Foundation of the Lymington Sailing Club:


The Paddle Steamer "Solent"

The Prime Movers:

By the autumn of 1921, sailors on the Lymington River had ceased to eye each other with curiosity. They hailed each other in passing, until, eventually, names and addresses were exchanged.

There was on the water, a Royal Yacht Squadron member, a Major Cyril Potter, O.B.E., who owned several boats. He lived in a house called 'Blake's', which had been re-named 'Ferry Point', and he invited to his house anyone who was interested in forming a club. The proposal was unanimously endorsed by the four ladies and six men present. By the spring of 1922, The Lymington River Sailing Club was re-created - some eight years after it had lapsed.

The aim of the club was to provide regular racing between June and September for a Handicap class, the Solent Sea Birds and the Prams. The subscription was a guinea a year or ten shillings for those living outside a ten-mile radius from Lymington Church. The first gun of the first race was fired on Saturday, June 3rd, 1922.

Early Days of Racing:

Though the Prams had raced together in 1914, no keel boats had as yet appeared for organised racing. The summer of 1922 saw, in addition to the Prams, the regular racing of a Handicap class. The start-line was from Major Potter's motor cruiser, Wendy. whose skipper, another Captain Harper, fired a shot-gun into the air. The year 1922 also brought into the river a new 18ft. sloop-class boat, the Solent Sea Bird. Built at Cowes for £80, complete, they were stiff, good sea-boats, and delightful to handle.

On August 16th, the highlight of the year was the Lymington Town Regatta in which not only the L.R.S.C. boats, but many visitors competed. Present also was the Lymington Rowing Club, which had always been an enthusiastic supporter of the Regatta. The year ended with high hopes: membership stood at eighty-five and the search for a club-house had begun.

The Coastguard Boathouse:

The Coastguard had for a long time maintained a boathouse and slipway at the end of Bath Road, on the right bank of the river. The site was owned by the Lymington Council but in 1923 the lease was transferred to the newly formed L.R.S.C. In April, 1923, the Club took over the boathouse. To mark the circumstance, the L.R.S.C. held its first regatta on August 25th.

The members turned-to with a will to transform the premises. Metamorphosis took place and the sparse shed soon became an attractive clubhouse.