Introduction to the Solent Section

The Solent is a unique local cruising area enjoyed by yachting and boating people for generations. There are many creeks and harbours suitable for deep or shoal draft craft and for those that can take the ground. The Solent has extremes from a quiet beauty to a busy commercial bustle. Often busy in the summer on fine weekends, excellent sailing can be enjoyed during the week even at high season, and especially out of season or when the weather makes offshore sailing too uncomfortable.

Cruising Association members enjoying the Solent may be just ‘shaking down’ before the season’s cruise to foreign shores, or maybe they won’t be cruising away this year. Others may have done their long distance cruising and now just wish to enjoy the Solent, or maybe it’s work or family commitments that are restricting distance sailing.

The Solent Section is active and friendly, with a series of summer meets or rallies and a winter programme of nautical interest lectures with ‘club’ suppers. Members who attend events include not only those who live around the Solent area, but also those who may live at a distance away but keep their boats in the Solent. The venues for the winter lectures are at one of the Solent based yacht clubs. The winter lectures are very popular. In the summer, the weekend rallies or ‘Meets’ go to a Solent harbour and there is dining on the Saturday evening at a yacht club or other hostelry.

The Section has seasonal newsletters and news items are published in the quarterly CA Cruising magazine. The Section news and programme are also published on the CA website, all of which help keep Section members up to date with what is going on. We welcome new members and encourage them to volunteer to help with the running of the Section such as writing-up an event for the magazine, or organising an event. There are other options to be involved that help new members get to know other members and can enjoy give something back to the CA.

Any CA member who is keen to support the section by taking part in the activities of the Solent Section, by attending the meetings on the programme can join the section, for no additional cost. Please make yourself known to the Section Secretaries by calling or by e-mail or just arrive at your first event and introduce yourself.