Mission

Keep them sailing

Our mission is to provide the Northwest's most committed youth sailors and their families with the coaching, regatta support, and local club instruction necessary to develop their full racing potential and compete at national and international events.

Our sailors meet their goals

While the world focuses on results, we celebrate and strive for consistency, effort, and resiliency. You won't see us highlighting podium finishes; instead, we celebrate our sailors achieving their individual goals, no matter what those goals may be. They usually start with qualification to National Team Trials, and move up International events. Here is our tally of goals achieved.

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Our pillars

We are here to fuel the passion of ALL our PNW youth sailors and help their families support them. Behind every successful youth sailor, there is a village making it happen.

COACHING

International Level

We will recruit world-class coaches with previous experience sailing and racing in the Optimist Class.

Multiple Approaches

We will invite coaches from different regions to give our sailors different coaching perspectives.

PNW Style

We will practice competitive cooperation, kindness and mutual support true to our PNW values.

RACING

Regional to International

We will organize regional, national, and international trips to give our sailors a broader exposure.

Regatta Coaching

We will always have coaching support at regattas and use them as learning opportunities.

Regatta Family Support

We will help families with the logistics of chartering optis, motor boats, and lower the cost of lodging and travel.

FOR THE PNW

Common Curriculum

We will champion an Opti specific training curriculum that can serve as the glue between regional and local programs.

Local Coach Support

We will support our local clubs with Opti specific coach training to raise Opti competitiveness across the region.

Local Club Support

We will support our local clubs to identify and retain our most committed sailors.

Our approach

We are constantly learning from our sailors and adjusting our methods accordingly. This is what you can expect from us.

We prioritize commitment over skill. We recognize that sailing success requires deep, intrinsic motivation, so we forgo traditional selection methods like trials or resumes. Instead, we seek out sailors and families who demonstrate genuine dedication.
Self-directed development and deliberate practice. Our sailors take ownership of their improvement by actively identifying areas for growth and planning their practice. The focus is on purposeful practice, where sailors understand what they're working on and why; de-briefs and pre-briefs are critical to the process.
Sailing conditions that meet the training requirements. We prioritize getting sailing conditions that align with the clinic's goals, even if it requires flexibility in scheduling or location, and are willing to travel to achieve this. Our network of sibling programs allows our sailors to practice where they need to.
Learn by watching and doing. We take a practical, hands-on approach with on-land drills, aids, and repetition. Video analysis is central, allowing our sailors to observe, and refine skills across multiple sessions. We train on weekends and holidays when we can practice for more than 3 hrs a day.
Efficient and independent rigging skills. Sailors are expected to master their equipment and intimately know their rig setup and tuning preferences for all conditions. Our goal is to achieve a 15-minute rigging time on-shore and continuous tuning in the water as conditions change.
Appropriate and up-to-date gear. We prioritize necessary equipment upgrades. Understanding the associated costs, we only recommend changes that will significantly impact performance. We leverage our network for equipment performance feedback and offer test equipment to ensure sailors find the best fit.

BCS team photo in San Francisco after Heavy Weather Regatta