Calling all Oppie Sailors!

The Oppie Season is soon to commence; come and join the fun.   Bookings are now being taken for the Youth Camp during the Easter holidays, the weekend Oppie Training days as well as the Learning to Race Fleet during Regatta Week in August.

Have Fun and Learn

Optimist ‘Oppie’ coaching aims to improve your sailing whilst having fun with friends.  It is an ideal way for children to develop their sailing skills and progress from basic boat handling to racing.

Can anyone join?

Almost. If you can sail round a triangle or have RYA L2, you are ready to join the Oppie coaching.  Oppie coaching aims to improve your sailing.   For those wanting to race, this is a great place to start,  enabling you to join in the Club races, and beyond that to the RYA squads standard although the main aim across all standards of sailors is to have fun and learn.

What happens?

Oppie Coaching is done in broad ability groups, refreshing and building on the skills and techniques gained from the formal RYA courses.  Each day lasts around 5 hours (roughly 2 hours either side of high tide) and usually comprises 2 sailing sessions with an initial on-shore briefing, a break and a final debriefing, sometimes with the use of video to both demonstrate techniques and show the sailors how they are progressing.

How much does it cost?

The Oppie Coaching sessions are £15 for CYC members, £30 for non-members.

Do I need my own boat?

Ideally, but there are six Club Oppies which are available for hire for £12 per session on a first come, first served basis.

Please note these are not available when there is an RYA course on at the same time as they are reserved for the Learning to Sail courses.

How do I book?

Contact the office to book, ideally booking for all the sessions you wish to do so we can plan the groups, coaches and activities.

Dates for 2016

The coaching dates are in the programme and event calendar, and are:

• Sunday 24th April 11am
• Sunday 22nd May 10.30am
• Saturday 28th May 3pm
• Sunday 12 June 4pm
• Sunday 18th September 11am

Start times are boats ready but not changed, so please arrive in plenty of time.

After school Oppie sailing

There will be some after school sessions during the summer term from 5pm which will be an hour or two of coached, fun activities such as mini races and the occasional water balloon fight thrown in. These are £5 for CYC members and £10 for non-members.

• Friday 29th April
• Friday 13th May
• Friday 27th May
• Friday 10th June
• Monday 27th June
• Monday 11th July

Holiday Camps

• Easter: Youth Camp, 5-8th April  (£120 CYC members, £150 non-members)
• Summer: Start Racing Fun Week, 2-6th August (£150 CYC members, £180 non-members)

All Oppie coaching sessions are run by members and rely on parents to help in the coach boats, shore support and tea bar.  Please let us know what you can help with, no previous experience is required, just suitable clothing for assisting on the safety boats.

Parents or guardians are required to be on-site at CYC during the session.

CYC Optimist Open – Sunday 21st August 2016