Who We Are

Speedbird Offshore Yacht Club Ltd (SOYC) evolved from the British Airways Yacht Club, becoming wholly independent in 2016. Today we own two yachts located on the River Hamble near Southampton and have an active membership of approximately 300 individuals from all walks of life.SOYC offers its members competitively priced sailing in some of the UK’s most popular waters and the boats leave the dock throughout the year. You do not need to find crew or a skipper. You can just sign up as a novice and have a “taster” day to see if you get hooked.

It is not just about competitively priced sailing because at the same time, as an RYA approved training centre, we also offer the highest quality training around.

From our home port of Mercury Marina you have easy access to the Solent sailing area where you will see views of the Needles to the West and Portsmouth to the East. There are sheltered anchorages, superb scenery, and numerous ports all within easy reach of a day’s sailing such as the Beaulieu River, Lymington and its Town Quay or Yarmouth and Cowes and many others. Further afield, Club boats can sometimes be found on longer trips to Devon, Cornwall, Brighton, Eastbourne and ports Northern France or the Channel Islands. It has been know that a shopping trip to Gunwharf Quay has been fitted in during the lunch stop at Portsmouth.

Recent History of SOYC:

  • 2003 - Concorde, a Bavaria 36, was purchased and is still in service
  • 2006 – the fourth Speedbird, a Bavaria 36C, was purchased.
  • 2009 – SOYC becomes an RYA approved training centre
  • 2011 – a new Speedbird, an Beneteau Oceanis 37 was purchased
  • 2016 - SOYC Ltd separates from BA Clubs and is 100% owned and managed by its members