Highcliffe Sailing Club

Highcliffe Sailing Club is situated on picturesque Mudeford Quay at the mouth of Christchurch Harbour on the south coast of England.  Seaflys were sailed at HSC from the early 1960’s and, starting in 1966, they regularly hosted the National Championships, and frequently provided the National Championship winner.

From 1980 the licence to build Seaflys was owned by Colin May, a Highcliffe S.C. sailor. He and other Highcliffe S.C. members, in particular Adrian Summers, dominated the Seafly National Championships during the 1980’s and 1990’s and Highcliffe dominated in the Canberra Trophy from 1980 onwards.   There were still some 20 Seaflys racing at Highcliffe in 1996, but by 2010 there were only around 3 Seaflys remaining in their boat park.

John Joughin has provided these photos of sailing at Highcliffe S.C. circa 1962:

Visiting the UK during summer 1975, Peter and Daphne Fullagar from Canberra Yacht Club borrowed a Seafly from John Tallis of Highcliffe S.C. which they modified, renamed Gadfly II (after their Seafly in Australia) and sailed it using their own sails (C260) both in a regatta at Highcliffe and in the UK Nationals in Plymouth. They took these photos in July 1975:

Photographs of the few remaining Seaflys at Highcliffe S.C. in 2011 (photos: Peter Taylor):

[Next: Newcastle Yacht Club, N.I.]