PYSF Opti - About Us

What is an Optimist?

Single design, one person sailboat designed for under 16 sailors
More than 150,000 kids in more than 110 countries worldwide sail Optis.
Largest and fastest growing dinghy class in the world.
It is the best way for kids to learn to sail - over 85% of the sailing medal winners in the last Olympics were former Optimist sailors.
Large and vibrant Bay Area Opti fleet with sailing opportunities not only on the Peninsula but all around the Bay and California and even around the US.

Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation (PYSF) is a non-profit 501c (3) organization that was formed in the year 2000. The primary mission of PYSF is to coach, teach and nurture youth sailors in the Bay Area. From its inception, PYSF has been dependent on the support of volunteers for its success. Many of the middle school and high school sailors in PYSF have developed into some of the top sailors in the Bay Area, the West Coast, or have even become some of the top sailors in the US. The Opti Program at PYSF, is focused on younger sailors, between 7 and 15 years old, and is intended to help teach them to sail or to develop their sailing skills to allow them to sail with other youth sailors at PYSF or in the Bay Area.

The Opti (or Optimist), is an ideal first sailing boat for young sailors. It is easy to learn to sail an Opti but an Opti can also allow a young sailor to learn most of the important sailing skills needed for sailing larger boats. At PYSF, we have two programs for Opti sailors:

Summer Opti Sailing Classes (Learn to Sail program)
Year-Round Weekend Practice or Regattas

More information about the Summer Opti classes is available here. We usually post new information about the summer camp sometime shortly after the first of the year. Our Year-Round program is available to young sailors that already know how to sail an Opti but would like to continue to develop their sailing skills. Our Year-Round program is divided into 3 sessions/semesters which cover the entire year. The Green Fleet program is targeted at novice and intermediate Opti sailors, that can effectively sail with a group of Optis. The Championship Fleet program is for Opti sailors that are ready to graduate from the Green Fleet and work on developing their advanced sailing skills.

If you are interested in joining the Green Fleet or the Championship Fleet, email us for more information.

For some additional information, see our Sailing Options page.