Every year the Sea View Yacht Club, home of the Seaview Mermaids charter fleet, welcomes over 2,000 guest sailors who delight in racing our fleet of 13 identical 26-foot keelboats.
Your clients, your management team, or other guests will enjoy an exceptional racing or cruising experience, followed by first-rate onshore hospitality. We provide the boats, the sailing race courses,necessary race officials and boatmen who ensure your sailing experience is professionally delivered. Experienced helms from SeaView Yacht Club can also act as skippers for less-experienced charterers. The clubhouse offers full catering and business meeting facilities.
Mermaids have been afeature of Seaview and Solent waters for over 100 years. Each painted in a unique colour, they continue to look the part as classic, but modern Solent racing keelboats. The Seaview Mermaid is a 26-foot half-open keelboat, displacing 1.5 tonnes suitable for 2 to 4 crew.
Buoyancybuilt into the hulls makesthe boatsinherently safe.TheSeaView Yacht Club uniquely benefits from having its race courses just below the battlements of its clubhouse, so there is no lost time in sailing to the start line,and the spectating is superb.
OUR HISTORY
Mermaids have racedat Seaviewfor over acentury,the first fleet of gaff-rigged boatswere built in 1907. Thesewerereplacedin1922byamoremodernBermudan-rig boatwith the designcarried out bythe famousCaptainAlfred Westmacott. Elevenof thesewere built at Woodnutt’s Yardin nearby St.Helens.
At the end of the SecondWorld War, amember hadthe idea that SVYC should buy the fleet from the various owners and charter them out to the sailing associations of the returning military forces. Mermaid chartering was born and now the Club is unique in offering a fleet of identical competitive keelboats for racing events.
The entire wooden planked fleet was replaced in the early 60’s with a modified design that was more seaworthy and built in cold moulded plywood with aluminium spars.
During the 1990’s, the 10 wooden Mermaids were replaced again with GRP hulls moulded from a 1962 hull, thereby retaining the heritage of the older fleet - there are now 13 boats, multi coloured and still very identical in performance for exceptional one designracing.
OUR TEAM
FREDDIE
Freddie Smith, Assistant Head Boatman and Mermaid Charter Manager, hails from Seaview and truly has salt in his veins. With his passion for the sea, Freddie ensures that every charter day is seamlessly organized and executed, making your experience both smooth and memorable. He’s always here to help bring your day together
"As someone who lives and breathes the sea, I take pride in ensuring every charter is unforgettable, with smooth sailing from start to finish."
JON
Jon hasworked with us for 20 years, and loves the fact the Mermaids are all identical and therefore no matter which boatyou draw you still havethe samechance of winning!
‘I love sailing the Mermaids singlehanded with the spinnaker up and I also love seeing the enjoyment charterers getwhilst sailing the Mermaids too!’
NICK
Since 1999 Nick has been the custodian of the Mermaid fleet. As head boatman at SVYC Nick spends lots of time on the water. Nick is a keen sailor who has completed a trans-Atlantic crossing.
‘The boats all perform the same, despite what sailors say, they’re beautiful boats andI’m very proud of the Mermaid fleet’
WHY CHOOSE US
Packages for 12 - 100+ sailors
Total event management
Bespoke onshore hospitality
packages Full meeting facilities
Exceptional keelboat racing
The best team fun on the solent!
START YOUR EXPERIENCE EARLY, WITH AN EVENING AT THE CLUB BEFORE YOUR CHARTER Optional
Drinks and canapés in the early eveningsunafter arriving at the Club on the decking.
Arrive at the Club to enjoy a delicious dinner. Choose from one of our exceptional menus, and dine while taking in the views over the solent from our upper race deck or downstairs deckingarea.
Have exclusive use of an area of the Club for your company / group to enjoy,with top tier hospitality treatmentwith agreatbaranddrinks menu!
Depart to accommodation for the evening.
BEGINNING OF MERMAID ADVENTURE
Breakfast and coffee with asafety briefing.
(For those not sailing – selection of land and sea based activities, from paddleboarding to paintballing or yoga).
Transport to Mermaids by RIB to rig up the boats with help from our qualifiedsailing team if necessary.
Partakein asmanymorning racesasyou wish!
Takeabreak for lunch andreturn to Club by RIB.
REFUEL AND RETURN TO THE RACING
Get awell-deserveddrink from thebar, andenjoyadeliciouslunchcooked by our experienced kitchen team. This canrange from abespoke BBQ or paella,to amore formal sit down lunch.
Return to Mermaids by RIB and complete races 4-6.
Return to shoreby RIB.
Enjoy afternoon tea with prize giving andfor some,gloating!
FINISH YOUR EXPERIENCE IN STYLE
After returning to youraccommodation,getpreparedfor anotherincredible dinner andevening at the Club.
Braised Chicory with Ratatouille,Rocket Salad,BasilDressing and ParmesanCrisp (v/gf)
DESSERTS
Vanilla Crème Brulée with Shortbread (v)
Dark chocolate tart,crystalised orange andrich vanilla IsleofWight ice cream (v)
IOW Cheese with Celery,Apple andOnion Chutney (v)
HEAR FROM OUR CLIENTS ABOUT THEIR CHARTERING EXPERIENCE
“I also just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who was helping us at the club – Marcus, Jon, Nick, Alice and all the lovely bar women and men. They were absolutely amazing and were great at helping us accommodate everyone. Sea View is an amazing Yacht club and every single person there is an absolute treasure. My Managing Director made a point of saying how excellent you all were so I thought I’d relay that!”
- Overbury
“It couldn’t have been any better for us if we’d tried.Weather was perfect, the Sea View hospitality was as good as ever, the boats were in great condition and the Jenny boats did their thing perfectly. Please pass on my thanks to all the team… Jonbeing his usual professional and friendly self and Nick and the team having done such a great job of keeping the boats so well throughout the season and ferrying us about so efficiently. One of our “forever” skippers was stood with me on the Jenny boat on the way back and noted the continued smiles, chat and laughter and said that it really doesn’t get tired does it! On that basis you’d better give me a date for next year and we’ll get it in the diary!! Very best wishes and thanks to you and all the team.”
- Amiri Construction
“I have raced in Seaview Mermaids on two occasions and know them to be an exciting and challenging boat for the experienced sailor, whilst providing an excellent platform for training all levels of sailor.“
