TTSA Youth Sailing Academy - Optimist Sailing

A 8ft. flat bottom boat is designed specifically for kids 7 - 14 years of age. It continues to be one of the most appealing boats for youngsters wishing to learn how to sail. It is safe, simple, and provides excellent racing from club level to hard fought international championships. It is the largest growing fleet in the world.

TTYA (Trinidad and Tobago Yachting Association) has started a Youth Training School with a full time coach and has chosen the Optimiust as the boat to train the youth of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the intention of the school to have branches not only in Chaguaramas but also in SanFernando, Pointe a Pierre, Pointe Fortin and Tobago. Worldwide, Yachting Centres were replacing the word 'Yachting' to 'Sailing'; therefore in the year 2000, we changed the name of the organisation to the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association.

The objective of the Youth Training School is to establish sailing as a sport through a broader cross-section of the community. The vision is to create a new coastal industry based on the sport and to train champions in national, regional and international areans.

Helps develop a healthy lifestyle alternative by getting involved in a positive world wide youth experience. Sailing opens new horizons to all kids from all walks of life, it builds a sense of self-confidence, purpose and discipline in an environment where sportsmanship is as important as just having fun.

The school has been modelled on the Schoelcher School of Sailing in Martinique. It is about fun, sport and growing up. We want to see hundreds of children enjoying Trinidad and Tobago's largest untapped national resource: surrounding waters.

Youth Sailing Schools will animate associated industries and provide career opportunities for the industrious. These include:

• Coaches: With 1 coach needed for every 10 students, an estimated 15 full time coaches will be employed in Trinidad and Tobago. And as schools are established elsewhere, coaches will be able to work throughout the Caribbean.
• Boat builders and sail makers: At present there are 2 moulds being used to make the hulls and 2 lofts are producing sails. The craftsmen who are being trained to manufacture the optimists can look forward to a flourishing export market as schools are opened throughout the region. The school will begin to train its own boat builders in 1995.
• Careers at sea: Students of the schools may pursue careers out of their training. In Martinique, for example, the sailing school inspired the emergence of a local chartering industry. Careers on the water include charter captaincy, navigation and maintenance work.
• Other: Various cottage industries will also have an interest in the school as stalls can be set up to cater for crowds gathering at regattas.

Sailing, by nature as a sport, promotes the importance of discipline, commitment and environmental values, which all contribute to community and indeed nation building. The positive impact of the ‘OPTIMIST experience’ on young people is an investment in the future and to encourage, teach, and assist anyone interested in Sailing and its associated skills.

On the cards for the regatta are bum boat racing, kite boarding, windsurfing and optimist sailing among games and activities for spectators of all ages.

As many as 50 optimists coming from sailing schools in Chaguaramas, San Fernando, Point Fortin, Vessigny as well as in Tobago will be competing in the Optimists Division of the regatta. Organisers have recognised the involvement of the youth, “It is especially important to create an event where the younger athletes can showcase their talent, if we want to expand the sport. “We have to get them outside and off of their computer games learning team work, responsibility and discipline. The optimists programme offers the kids a different experience and expands their opportunities in the world. The Tobago Carnival Regatta is the youngest, fastest, more radical regatta in the region; it’s extreme sailing,” added Borde. Atlantic LNG is sponsoring the optimists and is providing trophies for the top three placed optimists. Every child, however, will be receiving medals for their participation. The ever-creative bum boats will be included in the series of events and competitors, many of whom built their own boats from bamboo and wooden materials, will show them off when they compete on the weekend.

Optimists schedule for the 4th Annual Tobago Carnival Regatta 2012 will be three days of fun and sailing for the kids. It will start the first 2 days off with a 2 days clinic and the third day will be a fun day of races from the South Beach on Pigeon Point to the Buccoo Reef Lagoon. Come join the fun as kids from all over Trinidad from Vesigny , San Fernando, Point Fortin and Chaguaramas join others the world over. 2010 saw 70 kids show off their skills on the beautiful waters of Tobago.

More details:
Optimists Annual Tobago Carnival Regatta: http://www.tobagocarnivalregatta.com/optimist/
Trinidad & Tobago Sailing Association (TTSA) website: http://www.ttsailing.org/Default.aspx
New look Carnival Regatta in Tobago: http://www.guardian.co.tt/andrew-gioannetti/2011/02/16/new-look-carnival...