All about us
Introduction to the Club
Here at Hastings & St Leonards Sailing Club we can look back at over some fifty one years of providing some fantastic sailing & related social facilities. Offering club racing for all on Sundays, Cruising events through out the year sailing along the coast also known as our Sail away events and the Club teaches people how to sail.
The racing and cruising program runs from March until Christmas. There are three races, (the first two back to back) each Sunday with cruising on some Saturdays and novice racing on Wednesdays. We also run a number of open meetings throughout the year, recently we hosted a successful Laser World Qualifier in 2007.
As an RYA approved training establishment and Volvo/RYA Champion Club we provide extensive opportunities in all areas of sailing and pride ourselves on the friendly nature of the club.
Short History of Sailing at Hastings
Although there is no enclosed harbour at Hastings, the English Channel along this part of the south coast has always attracted sailors in all type of craft.
In the golden age of smuggling, a Hastings boat built to put up a good performance in the local conditions, was always a treasure. Many a successful raid was completed because a locally built boat could drive into Rye Harbour on a strong south-westerly wind before the Customs Officers could arrive at the scene. One of the most famous craft built in Hastings was the Ann Bonaventure which, manned by local men, distinguished itself against the Spanish Armada. Until 2001 the Clubs main safety vessel proudly boasted this famous name.
The original Hastings & St Leonards Sailing Club suffered a great loss and was disbanded in 1935 when a severe gale smashed most of the boats, which at the time were housed on the beach at Warrior Square. The present Club, formed in 1953, is situated on the Lower Promenade near the Marina Sun Lounge and offers a totally enclosed Boathouse for the dinghies. This is an asset appreciated by their owners who not only can work on their craft at any time but also realise that craft do not depreciate under cover in the same way as they do when they are out in all elements.
Helmsmen from St Leonards on Sea have distinguished themselves all over the globe. Derek Farrant was 505 World Champion in 1965 and 1971, European Champion in 1963, 1964, 1965 & 1969 and National Champion four times. Hugh Bourn won the European title in 1971, whilst others in the 505 class have been within striking distance of the winners in all main events.
More recently, there have been successes for club sailors at national level, with Malcolm Greenhill winning the Shearwater National Championship in 1998 and Shaun & Mark Pollard the Dart 16 National Travellers Trophy in 2001. Jim Taylor has excelled in the Laser class at national and international events and achieved 18th place in the International Sailing Federation world rankings. In 2007 Max Richardson finished 4th at Lake Garda (Italy) in the Topper World Championships. 2008 started with Max Richardson crewed by Alex Groves (Island Barn SC Surrey) getting Bronze Medals for finishing 3rd in the 29er World Championships at Sorrento Yacht Club, Melbourne, Australia. They also won Gold Medals as they finished 1st in the under 19 Class. Results click here
Classes Sailed
We currently have fleets of the following classes, however all classes are accepted as long as they fit through the boat house doors (shearwaters and hobbies just make it through!) Currently our largest racing fleets are the Laser and Dart 16, closely followed by developing Merlin Rocket and Miracle fleets.
- Dart 16
- Laser
- Miracle
- Merlin Rocket/Tasar/Magno
- Topper
- Maverick (currently includes RS400, RS300, Mirror, Shearwater and Hobie 16
To have a look at our racing fleets in more depth, including the contact details of the fleet captains and their assistants, click here.
The attractive licensed Club House affords facilities for dances and other social events attracting the non-sailing member, while the sailors can obtain hot meals from the well equipped kitchen.
Much of the success of the Hastings & St Leonards Sailing Club lies in the fact that the management of the Club has always been in the hands of Committees made up of experienced dinghy sailors whose prime motive is to encourage competitive sailing and also encourage the youth of the district to take an active interest by planning extensive instruction courses.