The Optimist is an International Class sailing dinghy designed for young sailors up to 15 years.

GRSC has an active fleet of sailors at all levels and is an ideal and fun club to learn how to sail and how to compete.

2024/2025 Season Starts September 15, 2024

Optimists are designed for kids

• They can handle them without danger, fear or back-strain.
• Single-handed is best, they didn’t learn to ride a bike on a tandem.
• Over 250,000 kids in more than 120 countries cannot be wrong.
• The only junior class in Australia offering international competition and travel.
• The Optimist is not only the biggest dinghy class in the world, it is the fastest growing.
• The only single-hander dinghy recognised by the ISAF, the world organising body for sailing, exclusively for under 16s.
• 85% of Olympic medalists at the last Olympics were Optimist sailors.
• Builders on five continents, promoting competition and cost savings.

For Optimist sailors:

• Getting started - here
• Rules and rigging guides - here and here
• Sailing ages - here