A club for the 21st century

In the second of our series on sailing clubs that have benefited from the lottery, Gerald New looks at Hayling Island

Anyone who has been in the Hayling Island Sailing Club (HISC) changing rooms lately must have wondered if their insurance covered them ashore as well as afloat!

It may be a south coast-centric view, but HISC is one of, if not the premier UK dinghy sailing club. But it's been better known for its pit props and indoor guttering than its club house facilities for the past few years. The club whose fleets have mirrored the changing tastes of the UK dinghy world has been looking decidedly down at heel of late.

All change

A new £4.8 million clubhouse complex is about to replace the historic but rapidly decaying existing building. A full £3.3 million of lottery money - and not a dome in sight - will put HISC and the UK dinghy world back on its feet with a world class centre.

Hayling Island Sailing Club has been a top venue for dinghy events for many years, and particularly following the boom in dinghy sailing during the 60s and 70s, it was a mecca for enthusiasts wishing to compete against the best. As well as being home to some of the pioneering development classes, the club was home to large fleets of the new one design classes and became a regular venue for national and international championships.

The club has been at its present site since 1936, a unique position on the tip of a narrow peninsula at the entrance to Chichester Harbour. From the original cruciform shaped brick building, various extensions and adaptations have taken place as the club membership grew and facilities were added. The two-storey clubhouse with its large balcony is familiar to dinghy enthusiasts who have attended the many Open Meetings and Championships held every year at the club.

While the position of the club has given it access to the open waters of Hayling Bay and the protected waters of Chichester Harbour, providing ideal conditions for sailing, training and racing, the exposed position has also taken its toll on the building. Anyone who has raced there recently cannot have failed to be aware of the increasing number of pit props supporting the building or the unique inside guttering in the bar!

In the early nineties it became apparent that the fabric of the clubhouse and the site itself required attention over and above that available from routine maintenance, and in 1996 the club applied for lottery funding and were turned down.

Later, in early 1999, the English Institute of Sport (EIS) programme was announced. The plan is for a network of sites across the country, positioned to ensure that athletes are able to access high quality services and facilities near to where they live. For sailing, the RYA highlighted a number of clubs and facilities throughout the country that had the potential to fulfill its five main criteria; open water training, current and future demographics, meeting the needs of current top sailors, all year round operation and with some facilities already in place. HISC was identified as a key element of the EIS program and a high priority development site by the RYA.

With this backing, HISC reapplied to the Lottery and with the launching of the Institute of Sport Programme funding became available for the construction of a world class sailing facility and clubhouse. HISC was awarded £3.3 million from the Sport England Lottery Fund. The award to HISC is not without considerable long term commitment by the club and its members. Broadly these tie the club to three main issues;

1. To implement the HISC Sport Development Plan, which provides a framework and guidance for club activities over the next twenty years.

2. To assist the RYA to implement the World Class Start and Potential and the World Class Performance Plans and reach its targets in terms of championships and medals.

3. To implement the Provision of New Opportunity Programme - A four stage development program, which will provide local children with access to sailing and high quality tuition, and continue this through the Havant Youth Sail Training Scheme, the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and an Excellence Program targeted at talented young sailors.

These three commitments are aimed at providing facilities to carry out the RYA World Class Performance programme with levels of race management for national and international competition, coaching and training provision, race management, safety training and improvement of all standards of sailing skills at all levels within the club. It will promote personal development through participation in sailing activities, particularly for young people.



Hayling Island SC members will get a new state of the art clubhouse, accommodation block and associated slipways etc. Total cost of this is estimated at £4.8 million. Removing expenses already incurred and work to be carried out by members in the future leaves just over £4 million to be funded, of which the Lottery Grant covers £3.3 million. Of the £698,000 shortfall that the club has to fund, £200,000 is covered by other grants and pledges, £200,000 is intended to be raised by membership debenture schemes and £110,000 by a Sea Defence levy on each member of £50 for two years.

Building work is scheduled to start this autumn (2000) and take 14 months. During this time a temporary sailing village will be constructed to provide clubhouse, administration and changing facilities, and to allow the continuation of a full sailing programme throughout the redevelopment. There will undoubtedly be space problems, with the constructor's plant and access requirements eating into an area already crowded at peak season, but if the architects plans and sketches are fulfilled Hayling Island SC will emerge as a definite jewel in the crown of the sailing world.