OUR FLEET

We offer sailing for all abilities, from junior and adult learn to sail, to racing for experienced sailors. We also have a wide range of classes and fleets. From the junior Optimist class through to the fast paced Paper Tiger catamaran. Check out all the classes and fleets that sail at the club below, maybe one of them is a perfect fit for you?

OPTIMIST

The Optimist is one of the most popular classes in the world. Sailed by juniors under the age of fifteen, the Optimist is a great class to learn and develop in. The club has three Optimist fleets, Learn to race / rainbow fleet, Green fleet (for more experienced beginners), and the Open fleet for the experienced sailors. During the season, the Optimist fleets are sailed on Saturday mornings. The Opti is a simply-rigged and extremely stable boat that most juniors learn to sail in. Many of New Zealand's best sailors started out in the Optimist. Could you be the next Alex Maloney or Peter Burling?

STARLING

Teenagers progress into the Starling class when they get too big or old for the Optimist. It is a more exciting boat to sail and gives an opportunity to develop the same skills needed for adult classes. With a stayed mast and all the sail controls used on adult classes, they provide more opportunity to experiment and learn about sail trim. Starlings are raced mostly on Saturday mornings along with the Optimist fleets.

420

The 420 is a two person dinghy with mainsail and Jib plus a trapeze for the crew and a spinnaker. The 420 is known for being stable and easy to sail, with the ability to plane upwind, which makes it a fun and challenging boat to sail in a variety of conditions. It is widely used in youth sailing programs and clubs worldwide, including teams racing for inter-secondary school regattas for which Taranaki Youthsail has six boats stored at our club.

The Farr 3.7 is a one person, one sail, planing centreboarder with a trapeze rigged off a stayed mast. It is exciting to sail in a breeze while balancing the boat with your body weight on the end of a wire.  While mastering the 3.7 involves a challenging learning curve and frequent spills, it is ideal for those seeking excitement and skill development. The 3.7 is a nationally recognised class with strong local support.

ILCA DINGHY (LASER)

The ILCA single-handed dinghy, formerly called the Laser, follows strict one-design rules, ensuring uniformity across boats. It offers three rig options to suit different sailor weights and is known for demanding skill and rewarding technique and tactics. With over 225,000 boats in 140 countries, it is the most popular racing sailboat for adults and youth. The ILCA can be used for casual sailing or competitive racing at all levels, making it ideal for learning to sail proficiently.

PAPER TIGER

The Paper Tiger is a 4.3m hard chine catamaran which is a fast and competitive class demanding skill and effort to develop and tune to go even faster. New Plymouth has one of the biggest Paper Tiger fleets in New Zealand. As a lightweight boat with a 2.15m beam and 9.2m 2 sail area they fly around the race course. The class is sailed in New Plymouth by both youths and adults.

HARTLEY 16

The Hartley 16 is a two-person trailer-sailer with mainsail and jib. There is close, competitive racing in this class on Saturday afternoons with one of the biggest Hartley 16 fleets in New Zealand. The fleet often heads off to regional and national regattas all over the North Island.

NOELEX 22

The Noelex 22 is a trailer class sailed in the senior fleet. These yachts are typically launched from the boat ramp at the Lee breakwater. It is one of the few classes at the New Plymouth Yacht Club that has the large spinnaker sail to take it downwind.