World’s fastest Optimist Sailboat to be Given Away for Free!

Chattanooga, Tennessee-March 19th, 2015- Chattanooga, Tennessee-March 19th, 2015- McLaughlin Boat Works announced its 25th Anniversary PRO Racer Giveaway today. Widely considered the fastest and most durable Optimist in the world, the chance to win one of the prized PRO Racers is surely an opportunity not to be missed

The drawing, open to sailors ages 8-15, runs now through the end of the 2015 calendar year.

With over 350,000 active boats, the Optimist sailboat is the largest fleet of sailboats in the world. More young sailors start in the Optimist than in any other boat. Those sailors have had tremendous success as well. Over 70% of the Olympic medal winners at the 2012 Olympic Games in London began their sailing careers in the Optimist.

“The Optimist is the single most important element in keeping sailing alive and healthy in the world today,” says Steve Sherman, CEO of McLaughlin. “From the tens of thousands of children who learn to sail each year will come the sailors, Olympians, instructors, coaches, and commodores of tomorrow’s yacht clubs.”

For 25 years, McLaughlin has been building and supporting the Optimist. They have pioneered improvements in speed, strength, and durability. The McLaughlin PRO Racer is the end result of over 75 years of combined experience building the fastest Optimists in the world. That experience has been proven again and again at Continental and World Championship Regattas. As the saying goes, “Sailors in the know, race a PRO.”