Hello and welcome to the Solent Sunbeam website. We are a friendly bunch who are enthusiastic about racing our wonderful classic keelboats.

Based at Itchenor Sailing Club in West Sussex, we race our Sunbeams at weekends and on Thursday evenings .
After racing we enjoy the company of fellow sailors, family and friends in a varied social programme in the attractive setting of our Club on the banks of Chichester Harbour.

Gayle Palmer, Class Captain

The original Sunbeams dating from 1923 are all built of wood using the same materials and traditional methods.  Last year the Solent Sunbeam Division approved grp as an alternative construction and  adopted grp hulled V61 Betty after one season of intensive trialling. Three further new grp boats are now complete and at least two of them will be racing in 2012. The Class has also resolved to allow the wider use of epoxy glue in the wooden boats including as an external coating with grp.
V25, Query is the first Sunbeam to be epoxy-coated, another 3 are currently awaiting their turn. The Division has also resolved to allow wider use of epoxy glue and grp in the wooden boats including as an external coating.

We race our boats to Cowes every year for the Dainty Dish and leave our boats in Cowes for the Classic Yacht Regatta, two weekends of racing followed by Cowes Week and returning home with a crew race. In 2012 there are also special celebrations for the Jubilee and the Olympics plus a race to Bembridge.

We welcome people to Contact Us for either crewing, owning, partnerships or chartering or just to take part in everything these wonderful keel boats have to offer.Get to know the Solent Sunbeams better and come out for a sail yourself.