World News

The 2011 Australian Open & National Championships will be held in Sydney, between January 9th & 16th.

The Notice of Race will be available on www.aioda.com

In the past few years the number of Opti sailors in Australia has grown by 50% each year with 250 new boats delivered since January 2009.

Many Australian sailors have been travelling overseas to regattas and Australian teams compete in the Asians, Europeans, Africans, Worlds and the New Zealand and Singapore Nationals.

There were almost 150 participants at Australian & Open Nationals & Green Fleet Championships with the fleet size growing by over 50% each year.

This year with continued AUS growth, the anticipated increase in overseas entries and the ideal location of Sydney the organisers of the Australian Open Championships hope to reach 200 sailors.

Sailors that travelled to Australia in 2010 were from; NZL, USA, UAE, PNG, SIN, HKG, JPN, GER, GBR & DEN.

Sydney weather conditions in January are superb; the average Temperature is 22 degrees Celsius, Min 18C (66F) – Max 26C (79F), Humidity 64%. The average wind is Beaufort 4; 11-15 knots/ 13-17mph.

Charter Optimists are available from the official supplier OziOpti.

Speaking on behalf of AIODA, Steven Bond says the at he looks forward to welcoming all Optimist Sailors DOWNUNDER and invites interested sailors to contact him by e-mail - stevenbond[at]theboatyard.com.au.

Fancy traveling 'down under' for a spot of Optimist Sailing?

Oceania and Australian Nationals Notice of Race.

Over the coming week, from Monday 17th up till Saturday 22nd, Malta will be hosting no less than 120 participants to compete in the 8th Edition of the EUROMED Malta Championship, where the Optimist Sailing Dinghy, the internationally recognised one design single handed sailing craft, will be raced. Eligible to participate in this Class, the largest junior class in the World, are ‘sailors’ under the age of 16 years.

The event will bring to Malta's waters competitors from nine nations, namely the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, and Malta which confirms the trademark of success this exciting Championship has attained and which has given Christmas in Malta a new dimension where sailing enthusiasts are concerned.

The EUROMED Malta Championship is organised by the Malta Young Sailors Club in partnership with KMS (Kunsill Malti Ghall-Isport) under the auspices of the Malta Sailing Federation.

Read More on The Malta Independent Online

www.Optimist.co.za: CONDITIONS were almost perfect on Oulton Broad on Saturday for the Optimist Open and 38 of the best junior helms in the eastern counties took full advantage.

With four races to be sailed and the best three to count consistency was essential and Ross Williams, from Grafham Water SC, with two firsts and a second won with four points to spare from Zach Brubert, sailing on his home water, who took a couple of races to find his touch.

He won the third race and took second in the last one but had to count a fifth in the second race which stopped him providing a closer challenge.

Ben Harden missed out on second place by just one point, counting a second, third and fourth while Thomas Needham, from Wroxham, won the first race but slipped back in the next three.

The entry was divided into Gold and Silver fleets and Poppy Woodcock, Eilan Needham and Catriona Maciver - all from the Norfolk Broads YC at Wroxham - occupied the top three places.

The wind had increased to about force four on Sunday and was blowing straight down the Broad, conditions which have been rare this summer.

There was a good fleet of 15 dinghies out in the first Fast Handicap race and Alan Cone got the best of the start while Duncan Madin failed to pull away from the fleet as he usually does and could not save his time on handicap as Alan won with Andy Jarvis moving up to third in his National 12.

There was one of the best turnouts of keel boats of the season but the Waveneys suffered by failing to take in a reef and the BODs had all the wind they wanted in a close race which was won by Tony Truman from Tim Barrett with Nick Truman third.

George Gower led the Waveneys for most of the race while Geoff

Little had a good race with Jack Pickering for second place which he narrowly won.

While the Waveneys were struggling, the wind was just right for the Squibs who were flying round.

They were led by David Hannant who got away at the start and although Peter Horton and John Hodges both challenged strongly early on in the end Hannant had a reasonable lead.

Conditions looked ideal for the Squibs which had been looking forward to having a better chance against the Waveneys than in the light conditions of most of the summer.

But, with one exception, the Waveneys decided it was too windy and stayed ashore, leaving the Squibs to finish in the same order as in the class race.

Results. Oulton Broad Optimist Open. Race 1 5237 (Thomas Needham); 5446 (Jack Rushton); 5307 (James Rushton); Race 2 5566 (Ross Williams); 5467 (Ben Harden); 5553 (Henrietta Brand); Race 3 5252 (Zach Brubert); 5566; 5262 (Fleur Page); Race 4 5566 (Ross Williams); 5252 (Zach Brubert); 5467 (Ben Harden); Overall 5566 (Ross Williams) 4pts; 5252 (Zach Brubert) 8 pts; 5467 (Ben Harden) 9 pts.

Sunday Fast Handicap (15) The Other Woman (Alan Cone); Get Over It (Duncan Madin); Red Snapper (Andy Jarvis). BODs (6) Shearwater (Tony Truman); Kite (Tim Barrett); Spoonbill (Nick Truman); Squibs (5) Supertoy (David Hannant); Confusion (Peter Horton); Slinky (John Hodges). Waveneys (10) Samphire (George Gower); Naiad (Geoff Little); Marsh Thistle (Jack Pickering); Lasers (10) 189606; The Other Woman; Passing Wind (Simon Marfleet). Mixed Keels (5) Supertoy; Confusion; Quackers (Vince Meadows).

Source: Lowestoft Journal

www.Optimist.co.za: Earlier this year the UK International Optimist Class Association (IOCA (UK)) announced that it had linked up with the John Merricks Sailing Trust as its official charity, and as part of the link up the Trust further announced that it would donate a brand new Optimist to be won by a sailor competing at the 2007 Volvo Musto Optimist National Championships in Weymouth.

The Championships took place last week in Weymouth, and IOCA (UK) and the Trust are very pleased to reveal that the winner is Callum Airlie (12) from St Mary’s Loch Sailing Club in Scotland.

At the beginning of the Championship, David Campbell-James, President of the Optimist Class in the UK, announced that the boat would be won by the highest placed junior British sailor sailing a boat which was more than five years old. The competition was always going to be extremely hot amongst many of the junior sailors in contention for the boat, whilst also racing for the overall title of British Junior National Champion. Over the twelve race series the leading sailors in contention swapped places several times, and each new race result bought sailors and parents to scrutineer the results. It wasn’t until the last day and the last two races that Callum Airlie made it his, scoring a 12th against his nearest rival’s 23rd in race 11, to seal his win.

Ben Cooper, IOCA (UK) Class Chairman, waited until almost the last presentation of the evening Prize Giving, before announcing the winner, and Callum proudly came forward to take possession of his new boat with cheers from a full hall at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy. The boat, fully registered with a new sail number, had been on display all week, and had even been looked over by Gordon Brown and Sebastian Coe who had visited the academy earlier in the day to see the preparations for the 2012 Olympics and the venue hosting a major sailing championship.

Full Story on BYM News

The American youngsters at the Volvo Musto Optimist National Championships are topping the results board in both the senior and junior fleets. The 109 sailors in the regatta fleet have also been racing the past two days, managing to fit in six races as well as training to perfect their sailing skills.

Sarah Williams (13) from America is currently leading the senior fleet and is the only girl in top ten, with a first and second place today to add to her second and sixth of yesterday. Spanish sailor Eric Plancon (14) is a mere four points behind her with 15 points overall, followed by the first British sailor Ben Harden (14). Plancon was very happy with his performance today, “I had a great time out there and love sailing here in the UK. It’s great fun!”

Irish sailor Alexander Rumball (13) moved up from eighth on the first day to fourth after the two races of the day, with Danish, Laerke Lokdam (14) also moving up from sixth to fifth.

Hunter Johnson (12) from New York Yacht Club leads the junior fleet, five points ahead of his nearest rival Dutch sailor, Niels Broekhuizen (12). The young American enjoys the conditions out on Weymouth Bay, with the 15 knots of breeze being similar to the conditions he races in at home. Third place was won by Nik Froud (12) from the United Emirates Team with a fourth and a second pushing him up the leader board.

First Brit in the junior fleet is Jamie Diamond (12) from Hampshire, he found the wind out on the course perfect again today for Optimist racing. “It was an awesome day on the water. I love sailing against the foreign sailors as they are very competitive and push the rest of us.”

The regatta fleet, which are all learning to race competitively, had a great day out on the water. It started with games and coaching at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, before heading out for their three races. Benjamin Waha (11) is in first place, with Joseph Burns (10) in second, only one point behind. Norfolk’s Jo Girling (11) has done very well today moving up from tenth position to third.

“It was a enjoyable day on the water, we had clear skies, sun and a brilliant sea breeze. After a few false starts by the fleets, we managed to complete two very competitive races, with the positions changing continuously in each fleet. The points are so close at the top of the leader board tomorrow’s racing could be very interesting,” said Nigel Alderton, the Event Safety Co-ordinator.

Source: Sophie Luther - www.optimistsailing.org.uk

Malaysia will host the international yachting championship, Optimist Asia at Langkawi in 2009 after two contenders, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates (UAE) pulled out from the bid.

Malaysia Yachting Association (MYA) Development Committee chairman Mohd Afendy Abdullah said Hong Kong and UAE along with other members of the International Optimist Dinghy Association had agreed to make way for Malaysia to organise the championship.

"Malaysia had applied for the rights to host the 2009 championship last year and only Hong Kong and UAE were the other contenders," he said in an e-mail from Italy to Bernama.

Mohd Afendy is in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy as manager of the Malaysian team taking part in the World Optimist Championship.

He said Malaysia had also submitted an offer to host the World Optimist Championship 2010 for which Argentina and Qatar had also handed in their candidacy.

"Voting for the venue will be held at the world meet in Turkey next year," he said.

Malaysia stands a good chance of winning the contest as it had the support of many countries, he said, adding that Qatar was expected to withdraw from the contest to make way for Malaysia as it wanted an Asian country to host the championship.

He said Qatar also felt that Malaysia was the best venue for the championship.

Source: Bernama.com

Day one and two at Opti Nationals got off to a slow start when the wind would not come up and the race committee had to call the race off for both days. The competitors managed to have lots of fun however, as they stayed cool by jumping into Lake Minnetonka, paddled canoes around Light House Island, read Harry Potter, enjoyed the fabulous food put out by the tireless regatta committee, and shopped at the booths set up by various Opti shops. There was also a beanbag toss, football, soccer, and volleyball. Despite the poor sailing conditions everyone made the most of their time together and smiles predominated.

The Jewitt family hosted a fantastic carnival for the young skippers and their families replete with bounce houses, games, prizes, ice cream and face painting! A big thank you to them and the entire regatta committee for a fabulous few days.

The latest buzz from the regatta venue is that the skippers are now heading out onto the water as the wind has come up. Day three of Opti Nationals begins and it looks as if it will be an exciting one.

Source: 2007 Opti Nationals Blog

Over three hundred young sailors began arriving at Lake Minnetonka yesterday under sunny skies and beautiful breezes. Competitors lined up for registration and measurement and were promptly rewarded with fabulous goody bags full of souvenirs, efficient measurement, and lots of warm welcomes from the regatta committee.

The regatta site is divided between two islands and a private beach. Families spent much of the day unloading boats and getting them to their proper destinations. Several skippers were able to take advantage of the nice wind and fine tune their sailing expertise in preparation for the big race.

The Girls Nationals begin this morning under slightly overcast skies and delightful winds.

Pontoon boats are taking skippers, coaches, and spectators to Light House Island where the race will be staged.

Links: Opti Nationals Web Site
Opti Nationals Blog