The S.O.I.A. was founded in 1957 with the object of promoting the interests of Silhouettes and similar small craft. 'The Silhouette Owner' our association magazine is posted monthly to members free. It relies for its contents on members' contributions and the editor is always delighted to receive letters, accounts of cruises or hints on maintaining and refurbishing our boats.  Membership
of the S.O.I.A. is world-wide but with the majority of members living and
sailing in the U.K. there are several Regional Groups who organise sailing
and social programmes throughout the year, while for members in more isolated
areas, the journal serves as a lively means of communication. Highlights
of the S.O.I.A. calendar are the Windemere Rally in May, the sailing weekend
at Rutland Water each June, the one week National Rally held at Plymouth
in August and The Broads Weekend in September.
The association is managed by a committee of about fifteen members elected at the Annual General Meeting. It is chaired by the National Commodore and includes the Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer and Hon. Editor, plus representatives of the Regional Groups. There are usually two meetings a year as well as the Annual General Meeting. Unfortunately there are no Silhouettes being built commercially today, and so the nature of the association is somewhat different to what it was in the nineteen seventies, when there were a thousand or so members, many of whom had just acquired new boats and were enjoying the companionship of the S.O.I.A. both on the water and through the journal. Today, there is a balance of interest
between sailing the boats and maintaining, restoring and improving them
and again, the association serves to communicate the experiences of members
and to keep the spirit of Silhouetting alive.
|
