Optimist sailors will gather Tuesday and Wednesday to compete in the Maine State Optimist Championships, which is being hosted by Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club in Blue Hill.

Young sailors from clubs in Northeast Harbor, Sorrento, Camden, Deer Isle, Kennebunk, Boothbay, MDI, Portland, and Freeport are among those expected at the championships. Optimists are 7.7-foot long dinghies known as beginners’ boats for children in the 8-15 age group.

Tuesday’s races will start at 12:30 p.m. and Wednesday’s competition will begin at 10:30 a.m. There will be an awards ceremony Wednesday beginning at about 4 p.m. depending on weather conditions.

KYC earned the right to host the regatta when Rufus Peabody, an Alexandria, Va. resident who summers in Maine with his family and sails out of KYC, won the 2000 championship.