Juan, in addition to being an excellent sailor, is one of the best and most successful naval architects of recent times, having worked on many projects spanning from IMOCAs to TP52s to Olympic classes such as Finn and Star.
Juan welcomed with pleasure and enthusiasm the challenge of designing this version of the Optimist, which, while complying with the strict limits of the class rules, would be able to be faster and perform better than other models on the market, having the ability and skills to propose useful and marine innovations that would clearly distinguish the new boat.
This is what Juan has written
in the major magazines of the industry:
After all my first year in sailing, racing Optimist, I was delight to get this proposal to look at how we could improve the design of this iconic dinghy!
After revisiting the Finn and Star, it seems logical to keep going with the optimist.
When you are designing Maxi and Super Yacht, it always brings you back to the basics, and Optimist is the basics for most of the sailors!