Joining Lymington Optimist Flotilla

Lymington Optimist Flotilla is a completely voluntary organisation without any membership fee of its own. However to sail with the flotilla on the river your must be a member of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club, and to sail with Bronze fleet you must be a Salterns Sailing Club Member. Many of our Gold and Silver sailors remain members of the Salterns so they still take part in their club activities. In addition you will need to join IOCA. All the activities organised by the flotilla (on-the-water-training and social events) rely exclusively on parent volunteers to give up their time and in many cases offer their private facilities freely. Contact the Flotilla Leader for more information.

Returning from a long day out on the water

Who can join the Lymington Optimist Flotilla?

As a rule children must be at Red Pennant standard to train with the Bronze Fleet, and at Blue or Green Pennant standard to train with the Silver or Gold Fleet. We are a local Flotilla and prefer our members to be fairly local to the area. If we are in doubt about whether a child is experienced enough, we will suggest that he or she spends some time with the Bronze Fleet. Although RYA courses are an excellent starting point, a child that has completed an RYA course is not guaranteed a place in Silver or Gold Fleet. In reality, experience and practice count for a great deal and ideally a child will have practised the skills taught in a RYA course before joining the Flotilla. Children must have the required level of boat handling skills and need to have confidence in their own sailing ability.

Joining the Salterns

Although there is a long waiting list to join the Salterns Sailing Club, priority is given to those children over 8 who can already sail at 'Red Pennant' standard. If you are a complete beginner or novice sailor we strongly recommend that you join the Salterns and take part in the club's full sailing and social programme. Almost all of Lymington's best junior sailors started sailing at the Salterns. For more information contact the Membership Secretary.

Joining the Royal Lymington YC

We actively encourage potential Gold and Silver Fleet sailors to become family members of the Yacht Club as we rely on a parent qualified as a JSOOD to run our training sessions. When parents are not members, there are restrictions in the extent to which they can become involved. However, it is not a requirement to be a family member and it is possible to become a junior or 'Cadet' member without all the paperwork and waiting time of full membership. Your name can be put forward by the Head of Optimists and you will be proposed for membership by the Captain of the Juniors. Contact the Flotilla Leader for more information.

Joining IOCA

To be a Flotilla member you need to join the International Optimist Class Association (IOCA) UK. Download the IOCA information leaflet. If you are going to compete at Open Meetings then you will have to join IOCA anyway. It currently costs £25 for family membership, with additional helms at £10 each. For this you get the class magazine three times a year with news, reviews, event calendars etc. You also get a sticker for your boatt, a log book and a warm feeling of belonging! To join contact IOCA.