Winner Optimist

Winner Optimist is a Danish boatbuilding company based in Faaborg, on the island of Funen, dedicated exclusively to the production of Optimist dinghies — the small, light sailing boat used by children and young people up to about 15 years old. Founded in 1975 as Winner Boats by Henning Wind, a bronze medalist at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and gold medalist at the 1968 Gold Cup in the Finn dinghy class, the company was established after Wind ended his partnership to focus on building superior Europe and Optimist dinghies in high-quality fibreglass. A fire at the original harbour plant in Faaborg in 1977 forced the entire production to relocate to a new facility at Krogsbjergvej, which has since been steadily expanded and is now described as the biggest and most modern production facility for fibreglass Optimist construction. Over the decades, the Winner Optimist dinghy has been continuously developed through successive marks, each improving on the previous model while adhering to the strict class rules. In 1997, production of Europe-class dinghies was moved to a sister company in Spain, allowing the Krogsbjergvej plant to dedicate itself entirely to Optimist production. Today, Winner Optimist manufactures three quality levels of Optimist dinghies: a more affordable model for sailing schools and clubs, and two models for regatta sailors depending on the sailor's weight. The shipyard produces 12 ready-to-sail Optimist dinghies per week and sells them worldwide, with main markets in the United States, France, Italy and Scandinavia. In Asia and the Arab region, boats are primarily sold to sailing clubs. The brand's positioning is built on quality and performance. Winner Optimist claims that its boats are sailed by more World Champions and more beginners than any other Optimist, and that the strength built into its boats translates equally to better performance and greater durability. The company operates a webshop offering its collection of dinghies and equipment for sailing needs. Winner Optimist remains a private company, with no publicly listed status or disclosed parent company.

Winner Optimist was founded in 1975 in Faaborg, in the south of the island of Funen, Denmark, under the name Winner Boats. Its founder, Henning Wind, was a Danish sailor who had won a bronze medal at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo in the Finn dinghy class and gold at the 1968 sailing world championships in Whitstable in the same class. Wind decided to end his cooperation with his previous partner in order to focus his boatyard on the production and development of superior Europe and Optimist dinghies made of high-quality fibreglass. In 1977, a fire broke out at the original plant at the harbour in Faaborg, and the entire production had to be relocated to a newly built facility at Krogsbjergvej in Faaborg. Over the years, the Winner plant was steadily expanded with office space and more room for production and storage. It has since evolved into the biggest and most modern production facility for Optimist construction in fibreglass. The Winner Optimist dinghy was continuously developed and improved through different marks, each new model improving on the previous one while adhering to the strict class rules of the boat class. In 1997, the production of Europe-class dinghies was relocated to the company's sister company in Spain. This led to the entire production at Krogsbjergvej being dedicated to the supreme quality Optimists that the company manufactures. Today, Winner Optimist produces three quality levels of Optimist dinghies: a more affordable model for sailing schools and clubs, and two models for regatta sailors depending on the sailor's weight. The shipyard builds 12 ready-to-sail Optimist dinghies per week and sells them worldwide. The main sales markets are the United States, France, Italy and Scandinavia. In Asia and the Arab region, boats are primarily sold to sailing clubs. Regardless of quality level, when used for regatta sailing, the hull of the boat with mast foot, buoyancy tank fastening straps, hiking straps and block fittings must weigh a maximum of 32 kg.

• 1997

  Production of Europe-class dinghies relocated to sister company in Spain; Krogsbjergvej plant dedicated entirely to Optimist production.

• 1977

  Fire at the original harbour plant forces relocation to a new facility at Krogsbjergvej in Faaborg.

• 1975

  Founded in Faaborg, Denmark, as Winner Boats by Henning Wind.

Premium quality and performance; the most popular Optimist in the world, sailed by more World Champions and beginners than any other.

• Optimist dinghy (school/club model)

  A more affordable model for sailing schools and clubs.

• Optimist dinghy (regatta models)

  Two models for regatta sailors, depending on the sailor's weight.

1. 1Winner Optimist official websitewinneroptimist.dk
2. 2Winner Optimist – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
3. 3Winner Optimist – Wikidatawikidata.org