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Online registration is open for the 2015 United States Optimist Dinghy Association (USODA) Atlantic Coast Championships (ACCs), hosted by the Annapolis Yacht Club (AYC) October 24-25. As a qualifier for the 2016 USODA Team Trials, over 200 boats are expected, making this one of the largest regattas ever hosted in the Annapolis area. Sailors ages eight-fifteen will be competing in single-handed one-design Optimist dinghies (“Optis”) at the mouth of the Severn River. Competitors will be from up and down the East Coast.
A widely recognized international class for junior sailing, Opti racing has a few unique protocols that can be baffling to those who didn’t grow up in the prams or are just getting started.
Opti Racing Primer
• “Red, White, and Blue Fleets” allow sailors to compete against their own age group. o The three fleets start in same start at the same time
o White—10 years old or younger
o Blue—11 or 12 years old
o Red—13 years old and shall not have reached their 16th birthday in the current calendar year
• The “Green Fleet” is a development fleet for the class. o Encourages novices to attend their first regatta
o Encourages continued participation in racing
o No trophies are awarded so that experienced competitors can’t rack up “easy” wins
• Fleet Divisions o No more than 100 boats are encouraged on the starting line
o In regattas with more than 100 entrants, Red, White, and Blue Fleets are broken into mixed divisions which rotate in competition in separate flights for each race
• Trapezoid Race Course o Trapezoid-shaped course with upwind, downwind and reaching legs
o Allows multiple starts on the same course to accommodate divisions
o Sailors from separate starts have reduced impact on each other
o Overlapping finishers is minimized
Optimist Quick Facts
• Designed in 1947 to offer a low-costs sailing option for young people
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• Length Overall (LOA) is 7’9”
• Sprit-rigged pram originally constructed from three sheets of plywood
• Became a strict one-design class in 1995
• One of only two boats approved by the International Sailing Federation exclusively for sailors under 16
• Over 150,000 boats officially registered with the class, International Optimist Dinghy Association
• Sailed in over 120 countries
For more information, please visit annapolisyc.com/juniorfleet/usoda2015optiacc.