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 bi-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 several meetings and cruises which
take place in different parts of the country. See the Forum for information
of what is currently planned.
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.
Click to see a great Video of SII Joanna in action!
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