Events
Our two main events of the year are The Great Optimist Race (TGOR) and our Wine Auction.
Please see the tabs below for more information on the events.
Our main fundraising event annually is The Great Optimist Race. 40 Optimists participated in the inaugural event, held during the 2018 Cape Town International Boat Show.
Sign up for 2024 – Click here
In 2023, 25 Boats will race for charity and glory- the format will be in the form of a relay, and consist of 3 team members, sailing 1 of 4 separate legs each:
- Optimists are sponsored and Branded by a company or individual
- Optimists race for FUN and to raise money for the Little Optimist Trust ( and/or) a charity of their choice
- A Minimum of 20 Optimists will be sailed by Survivors, Captains of Industry, Celebrities, School teams, Ladies teams, adaptive teams, development teams, and more….
The Great Optimist Race is the CROWN JEWEL of Boatica and has been on the program since 2018. To relive the magic, click here. Of the first event in 2018.
The events have raised close to R1000 000 for Charity, and over 200 Marginalised children have been introduced to Sailing at our Development Sailing program at the events. Some of our Partner charities include NSRI, Sharkspotters, Newborns Trust, Two Oceans Aquarium, 9 Miles Project, Sentinel Ocean, CANSA, Groot Schuur Organ Donors, and more.
We also hosted several events for our social partners and NPOs: Reach for a Dream, 9 Miles Project, and Lawhill Academy. We aim to make this a bigger part of what we do in 2023 and going forward. We will teach, inspire and give more underprivileged and at-risk Youth a sailing experience, hope, passion, and new skills through our newly opened Sailing Therapy Academy in The V&A Waterfront.
The Great Optimist Race receives PR Coverage to the value of between ZAR1.5 and 5 Million each year. Highlights included television coverage on Espresso TV and ENCA TV, and our partnership with Cape Talk Radio to publicise the event. In addition, the event received social media coverage, as well as publicity in Newspapers, Magazines, Radio, and online.
2023 is going to be AMAZING!
To enter or sponsor a boat, please contact us on info@thelittleoptimist.org
WE CHALLENGED YOU!
We challenged you, your friends, your family, your colleagues, your kids, and any sailor in South Africa and the world to sail an Optimist Dinghy for charity.
The Little Optimist Global Challenge took place from 9-18 October 2020
Over 300 adults and kids entered, climbed into Optimist Dinghies, raised funds for charity, had fun, and helped inspire at-risk youth.
We raised over ZAR240 000 for 14 charities, had 13 activations, gave sailing lessons and sailing therapy to 70 at-risk youth, and created boatloads of OPTIMISTIC PR to the value of ZAR 5.7 million.
Optimist Sailing is one of the biggest sailing classes in the world – there is a network of more than 150 000 registered Optimists in 120 countries around the globe.
Many of us — including great sailors, CEOs, sportspeople, celebrities, moms, dads, and kids around the world – first learned to sail in an Optimist Dinghy,
and these fantastic little boats still hold a special place in many of our hearts.
See, the photos, the videos, and the thrills, spills and SMILES on our Challenge site
NOW you too can enter our Challenges for Charity anytime in 2021 – Watch this space!
To get involved in your own Challenge for Charity and for our TRUST, contact us for more info info@thelittleoptimistghlobalchallenge.org

The Great Optimist Race 2019 was held during the Cape Town International Boat Show, on October 19th at 12 o’clock. 40 Optimist Children’s dinghies were raced by adults ( Celebrities, Medical Survivors & Captains of Industry) not only for glory, but also to raise money and awareness for the charity of their choice . The Race is a FANTASTIC and UNIQUE fundraising event , spreading Optimism and Hope across so many sectors. All the funds raised by each boat will be split between The Little Optimist Trust and the charity supported by that boat.
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Charities Represented at The Great Optimist Race
The Great Optimist Race will be taking place on October 19 in the V & A Waterfront, during the Cape Town International Boat Show. It is one of the most unique and fun charity events in the country, raising awareness for The Little Optimist Trust and all of the charities participating in the race this year. It is also a major fundraising event and we hope to raise R500 000 this year for all the charities involved.
For 2019 all our Optimist boat sponsors are partnered with a charity of their choice. These are the charities involved in the 2019 Race:
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All photos by John Hishen at http://www.capetownsportphotography.co.za @capetownsportphotography
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Video by John Hishen at http://www.capetownsportphotography.co.za @capetownsportphotography
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Please take a read through the PR Report for the 2019 Great Optimist Race.
https://www.redbook.co.za/share/book/7b3320e116a8754535e4030f25ffe646
The Great Optimist Race 2018
The inaugural race took place on Sunday 21 October 2018 in gusty and tricky conditions on a beautiful day in Cape Town. 42 Optimist sailors set off on a tricky 3 lap course through the V & A Waterfront, watched by 1000s of spectators. With the magnificent backdrop of Table Mountain, the sailors raced for glory and survival. The competitors comprised of adults made up of medical survivors, local celebrities, Captains of Industry and some pro sailors. Three separate start, beginner, intermediate and pro sailors, allowed for a good handicap and a chance for those who had only learned to sail days before. This unique race was all about overcoming the odds and surviving. It’s about inspiring sick and needy kids to never ever give up and find a passion to live for. So, as in the race of life, this race had some unique curveballs and obstacles for the sailors to overcome. Not only did the wind squalls and gusts in the second basin cause havoc, but so did the pedestrian bridge that opened and closed at will, along with “water pistol armed and dangerous” local celebrities Kieno Kammies and Tanya Neft on their own bigger yacht. These were the disrupters. The competitors had to get past these to cross the line.
Our Brave Survivors, Caleb and Jasper, neck and neck for 1st Place!
It was Caleb Swanepoel, an amputee and shark attack survivor (in the Primi Piatti Optimist) who sneaked in to win the race, just ahead of Jasper Eales in the Sealand Optimist. (Jasper is a liver transplant survivor).
First to sink – Ian Klopper of NSRi in the web tickets Optimist. Jumping the start award – Arno Carstens ( Rock Star). Most committed to the cause and in 3 rd Place – Maryke Musson of the 2 Oceans Aquarium. What a race and what a day! During the 3 days – the Little Optimist Trust hosted sailing experiences and academy’s for kids in less fortunate circumstances. Reach for a Dream kids and their parents got to experience sailing, a captain courage ceremony, the 2 oceans aquarium and lunch at a restaurant. Law hill academy kids and 9 mile project kids were also treated to a day at the boat show, which included all of the above. Fun was had, passion was found, skills were taught and dreams were made real! And that’s what it’s all about. All Optimists will be used in the new Little Optimist Sailing Academy being set up to teach sick and needy kids how to sail.
This event is the main drive to get teddies in for kids in hospital over Christmas.
This year we ask that you still donate at one of our drop off points.
DONATE A TEDDY OR TOY for only R25;
Pay via SnapScan, Zapper, Eft, or cc – reference TOY – CLICK HERE
Drop off points:
- HIIT Fitness – Parklands
- Kom Surf – Kommetjie
- SUP Cape Town – Battery Park
- Clifton Lifesaving Club
- Llandudno Lifesaving Club
- Wetsuit Warehouse
- Cape Town Surfing
- Lifestyle Surf Shop – Muizenburg

The Great Optimist Race

The Great Optimist Race

The Great Optimist Race

The Great Optimist Race

The Great Optimist Race
