The National Swallow Class

The Swallow is a classic light displacement keelboat now normally sailed with a crew of three. The fleet is based at Itchenor where the boats are kept on swinging moorings near the Club jetties.

Fast, simple and beautiful, the Swallow is successfully raced by a mix of crew weights and ages. Twenty-five active boats enjoy class racing in Chichester Harbour held every weekend during the March to October BST season. There is also informal Wednesday evening racing from May to September. Outside the Harbour, the Class Championship weekend is often hosted by an Isle of Wight sailing club while Cowes Classic Week, with 14 Swallows on the start line in 2019, is becoming increasingly popular.

Click here to see the new National Swallow Class website.

In 1946 Tom Thornycroft designed the Swallow as the new light displacement low cost two-man keelboat for the 1948 London Olympics.The sailing events were held at Torbay and the gold medal for the Swallow Class was won for GBR by Stewart Morris, the International 14 dinghy sailor, and David Bond, both from Itchenor SC.

The hull, constructed in GRP since the mid-seventies, is 7.8m long (25.5ft) with a beam of 1.7m (5.5ft), a draft of 1.1m (3.5ft) and a low freeboard.Weight is 1,022kg excluding sails, portable equipment and crew. The one-design sail plan was most recently updated in 2010. Sail area is 22sqm plus a 25sqm spinnaker which makes for a lively planing performance off-wind in a decent breeze.

Owing its Olympic heritage, the Swallow is a National Class. Class rules and measurement are subject to regulation by the RYA and administration is undertaken by The National Swallow Class Association (NSCA).

We are keen to attract sailors into the Swallow fleet and guests are always most welcome.The Swallow is ideal for those who wish to transition from racing dinghies and enjoy exciting and competitive keelboat racing in the Harbour. Crewing opportunities are readily arranged (contact the ISC Swallow Team or search the crew finder), shares in existing boat syndicates are available and there are boats for sale.A lively social programme is part of the Swallow calendar.

For more details please contact the Class Captain, Andrew Reid.

See also: Swallow Racing Programme / Swallow News

Crew Available / Crew Wanted

If you're available to crew a boat or looking for crew for your boat, why not try our integrated Crew Finder in the Members Area!

If you're available to crew:

1. Log on to the ISC website.
2. In the Members Area, scroll down to the Crew Finder section and click on "Crew available".
3. Click on "update your availability", input the relevant information and click update at the bottom.
4. You're now visible and contactable via the Crew available list, you can also go to the crew wanted section and click on View all recent listings to see if there is anyone that may suit your needs.

If you're looking for crew:

1. Log on to the ISC website.
2. In the Members Area, scroll down to the Crew Finder section and click on "Crew wanted".
3. Click on "update your crew requirements".
4. Click on the boat you require a crew for.
5. Click on "Crew Finder" and select "Yes, I am looking for crew for my boat", input the relevant information and click update at the bottom.
6. This will now be displayed in the crew wanted area of the website for people to view, you can also go to the crew available section to see if there is anyone that may suit your crewing needs.

Last updated 11:01 on 29 November 2023