The Optimist has become the most popular youth sailing boat in the world today. It is safe and stable, making it the ideal sailing school boat. Overall, the safe design of the Optimist just about guarantees that a beginners Sailing experience will be a positive one. This encourages a higher percentage of children to finish the program, then go on to fully enjoy the benefits of recreational and competitive sailing. Children love the Optimist because they feel confident when sailing as it is very resistant to capsize. They can relax and enjoy themselves. The boat is both kid-friendly and coach-friendly.
For the reasons given above: stability, safety and simplicity, the Optimist is also a great racing boat, offering multiple levels of competition for all ages. There are over 400 Optimist regattas just in the USA each year. With so many Optimist sailors and so many Optimist events, there's no limit to the number of events that a skipper can participate in.
There is also a very dynamic used market for Opti's as kids are constantly aging out. Translation: this is a good investment as you can recoup most of the cost even after several years of use. Join the Optimist Class Organization and receive 'Opti News' free. For more information, check out the Optimist Association.