Optimist technique - 360 penalty turn

This is another video from our YouTube channel. In the same series we have seen the incredible tacking duel between two world class optimist sailors haeding to the topmark. In this video both sailors got penalized under rule42 (pumping). Local teamrace rules made them do only one penalty turn instead of the usual two turn penalty. For optimist sailors it is important to know how quick and close you can make a 360 penalty turn with the right technique.


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How to learn

It is very important to realize that you need to be able to execute a good 360 pentaly turn. Obviously nobody wants to do penalty turns when racing, but the truth is, everybody makes mistakes. And luckily for us, you get the chance to fix your mistakes by doing a penalty turn. So, if you made a mistake whilst racing, make your pentaly turn and go on with racing. After all is is only one (or two) turn(s) on an hour racing.

The video above is shot during a team race situation. Unlike many other classes, the optimist sailors have a lot of teamracing events. During team racing there is a lot of boat to boat action. Sailors deliberately try to get sailors from the other team penalized, this is part of the game! With so many boat to boat actions a lot of penalties will be given. If you have a good technique for your penalty turns, you can take your penalty quickly and still be in the race to help your team. For more videos on 360 penalty turns and team racing situations log in to your SportVid account.

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