Monday, August 17, 2009

Rule #1 - Have Fun!



The best part of this video is at the 42 second mark where a kid in an O'pen BIC blasts past some poor kid in an Optimist miserably bailing out her plastic box.

This is the future of junior sailing. Check out the description of the recent O'pen BIC Un-Regatta held earlier this year at Miami Yacht Club.

It all started with an unconventional La Mans beach start at the gun. The spectator fleet was then surprised with the mandatory mid-course freestyle moves such as Spidermans (fast flips), Supermans (body drags), King Kongs (mast climbs), and compulsory 720s. The "serious play" format brought roars from the spectators and huge grins from the kids at every level of the fleet. Some boats were single handed, some double, a few triples. It doesn't matter- "this is the "UN-Regatta" where anything goes as long as it follows Rule #1- Have Fun!


8 comments:

JP said...

Looks great - my nephew's and nieces would love that. Wish I was young enough to fit under that boom.

Would also like to see the mast climb "king kong" style

Anonymous said...

Yeah but would you want to sail a boat named after a cheap plastic ballpoint pen?

Anonymous said...

Great Link!

True BIC Sport is the same company as the lighter, razor and pens but they also have a huge water sports division.

They make more windsurfing gear than anyone else (including the Techno 293 which is the 2nd largest one design fleet in the world... and is by far the largest windsurfing fleet in the world). They do surfboards, kayaks, row boats and a few other things that I'm sure I'm not aware of. I've surfed a BIC board for years and love it. Its a decent board at a great price point. Durable as anything.

I like what the BIC guys are doing... getting good gear out at a great price... one that people can still afford. Those boats look like they can take a beating. I wasn't a fan of fiberglass and gel coat repair anyway. I hope they make a "big kid" version soon.

my2fish said...

that was great - it looked like those kids were having a blast, and an "un-"regatta sounds like a lot of fun.

thanks for sharing.

Mal Kiely [Lancelots Pram] said...

The "Un-Regatta" sounds just like my kinda sailing!! wOOt!!!

Nice lookin little boats... I sure hope mummy and daddy can afford to buy them, tho.

Jbushkey said...

Looks like they cost about 3 grand. More than my first car would be worth in todays dollars. If we wanted to do some math it would be more than my first and second car added together.

Think you could pull one on a 3 wheel dolly? I saw a good deal on a 3 wheels near Portsmouth! - couldn't resist :D

Carol Anne said...

Wasn't Baron Bic quite an ocean racing power back a decade or two ago?

ThreeSheets said...

I'd be surprised if they took over from the Optimist - I doubt they're good teaching boats as they look rather tippy - smaller kids seem to prefer the security of the Optimist - that said, I do hate them. What about the RS Tera?

Have you seen the Rooster Oppy?

Post a Comment