Green fleet is a special fleet for novices. Its two fold purpose is to encourage novices to attend their first Optimist regatta and to encourage their continued participation in Optimist racing. Its purpose is to build the fleet from the bottom up.
In order to further the green fleet purpose of encouraging novice sailors, an effort should be made to award more trophies in green fleet than would normally be awarded in similarly sized red, blue, or white fleets.
Regatta officials are urged to uphold these green fleet objectives by limiting green fleet participation to appropriate skippers. Sailing instructions should clearly state those restrictions. Also, if it is chosen to permit green fleet coaching while racing, the sailing instructions should clearly address this issue.
Regional sailing authorities may approve variations from these criteria, in order to satisfy their unique regional requirements.
Green fleet is open to skippers who meet all of the following criteria:
- Skippers must be age 15 or under on December 31st of the current year.
- Upon winning three or more green fleet trophies in either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place, or any combination thereof, a skipper shall advance to their appropriate age group fleet.
- Skippers may not previously have raced outside of green fleet (i.e. in red, blue, white, or similar advanced fleets), except that participation in red, blue, white or similar advanced fleets in regattas at which no green fleet was offered shall not prevent a sailor from returning to and racing in green fleet, provided the sailor continues to meet all other green fleet eligibility criteria.
- Use either A or B in Sailing Instructions:
- No coaching of green fleet skippers will be permitted while racing. Violation of this instruction may result in any penalty which the jury deems appropriate, up to and including the disqualification of the coached skipper from the regatta.
- Coaching of green fleet skippers while racing is permitted, however coaching shall be limited to skippers in the bottom half of the fleet in any given race. Coach boats shall neither create wakes nor otherwise interfere with competitors. Violation of this instruction may result in any penalty which the jury deems appropriate, up to and including the disqualification of the coached skipper from the regatta.
- No coaching of green fleet skippers will be permitted while racing. Violation of this instruction may result in any penalty which the jury deems appropriate, up to and including the disqualification of the coached skipper from the regatta.
