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We have more than 70 solos in our fleet at HISC ranging from all-wood Goslings, through assorted composites to all-glass Winders, and now a Speed.
Our sailors range from under 10 stone ladies to 15+ stone men and everyone is in with a chance of success thanks to the outstanding design of the Solo by Jack Holt, the wide variety of modern rigs available from many suppliers and the tidal challenges of Chichester Harbour!
We are very fortunate in having a very wide choice of water to sail on. Our racing courses vary from tight courses at high tide over the mud banks of the harbour just off the club, to longer courses up and down the channels at low water. Other options are wave sailing in the large expanse of Hayling Bay and long distance races to other clubs. Launching our boats is very convenient, as we have only to trundle down from our dedicated space in the North dinghy park to the sandy beach a short distance away.
We race every Saturday and Sunday from mid March to the end of December each year. From March through to October we have our own Solo start each day and from October to December there is a separate Solo start on Sundays. Wednesday evenings, when there is enough light to see where we are going, we race in a handicap class and Thursday afternoon is also a Solo Sailing Day. As many of our sailors are past their sell by date as far as work is concerned, we can muster a dozen sailors on such afternoons for a variety of different types of sailing / birdwatching / etc If that is not enough during mid August we can take part in the highly competitive Solo class racing in Chichester Harbour Federation Week without any need to travel!
Despite being surrounded by a plethora of new single-handed classes, over the last few years, our fleet has grown from strength to strength. New members, younger as well as older, are joining all the time because we offer regular, competitive class racing in a class of boat that is proven to be sailable by a wide range of physical attributes but is, however, still quite a challenge! Also, there are at last, a few young ladies buying fast boats. Apart from the sailing, we are, as well, a very companionable fleet and there is a varied social programme throughout the year, besides the odd working parties planned for the winter. Here it could be explained that the Solo Fleet has been responsible over the last few years for laying the matting runways and also building the sand trap fencing and thus the new dunes which are very effective at keeping most of the blown sand from burying the boats at various stages of the year! There is more work planned for this next winter with the ongoing support of the Vice Commodore Sailing. It is no wonder that our fleet has won the HISC Cup for ‘The Most Active Fleet’ for the last eleven years- since its inauguration in fact!
If you are not already a member of our competitive but sociable fleet, you would be very welcome to join us for next year in what will be the 58th Anniversary of the Solo Class!
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