RS Elite at HISC

The RS Elite was designed for Hayling Island SC, and indeed the first 12 boats built were delivered to HISC members during the 2004 season. Its practical shallow draft design makes it perfect to racing inside the harbour, whilst being seaworthy enough for the wildest conditions in Hayling bay. The Elite is a true heavily ballasted keelboat, safe, secure, yet beautifully responsive. The RS Elite is robust, unusually inexpensive to run and all ages of boats are competitive. The Hayling fleet has built steadily, numbering a consistent 23 boats for the last few years. We pride ourselves in providing some of the closest and friendliest one-design keelboat racing in the country.

All 23 of our fleet are dry sailed from club owned trolleys on the beach, and at least in the short term, the fleet is capped at 23. For each race or event, those that wish to race are launched, temporarily moored on a club mooring and recovered. It is a great system ensuring the fairest racing with the least hassle for the sailors. Many of the fleet are syndicate or group owned. The fleet encourages, partners, families and newcomers to sail together, acknowledging that the social side of our sailing is just important!

Getting sailing...

The fleet is always welcoming and looking for potential converts! The easiest way to get involved is to offer to crew, or seek to buy into a share of an existing HISC boat. There is a fleet whatsapp group, and this is a great way to contact potential owners...contact the fleet captain for advice or to join the group. Occasionally one or two of the 23 dry-sail spaces might come available, and these are allocated via a waiting list system; for more information on this please contact the office or the Fleet captain. Club membership, or at least an application in process, is required for an ownership share or an application for a beach space.

Contact: Nick Peters - rselitecaptain@hisc.co.uk

A full calendar of club racing:

• Thursday night "Sundowner" race running from mid-April to the end of August. Split into 2 series... "early" and "late".

• Sprint racing, once a month, on a Saturday. This offers 4 short, fast, fun and quick turnaround races, usually in Bracklesham Bay.
• Monthly Pennant series offering four races in Hayling bay over a nominated weekend.
• Chichester Harbour Race week in August, from Wednesday to Friday. The fleet has its own dedicate racecourse in Bracklesham Bay sailing two races a day.
• The "Crabbers Nip" series on Sunday mornings during November and December, as part of the HISC autumn series, with the class having its own start
• Some wider club racing events, for example the Bank Holiday Monday pursuits and the "destination" races...Bridge Race, Dell Quay Dash, and Harbour challenge.

The annual class prize-giving is held on the last Sunday of the Crabbers Nip series.

Please use the link for the full racing calendar: https://www.hisc.co.uk/club-calendar/main-calendar/

In addition, the wider national events that are popular in 2025:

• RS Elite National Championships Royal Thames YC, Cowes, 11th-14th June 2025
• The Irish National Championship, Waterford Harbour SC, 6th-7th September 2025
• The Southern area Championships, HISC, 13th-15th August 2025, as part of Chichester Harbour Race Week
• Chichester Harbour Race Week on 13-15th August 2025 from Hayling Island Sailing Club
• Eastern Area Championship during Burnham Week from 23rd to 25th August 2025

Please use the link for the full racing calendar: https://rselite.org/events-2025/

The RS Elite fleet of HISC wish you great sailing in 2025 and hope you might be interested in getting more involved.

Nick Peters - Fleet Captain