Hayling Island Sailing Club

Although formed in 1921, H.I.S.C. moved to it’s current unique position on the southern shores of Chichester Harbour at Sandy Point in 1936. Hayling Island Sailing Club held its first regatta in 1922, when in addition to sailing less expected events such as pillow-fights on a pole suspended between two barges, and mud patten races were fiercely competed.

During the Second World War the sailing club was used as a base for the “Cockleshell heroes”, the brave men who used small two-man canoes to penetrate enemy ports and mine their ships. The sailing club was also the base of the C.O.P.P.s, Combined Operations Pilotage Pioneers who were landed on enemy coasts to survey the beaches for suitable landing spots for operations such as D-day.

Today the club enjoys a high reputation for its organisation of World and National Championships, Olympic trials and open events, and has recently been awarded a substantial lottery grant to improve and develop the facilities on offer. With the club set to become an integral part of English Institute of Sport, we can expect it to be producing more world class sailors in the future.