Hamble River Sailing Club

General information

As the oldest surviving sailing club in the village Hamble River Sailing Club was originally founded in August 1919 by a group of seven Hamble men “to encourage the sport of small boat sailing and racing”. They were determined that the club would provide sailing opportunities for all those who lived and worked in all the parishes along the banks of the Hamble River. This included the many men who worked on the yachts as paid hands and were considered as professional sailors and therefore excluded from participating in many sailing races.Nowadays the club provides racing for Keelboats, XOD's, Foxers and Lazers. It has a well established Cadet Training programme. The club runs the following major open events: The Garmin Hamble Winter Series, The MDL Big Boat Championships, The Doyle Sails One Design Championships, The Warming Pan and the Women's Open Keelboat Championship .New members are always welcome.

The popularity of dinghy sailing accelerated during the late 50’s and the list of club members and their sailing achievements over the next twenty years made the club one of the premier sailing clubs in the U.K. Many of today’s leading yacht designers, mast manufacturers and sail-makers learnt their skills in the dinghy classes at Hamble River S. C. This era reached a peak in 1972 when six of the 13-man Great Britain Olympic sailing team were Hamble River members and they brought back a Gold and Silver medal.

The result of this and other factors has seen the club expand to include yachts as well as dinghies. Perhaps the greatest single advance has been the development of the Hamble Winter Series. Started in the early 80’s as an end of season club event this has now grown into the premier Autumnal series in the U.K. calendar. Last year, with Title Sponsorship from Garmin, 200 boats in eleven classes enjoyed world-class racing over an eight-week period. In the process they also raised £2400 for local charities.

A major sponsorship drive over the past few years has seen the arrival of seven Firefly dinghies for club use. A grant from the Flagstaff Trust will enable the club to provide a number of sailing schools this season for the club’s cadets. As a result of these initiatives there is a regular programme of youth sailing and racing planned for the coming season.

The club also offers a qualified RYA training school for all those wishes to learn how to sail or even more so learn to navigate the waters at speed with power boating. For more information on the training school or to book please contact Tim Murdoch the chief instructor. training@hambleriversc.org.uk

Today’s membership enjoy the comforts of a pleasant clubhouse with modern facilities, have regular club racing with the chance to compete with the best at special events and include a growing band of youngsters who want to participate in dinghy sailing. The Founders’ aims to promote sailing to all are still very important and valid.

If you would like to find out more about our activities then please ring 02380 452070 or email admin@hambleriversc.org.uk or, best of all, come in and see us! The club office is open Monday mornings, Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings. The Bar is open on Friday evenings and Sunday lunchtimes during the winter. During the summer the club is also open on Wednesday evenings for club racing and at the weekend.