Papercourt Weather

Optimist Class at Papercourt

oppies

The Optimist dinghy
The International Optimist dinghy (“Oppy”) is specifically designed to be sailed by children up to the age of 15. It is sailed around the world with a highly organised class organisation giving children the opportunity to participate in events at club, regional, national and international level.  

Papercourt has the most active fleet in the South East with typically 50 – 70 boats sailing every Saturday morning during the season.  In 2010 almost 150 children attended at some stage and many of the more experienced sailors were successful racers both at the club and on the open circuit.

Regatta Fleet PSC girls at 2010 Oppy Nationals

Optimists Training at Papercourt
The aim of Oppy Training is for children to have fun and learn in a safe environment. Oppy Training is run by parents and Junior trainers.  Parents or appropriate adult carers remain responsible for their children during all our sessions and are, therefore, required to remain on site while their children are sailing. As a voluntary organisation we need parents to assist rigging and launching boats as well as manning support boats and coaching on the water – those new to sailing are encouraged and trained to get involved!  

We meet Saturday mornings, timing depending on which level your children sail but generally around 9.30am / 10am.  Formal training finishes by 12.30, and our more experienced sailors are encouraged to take part in the club racing starting at 1.30. “Oppy Training” splits into 3 fleets based on the ability and experience of the sailors:-  

Beginners – Teaching children how to sail an optimist, get to know the parts of the boat and to decide whether sailing is for them or not.  We have a number of Hire Boats available for this training.

Intermediate – (IOCA grades 1 & 2) provides progression from the beginners course where children learn to handle their boats in a variety of conditions. We develop their upwind and off wind technique and introduce them to the theory of sailing and associated skills of rope work, safety on the water, reading the weather etc.

Advanced / Racing – (IOCA grades 3 & 4) mainly focused on improving boat handling and manoeuvres in amongst other boats to prepare for racing. We run a series of mini races with trophies to be won.

Junior Trainers - Key to the success of our training is the use of Junior Trainers.  These are volunteers from the club who have most likely taken part in Oppy training and have gone through the squad system.  Our experience tells us that the kids learn much better from our Juniors and enjoy the ‘laid back’ approach they bring.  The Junior Trainers lead the training and are supervised by parents.

oppy5

2011 Optimist PSC Sailing Programme

INTRO and WELCOME EVENING – Don’t Miss this
Wednesday 30th  March 2011 - 8.00pm
An opportunity to hear more about the season's plans and find out what you can do to help. This meeting is for ALL parents, however long you have been involved with the Oppy fleet. Free wine and nibbles - Please come along and help make sure the season runs smoothly.

Sailing Programme
Sat 30th April 2011
Season starts –  Sign in from 9am. Intermediates and Racing Briefing 9.30am. Beginners Briefing10.15am. If you are not sure which group  your child should be in, please email Jason Hardman or speak to Jason or Jeremy Riley at the Intro Evening.

The first beginners session will concentrate on familiarity with oppy rigging and an intro to sailing hence time on the water may be limited. The sessions will end at around 12.30.

May 7th - June 18th
Core Oppy Training with a Start Sailing course for absolute beginners and sailors working towards IOCA Grades  1, 2, 3 & Racing.. Start times for each group to be confirmed, with sailing between 9.30 and 12.30.

June 25th - PSC 50th Anniversary Celebration including Oppy Funday
This year the club is 50 years old! A special regatta is planned for the morning with the traditional Oppy funday taking place in the afternoon. A fun fuelled afternoon  including dressing up of boats plus on and off the water games.

July 2nd
Mid season regatta for intermediates and racing (plus keen beginners).

9th July - August 27th
More informal summer coaching shared with Toppers and Fevas to give the kids a chance to try something a bit bigger and a bit faster.

September 3th PSC Oppy Open
A chance to put all the hard work into practice and see how you get on in a real race!!

Sep 10th - Oct 15th
Core Oppy Training with a further Start Sailing course for absolute beginners and Grades SSP, 1, 2, 3 & Racing as previous years
Topper and RS Feva training for the more advanced kids

Oct 15th - PSC Oppy end of season Awards Day

Interim awards and Saturday BBQs
On the first Saturday of each month we will have a BBQ at the club and will celebrate the sailor’s achievements

Registration
To take part in the training programme you need to register. To do this complete the attached form, as clearly as possible and return it to Lucy Handley at:

Limberloft
Vicarage Lane
Send
Woking
GU23 7JN

One form per child please and the registration fee this year is £25. All Saturday sessions are free except for a small additional charge for the Beginners courses and the Fun day.

Your child will also require an IOCA log book. If you do not have one, they are £20 each, alternatively you can join IOCA for £25 and get a free log book. To do this log onto www.optimistsailing.org.uk website for details. If joining IOCA for the first time, it is advisable do this as soon as possible as it can take some time to receive a log book. Please make cheques payable to Papercourt Optimists
The forms ask for your help preferences. We need ALL parents to help – a condition of registration is that we have the preferences for at least one parent.

ELIGIBILITY
We welcome children of all abilities. We do set a minimum qualifying age and to partake in the training which is 8 years old by the end of the year. This means your child must have been born before the 31stDecember 2003. You must also be members of Papercourt Sailing Club. We do not operate as a child minding service and are unable to provide child care facilities. A Parent, Guardian or other named adult must remain on club premises throughout each session entered, and shall be at all times responsible for the conduct and participation of the sailor in his or her care.

Hire Boats and Boats For Sale
Hire boats are available for those who don’t have their own boats at £10 per day. Hire boats are limited to those learning to sail and once you child passes IOCA Start Sailing they should get their own boat.

Please refer to PSC website for sale page or clubhouse board for boats for sale.

PSC Oppy Contacts:-
Flotilla Leader –Jason Hardman - jvhardman@hotmail.co.uk 07766 395670
Saturday training lead – Jeremy Riley -  jeremyriley.uk@gmail.com
Registration – Lucy Handley – lucyhandley@yahoo.co.uk
Racing Training Lead – Ian Handley
Intermediate Training Lead – Peter Walter
Beginners Training Lead – Jeremy Sumeray