How good is it to see Melbourne city's iconic Albert Park Lake filled with enthusiastic sailors, racing in their Optimist dinghies, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon?

This winter, the Victorian International Optimist Dinghy Association (VIODA) launches its 7th season of winter training at Albert Sailing Club in Victoria. Junior sailors arrive from all over the state with some driving 2 hours one way to sail with fellow Optimist sailors in this once-a-year training event. It is wonderful to be able to continue sailing even in freezing cold winter!

This year, there are almost 40 sailors participating in block one of the training, split across fleets of the Victorian state team, Open, Intermediate and Green. The best Australian coaches are on a mission to build a new generation of Australian sailors and with so many stories to share and games to play, the junior sailors are having a ball!

The VIODA committee also have many activities planned out for the Victorian Optimist sailing community  - Mother's and Father's Day tea parties, Buy Swap Sell event, sausage sizzles, girls' sailing camp and much more!

Winter is exactly the season to sail as a team and a reason to gather for love and warmth!

For details of the VIODA training at Albert Park Lake and other events held, check out the VIODA webpage at vioda.org.au