As already mentioned, the purpose of Oppies is to provide an introduction to sailing for eight to eleven year olds with the aim of preparing them for joining the Topper fleet and ultimately the MYC Cadet fleet.

We like to assist the children in obtaining a degree of confidence to sail on their own and to have a basic understanding of wind and tides as well as general ‘rules of the road’ such as knowing whether they are on port or starboard!

Safety is a key issue and every child has to be a competent swimmer and properly dressed prior to sailing an Oppy. Buoyancy aids must worn at all times while on the water and on the club pontoon!

We currently have 15 oppies. Both parents and children will be shown how to rig one properly on the first day.

As all of our hulls have been kindly donated or purchased by our class we insist that all equipment is treated with respect.

We will demonstrate how the boats should be launched and how the boats should be recovered, so that there is a limited risk of damage to our precious resources.