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Welcome to the PYC Optimist Fleet

We are really fortunate to have an incredible group of sailors and parents supporting Optimist Sailing at PYC. The first and most important thing is that we are here and motivated to provide positive experiences for all our sailors, with the aim of giving them a sport for life, which we know also generates friendships and opportunities to go on adventures as near or far from home as you aspire, and an escape from other pressures, at a time when our sailors are growing in so many ways, establishing habits that will take them into adult life, change schools and all the other dynamics at play in a young person’s development.
 
The second key message is that the Optimist class can provide a huge variety of outcomes for our sailors, depending on their motivations and our capacity to support. The fleet boasts national and international champions and a well-trodden path to supporting performance aspirations, but also aims to celebrate the much broader benefits of sailing than simply competitive success. The vital ingredient to achieving any of this is the commitment of the support crew (the parents – who all give their time free of charge and in the interest of supporting all our sailors). The roles that need supporting cater for both experienced sailors and coaches, as well as those new to the sport. You don’t need to be a sailor to be a pivotal member of the support team, but if you would like to see something develop or evolve within the fleet be prepared to be part of that change.
 
Thirdly the class only prospers if we see ourselves as a team and look forward to the time we come together (as parents and sailors). This relies on relationships based on more than simply sailing, so we will aim to include within the yearly programme opportunities for us to build and cement those links, whether that be through a Brownsea Island picnic, fleet camping trip or all travelling to an event together and being seen as Team Parkstone. You don’t have to do any or all of those things, but it is often fun when you do.
 
We have tried to give an overview of the fleet, the activity we currently support and explain some of the key roles within in this document. However, we also acknowledge that there will be different and / or better ways of doing things, as well as things we haven’t considered doing before, so please make sure you raise suggestions and help us continue to evolve.
 
At PYC we support club sailing activity, linked to the Youth Fleet days of Tuesday, Friday and Sunday in the main season (Saturday in the Autumn/Winter), plus additional training opportunities on specific dates across the year – often linked to building up to a key event / milestone / transition in a sailor’s journey. As with all optimist activity in the UK we broadly refer to our sailors as falling into the following fleets / categories.
 
Every sailor will progress through these levels at different rates, so success is based on building confidence and moving up when the sailor is ready.
 
PYC Club activity is geared towards sailors who have reached the coached regatta level of confidence:
 
Beginners – new to the sport and needing support and coaching across activity. We believe that sailors will generally benefit from formal training to develop their foundations within the sport, and there are several RYA training centres nearby that can support this. If we have sufficient numbers, we can look to organise a specific training course for a PYC group – either delivered at one of these centres or the club.
 
Coached Regatta – When sailors are able to competently sail around a basic triangular course in light breezes – RYA Stage 2 or equivalent – sailors should be ready to join our coached regatta group. At this point we primarily focus on skill development and start to introduce some racing skills, so those that want to are ready to enter their first regatta. This fleet should support sailors until they have experienced their first few events and are gaining more confidence in stronger breezes.
 
Racing Regatta – once a sailor has sailed for a period of time and has built confidence to sail on all points of sail in moderate conditions, they may want to increase their level of challenge and join the regatta racing group. For club activity Racing Regatta often operate alongside the Main Fleet, but with a different focus / level of input.
 
Main Fleet – intended for experienced sailors who are able to be self sufficient in terms of rigging, launching and managing themselves on the water – including unassisted capsize recovery. They can expect to sail longer races on larger courses and across the wind range.
 
For club racing and Youth Week these three levels can be roughly translated to Bronze, Silver and Gold.
 
Obviously, the decision to go sailing on any day is that of the sailor and even within the fleets there will be different levels of confidence across the range of conditions they may face.
 
We aim to be clear towards which levels activity is aimed and schedule transition sessions when we will support a bridging session to help sailors move between fleets when they are ready.  
 
The Oppie fleet, like most PYC youth fleets, runs its main club activity on the following days:
 
Tuesday Evenings – Run throughout the main sailing season Tuesdays are focused on providing coached racing – primarily aimed at racing regatta and main fleet sailors, starting with some standard drills before running a series of races, results of which will be collated as part of the PYC summer series.
 
Friday Fun – Run on specific Friday evenings (highlighted in the 2025 calendar, which is available on the Oppie google sheet) through the school summer term (May, June and July). This is available to all PYC Oppie sailors and is aimed to being the fleet together as a group, for some non-competitive time on the water, with the option of a Friday evening social at the club afterwards.
 
Sunday Morning – This activity is aimed at skill development and building confidence within the group. Suitable for all PYC Oppie Sailors. Due to people’s availability this often tends to be a smaller group, however on key weekends we aim to have ‘Special Sundays’, which may include a Brownsea picnic sail, Round the Island, Ice Cream Adventure, or a mixed fleet Team Race. These sessions are switched to Saturday afternoons for the autumn / winter.
 
Club Youth Racing – The club organises youth racing each Sunday (Saturday in autumn / winter) through the season, with separate starts per fleet. This will count towards the club race series results. Sailors simply need to arrive on time for briefing and join in, with parents requested to support with duties as possible.
 
CLUB BOATS
 
The club own 6 Oppies, which are set up for club sailing and racing. Any club member can hire these for a small daily charge. This is a great way to try Oppie sailing before making the commitment of buying a boat.
 
We also look to organise a couple of free of charge ‘try an oppie’ sessions over the season, using the club boats as required, where sailors from other fleets, whose sailing is at the coached regatta level or above, can be supported to join in on a Tuesday or Sunday and get a feeling for what the fleet is about and how they might get involved.
 
PYC OPPIE FLEET EQUIPMENT
 
In addition to the club boats, we also have a number of items that may help with running activities, supporting the next stages of a sailor’s progress and getting to events. In the Oppie fleet shed (located near the boat racks) we have waders to use for launching, training marks and anchors, a small number of helmets for newer sailors as they build confidence in stronger breezes, teaching card suggestions, a cut down shore-training rudder, plus yellow, blue, and red bibs for indicating race winners.
 
In addition to this the fleet owns a multi boat and RIB trailer, which can be used to support a group of sailors travelling to and from national events.
 
The majority of general communications and updates are shared through the fleet WhatsApp Community – with a primary channel and subgroups for specific activity (in an effort to reduce the WhatsApp noise to matters that are of interest). We aim to clear and restart this group each year to provide a refresh as new sailors join the fleet and older ones depart for their next adventure.
 
We also have a class email address, which is generally monitored but may be slower to respond - [email protected]
 
BOOKING ONTO ACTIVITY
 
The Optimist has been around as a class for a long time and as a result has multiple manufacturers of boats and parts, so choosing this one that works for you can seem like a minefield. So, what should you look for:
 
Purchase price range:
 
The adage that the most expensive boat you can buy is the one you are given for free, is very true as the component parts to get a ‘fixer upper’ on the water is usually more expensive than one that is ready to go:
 
  • Starter boat - £450-700: expect this to be fairly old and with a number of knocks and scrapes, but it is a great option when starting out as many new Oppie sailors have their share of bumps whilst learning.
  • Competitive boat - £1,200 +: this will get you a reasonably recent boat with all the equipment to compete at a national level but is likely to need some upgrades / replacement (usually spars and sails) to keep competitive as you progress.
  • New Boat – approx. £4,500 ready to sail : the best UK option is to speak to the team at Xtremity, who can advise on options and accessories.
 
Main Equipment Items:
 
IMPORTANT: any Oppie will work for any sailor, so it is not worth worrying about too much. However, if you have a selection to choose from you may want to consider the info below:
 
  • Hull – there are several manufacturers, including the most popular - Winner, BlueBlue, Blue2, Ovington, Devoti, McLaughlin, Far East. Most people will have a personal favourite however with a single skin GRP hull the primary check is that it seems in good condition and hasn’t had any major repairs as weight can be a factor.
  • Sails – Again multiple manufacturers, all with small differences, however all tend to have different cuts to suit sailor weight ranges – generally tailored to <35kgs; 35-45kgs; >45kgs. If in doubt aim for a medium (blue dot) sail as it will cater up and down across the wind range.
  • Spars – Optimax and Black Spars, both come in a flex (lighter sailor) and standard (mid to heavier sailor).
  • Foils – Again come in flex and stiff construction. The difference in this will only be applicable for the very top sailors in main fleet.
 
Additional equipment to look for / consider when buying a boat:
 
  • Launching Trolley – Lightweight and collapsable best option (ideally with solid wheels)
  • Road Trailer – The oppie is very easy to transport on the roof of a car, but many families with have multiple boat stacker trailers to support logistics for larger families / travel with friends.
  • Covers – top cover essential to stop the boat filling up with rain when stored, under cover good for transport protection.
  • Spar / foil bags – nice to have to protect equipment, but certainly not essential.
  • Bailers – need 2x large bailers – a key oppie skill is sail and bail.
  • Mast clamp – when fitted should be against the bottom of the thwart to stop the rig falling out on capsize.
  • Quick pins – plastic toggles that help quickly rig the top of the sail to the mast – held in place by the burgee.
  • Windex / Burgee – essential for helping sailors understand wind awareness.
  • Buoyancy bags – Need to hold air and be well secured into the boat by the webbing straps.
  • Bow bumper – essential protection when first starting out and a requirement for Youth Week Bronze and Silver Fleets.
PARENT ROLES
 
As with all sailing club activity we are completely reliant on the cohort of parents to turn ideas into reality and there are many ways to get involved, whether on the water or shoreside. We have outlined the key roles to support weekly activity (Duties) in the next section, however in addition to this we need to have people who can coordinate, or support, the logistics around each element, people to ensure we maintain our comms to attract a connection to and interest in the fleet, people to help organise the social side of our programme, a treasurer to help balance the books. So, if you have a skill – or the capacity to learn one – please expect to be tapped on the shoulder and asked for help (or save us the trouble and let us know how you’d like to get involved). Key fleet parent roles include:
 
  • Class Captain and Vice-Captain
  • Class Treasurer
  • Class Training Coordinator
  • Tuesday Sailing Lead and Support
  • Friday Fun Lead
  • Sunday Sailing Lead
  • Club Fleet and Yard Logistics
  • Social Programme Coordinator
  • Social Media Coordinator
  • etc

DUTIES EXPLAINED
 
This aims to provide an overview of each of the regular duties in supporting sailing activity. If you would like to learn more about how to get more involved please say. We would also like to see our older sailors ‘giving back’ as this is really well received by those earlier in their Oppie journey so would welcome junior leaders as part of the support team.
 
Session Coordinator
Skills / Experience Experience of delivering activity for sailors and levels being aimed towards.
Desire for those fulfilling this role to hold, or be working towards, an instructor or race coach qualification (fleet support available to facilitate this).
Activity Takes responsibility for the coordination and focus of the fleet run activity – either for a specific session or across a block of sessions. Tasks include:
  1. Prompt sailors and parents to sign up in time to effectively plan activity.
  2. Identify timings and session focus.
  3. Agree overall plan for activity and brief delivery team.
  4. Confirm session resources (safety fleet, marks and coaching equipment)
  5. Allocate parent / volunteer roles.
  6. Ensure session paperwork is carried out
Equipment Resources available to help generate session ideas and focus
 
RIB Helm / Coach
Skills / Experience Power Boat L2 and experience as a RIB crew Co Oppie Sailing
Activity Support the delivery of the session. Depending on experience this may involve coaching sailors, mark laying, encouraging back markers, capsize assistance
Equipment buoyancy aid, waterproof footwear and if colder, waterproof sailing jacket and trousers.
 
RIB Crew
Skills / Experience None Required
Activity a great position to learn more about what happens on the water. Really helps the coach if you can mind/support kids that may be temporarily in the RIB/Jenny. Also a helping hand when grabbing boats or emptying them out. Be the eyes and ears of the coach, so they can concentrate on teaching.
Equipment buoyancy aid, waterproof footwear and if colder, waterproof sailing jacket and trousers.
 
Beach Master
Skills / Experience None - radio training provided
Activity Sign out radio from Bosun’s shed. Remain on beach during session to communicate with RIBs if required. Not usually required for Sunday sessions. Can be done by launch assistant
Equipment VHF Provided
 
Launching
Skills / Experience None
Activity Assist with launching boats. On launch, check mast clamp, dagger board clip and tally. Remain on shore in case sailors come in.
Equipment Waders – PYC Oppie Waders available in the Oppie Shed
 
 
 
 
Rigging Support
Skills / Experience Familiar with how to rig and set up an oppie for the sailor and conditions
Activity Assist less experienced sailors and parents with rigging and checking set up for the conditions – to build confidence and independence.
Equipment NA
 
Marks
Skills / Experience None
Activity Bring a £1 coin / shopping trolley token. At start of session, collect trolley, go to Oppie Shed and load up the 4 oppie marks (currently stored next to the Club oppies). Take to pontoon and put in RIBs (check with each group parent/coach how many they want and which RIB/jenny. At end of session, reverse process.
Equipment Coin / trolley token
 
Tallies
Skills / Experience None
Activity Bring list of sailors who have signed up for the session. Open up tally hut. Collect list and hand out tallies. Make sure every sailor tallies in and out. Helpful to bring pen in case there aren't any in hut.
Equipment NA
 
Pontoon Monitor
Skills / Experience None
Activity Ensure throughout session (and especially at the start of the session) that no children go onto the pontoon, unless they are specifically allowed to. Make sure the children stay out of the water before the session starts (wet, cold sailors have no fun...). Generally ensure that the children are not misbehaving/out of control - this frees up parents who have jobs to do at the start of the session, to get on with their preparations
Equipment NA
 
Sign out safety boats and bring to pontoon
Skills / Experience PB2. Ideal job for parents who have PB2 but not yet ready to coach a group
Activity At start of session, check which RIBs/jennies have been allocated, and how many we actually need. Sign out and bring to pontoon. At end of session, ensure that all RIBs have been signed back in
Equipment Buoyancy Aid