RS Elite Background

'Elite racing is fantastic, the boat is fantastic. We are all having a ball!!!!' - Johnnie James, Royal Burnham YC

Twelve boats were ordered from Hayling Island Sailing Club syndicates and a Class Association was formed to represent the interests of initial and future owners, both at HISC and elsewhere.
The fleet is promoted as the 'Modern, classic keelboat for the discerning sailor’. It is non hiking, and although fast, it is not a sportsboat. When drawing up the specification for the boat it was labelled as a ‘classic for the 21st Century’. This has undoubtedly been achieved.

The design brief was for a boat which was suitable to sail inside Chichester harbour, with its shoal waters and yet to be equally at home in Hayling Bay (often very choppy), and similar waters throughout the UK and beyond.

Since its beginnings in 2004 the enthusiasm for the boat has spread within the UK and beyond. There are now fleets at the Royal Burnham Yacht Club, Falmouth, Northern Ireland (Belfast Lough) and there are groups of boats in Guernsey, Lymington, Holland, Norway, Sweden and the Caribbean. In total over 50 boats have been built as at early 2008.