History of the BBC Yacht Club

The Yacht Club was formed in October 1962 to promote and cater for an interest in sailing at sea in boats larger than dinghies, either as owner or skipper, or as crew, whether experienced or complete novice.

The Yacht Club exists in order to: provide opportunities for members to sail for pleasure and to increase their knowledge of seamanship under sail, maintain and operate the club yachts in the members' best interests, provide crews for those members who have their own boats, and to offer them help in any way possible.

One of the early members was Bill Waugh, an active member who was keen to improve seamanship within the section. The club remembers him every year at each AGM when it awards the Bill Waugh Trophy to the member who has improved their sailing ability the most during the year.

Early beginnings

There was a moment in 1961 when John Mair thought it would be a good idea to have a BBC offshore yacht and did something about it. The following year the club was born.

In March 1967, after five years of chartering, the BBC Club agreed to finance the purchase of a 36-foot Lion class sloop to be named "Ariel of Hamble". As "Ann Speed" she had been fifteen years a club boat with the John Lewis Partnership and had clocked up some 450 cruises – the equivalent of three and a half years of continuous sailing! In the next eight years we added a further 300 cruises and 1000 days until the cost of maintaining a wooden hull climbed so fast that the decision was reluctantly taken to sell her and buy a GRP yacht instead.

The next "Ariel of Hamble" was a Rival 34 bought early in 1977. Originally named "Saranga" she had been finished by a private owner on a Rival 34 mouldings. A dedicated handful of members put in a great deal of work on her and she proved as worthy a seagoing yacht as her predecessor and as a hard working as ever, going as far as Brittany and meeting her share of unpleasant weather with equanimity. After seven years of service it was time to buy a new yacht.

After much deliberation, test sails and discussion with the builders our first new yacht, a Contessa 38 was launched in the Spring of 1984. She quickly set new standards of performance and comfort further extending the cruising area. Southern Ireland or South Brittany have often featured on the cruise programmes since then.

A club yacht is worked considerably harder than a privately owned one and in the Autumn of 1988 the BBC Club offered us the chance to replace the yacht while the second hand price was still substantial. She was sold early in 1989 and continued to sail in the Solent area as "Larie of Hamble".

Therefore we replaced the Contessa with our second new yacht - an Italian built Grand Soleil. She was launched at Easter in 1989, improving once more perfomance and comfort. Within a few years, we bought a Sigma 33 offering the option of competitive racing. Prospero of Hamble is still racing in Winter and Spring races and has competed in many Cowes and Cork week races. She's competed in the Fastnet and raced in regattas in Scotland, the channel Islands and the West Country as well as in offshore and cross channel jog races. She is an excellent boat to cruise as well.

In 2004, thanks to the dedicated leadership of the Commodore at that time, Nora Dennehy, and a New Boat Committee, the BBC Club gave us the go ahead to sell the Grand Soleil and buy a new Dufour 40. The new "Ariel of Hamble" was launched in Spring 2004 and has already been on a number of summer cruises.

The club has flourished in its original purpose, offshore cruising, welcoming equally the old hand and the complete novice. The pattern of cruising and training every season is now firmly established.