. 70 new Optimists were imported for the event, a major boost to the region.

Sailing for Girls

Excerpts from 2004 IODA Yearbook

Tina Lutz from the Chiemsee Y.C. in Bavaria, Germany is the 2005 IODA World champion.

14-year old Tina is only the third girl to win the championship in its 43 year history and the first since Lisa Westerhof (NED) who won gold in 1996. Last year in the very different conditions of Salinas, Ecuador she was 12th over-all and first girl.

Together or Separately?

There are many theories about women and sport. At Optimist age there is very little difference in the physical strength of boys and girls.

A Pragmatic View

The Optimist world accepts the evidence as it is. Some girls are as good as or better than their brothers. We have had two female open world champions. So at the Worlds we race as one fleet, boys and girls together.

But we also find that only around 15% of those selected on merit for their national Worlds teams are girls. So at continental championships we reserve places for them. As a result nationally girls have two targets: qualify for the Worlds by getting into the top five, or concentrate on being one of the best girls to go to a continental championship.

Other cultures

It is often thought that sport for girls faces extra problems in non-European societies. This is not the Optimist experience - in 2004 the top five girls were from five different continents. Sailing for girls seems to be acceptable to all cultures and creeds and, wherever Optimist fleets start to develop, the girls soon realise that this activity is far too much fun to allow themselves to be left out.

After the Optimist

Excerpts from 2004 IODA Yearbook

The Olympic dream

Kids dream. Parents dream. Maybe even the men in blue blazers sometimes dream!

It is achievable:

Siren Sundby

Optimist European Champion (Girls) 1995 &1996

Girls’ Gold & 10th over-all, Optimist Worlds 1997

ISAF World Youth Champion 2000

Olympian 2000

OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST 2004

The medallists

74% of the skippers of the medal-winning boats were former Optimist sailors. And over 70% of these had sailed in IODA World or continental championships.

Optiworld congratulates the following ex-Optimists on their medals (* = Optimist international):

The Olympians

At least 60% of all Olympic boat skippers were ex-Optimists and almost 70% of these were former Optimist internationals.

But what about the others?

The Olympic dream is not for everyone.

With just over 400 places at each Olympics (including those who do it standing up!) and maybe 6,000 Optimist internationals in a decade, only a tiny proportion will make the transition. It may take 15 or more years of dedicated effort. And it may end in frustration.

The evidence is that only 15% will even try, the percentage of the relevant age-group which participated in the 2003 ISAF Olympic Classes world championship.

But the others don’t give up competitive sailing.

A study of the sailors at the 1995 Optimist Worlds has found that 66% of them can be identified as sailing later, and in the European Union this figure rises to 80%, perhaps because of better internet reporting.

Sailing is for life!

A lifetime sport

Sailing is a lifetime sport where those aged 8 to 80 are practising the same skills. One of the tasks of the Optimist Class is to provide the sailors of the future.

70-80% continue to sail

Research on the internet has established that at least two thirds of the thousands of Optimist sailors who reach national championship level each year continue to sail competitively after the Optimist

Feeding the youth Classes

The immediate next boat for nearly 80% of top Optimist sailors is the Laser or the 420 (though in some countries they graduate directly to the 470). The recent expansion of the Laser 4.7 has provided a much needed additional step especially in countries with windy conditions. The Europe remains popular in northern Europe and among girls, and a surprising number go directly to Snipes. A number of newer boats have been developed specifically for the post-Optimist market but few of them seem as yet to have made much impact worldwide.

and later

Older ex-Optimists can be found sailing almost anything that races! Even of those with no desire to go the Olympic way many remain faithful to their Lasers or 470s, but the inshore one-design keelboats also attract many of the by now unrecognisable former Optimist urchins!

National Associations

Excerpts from 2004 IODA Yearbook

Many run great websites!

Over 100 Associations

Worldwide there are over 100 national associations affiliated to IODA. It is they who ensure the health and growth of the local Class. Parents should not only join but should offer their skills in the service of these largely amateur bodies.

Calendars

Racing is most fun against sailors of your own level of ability. Normally this means taking part in “open” regattas organised by other clubs. National associations co-ordinate and publish a calendar of these events.

Trials

An important function of national associations is to conduct the trial races to select national teams. These are not just intended for those who expect to qualify and in many countries are attended by up to 200 sailors, sometimes selected from an even bigger rank-list. In the northern hemisphere trials often start as soon as the weather allows - so you can see Optimists sailing while adults are still trying to find the paint-brush!

Training

All national associations organise training, and many co-ordinate a programme of training camps and courses.

Measurement

Certification by builders that their products conform to Class Rules has removed much of the bureaucracy of measurement. But boats and equipment still need to be checked and this is an important task of national associations. Either they or the National Sailing Association issue the sail number, essential before racing.

IODA

Excerpts from 2004 IODA Yearbook

Forty years: five presidents

The International Optimist Dinghy Association was founded in 1965 and has had just five presidents in the intervening 40 years.

Continuity

In a Class where sailors and their parents are constantly changing, the continuity in the administration of the international Class is vitally important.

Democracy

The Annual Meeting, attended this year by delegates from 50 countries remains the supreme authority in the Class. Its collective decisions show a remarkable unselfishness, with the wealthier nations repeatedly banning expensive innovations.

Committees

IODA operates with a minimum of bureaucracy. The Executive comprises the president, three vice-presidents whose job it is to liaise with specific geographical areas, and the chairmen of the Technical and Regatta Committees.

Experts

In recent years the ISAF has established formal qualification of experts in different areas and IODA is fortunate to have the services of such people. The Regatta Committee is composed of International Race Officers (IROs) or Judges (IJs) and the Technical Committee of International Measurers (IMs.

Secretariat

IODA has had even fewer secretaries than presidents. Edith Jacobsen was the secretary until the retirement of Viggo, at which point a dedicated secretari-at was established in Aarhus under the ever-loyal Hanne Rix. Following her retirement in 1997 Robert Wilkes in Dublin became secretary.

President:
René Kluin I.R.O. (NED)

Vice Presidents:
David Booth (RSA)
Peter Barclay (PER)
Mimi Santos (POR)

Technical Committee:
Curly Morris I.M. (IRL) chairman
Nuno Reis I.M. (POR)
Paolo Luciani I.M. (ITA)
Consultant:
Luis Horta Moragas I.M. (ESP)

Regatta Committee:
Michel Barbier I.R.O., I.J. (FRA)

chairman
Alen Kustic I.R.O. (CRO)
Luis Ormaechea I.R.O., I.J. (ESP)
Peter Valentino I.J. (MLT)
Consultant:
Tony Lockett I.R.O. (GBR)

International Measurers:

Jean-Luc Gauthier I.M. (FRA)
Ms. Hyo-Kyung Jang I.M. (KOR)
Paolo Luciani I.M. (ITA)
Luis Horta Moragas I.M. (ESP)
Curly Morris I.M. (IRL)
Nuno Reis I.M. (POR)

Members of Honour:
Viggo Jacobson (President of Honour)
Lars Wallin
Nigel Ringrose
Erik C. Hansen
Al Chandler
Jens Andersen
Fred Kats
Helen Mary Wilkes
Ralph Sjöholm
Norman Jenkins

IODA was founded in 1965 and became an ISAF (then IYRU) International Class in 1973.

To maintain the strict one-design principle it measures prototypes from each mould, conducts inspections, undertakes scrutineering at major championships, and maintains a network of International Measurers (I.M.s)

To ensure the quality of racing it provides top International Race Officer (I.R.O.s) for major championships and publishes guidelines for organising them.

Coordinating national associations on each continent is largely the work of the vice-presidents.

The secretariat conducts all correspondence, maintains the website and publishes newsletters.

Excerpts from 2004 IODA Yearbook