150 Optimist Dinghy sailors ready for Derwent action
by Jane Austin / RYCT Media 9 Jan 19:16 AEDT
9-15 January 2026
Optimist dinghy sailors prepping for the 2026 Australian Championship in Hobart this week © Jane Austin
The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania plays host to another huge sailing regatta this week with 150 Optimist dinghy sailors converging on Sandy Bay for the 2026 Australian Optimist Dinghy Championship.
The week-long event began with Optimist teams racing on Friday with competitive racing in the official championship starting on Saturday.
Sailors aged up to 15 years from almost all Australian states are represented in the fleet which will compete in the Open or Intermediate Fleets, or the Green Fleet for less experienced sailors.
Sailors will be competing for the Australian Championship perpetual trophy for first Australian overall in Open, the Australian Championship perpetual trophy for first Australian female, the Bennett Family Club Participation Trophy for Club with the largest number of entries across all fleets, and the Peter Gilmour Trophy for sailor with the greatest improvement in their Open Fleet placing since last year.
The Optimist dinghy is a one-design single sailor dinghy used globally for learn-to-sail programs and competitive racing, with many Olympic champions starting in the Class.
The event will be used for selecting the 2026 Australian Optimist Sailing Team with the 2026 Optimist World Championship held in Morocco in June 2026.
Australian International Optimist Dinghy Association President, Jeremey Atkinson, is impressed with the number of sailors that have registered to sail in Hobart.
"I expect the 150 sailors to enjoy close and competitive sailing over the next week while making new friends from around the country," said Atkinson.
The event runs from the 9th to the 15th of January, 2026.
The event website is at ryct.org.au/2026-australian-optimist-dinghy-championship