Exciting New Sport Boat for ASF Intermediate Sailors

Gerald Byrnes tries out the new O'pen Bic on Tempe Town Lake. Photo: Phil Freedman
Gerald Byrnes tries out the new O’pen Bic on Tempe Town Lake. Photo: Phil Freedman

The Arizona Sailing Foundation has bought four new O’pen Bic sport boats for Junior ASF sailors.
ASF president George Tingom says the boats will fill a need to offer a high performance alternative to the Optis for young sailors who have topped out and are looking for something faster and sportier.
The name is a play on the name of the product we all know—the ubiquitous Bic ballpoint pen. But the boat is a play on the new shape of sailing—high performance.
It’s thermoformed polyethylene and rotomolded construction with full roach, fully-battened, clear mylar mainsail. With an open transom, there’s none of that Opti bailing stuff if the boat takes on water.
The O’pen is an international one-design class and you can tell from the promotional video that kids really enjoy them.