Where to sail?

Weston Sailing Club is good - they sail all winter and have good fleets.

They had 7 Contenders out the week befor last - plus a few other boats as well!!

I second Weston. I've heared it has a bad rep for being a bit unfriendly and the club racing is a bit too serious. I bought my 14 from there (GBR1333) and it seemed like a nice club with very active racing. There are 2 older modified/new rules 14's there if I remember but not sure how active they are.

You will need a car to get there since it is a 30min drive from where you are in soton. There really isn't anwaywhere closer.

I wouldn't worry about the 14 being too quick since there are RS800's, 700's and other high performance kit around though you might be the fastest boat downwind . Since you are a student I would look into how much it will cost to keep your 14 there, it may end up being more than the boat cost you after a few years so watch out! A lot of clubs on the south coast are crazy money as I found out when I started looking with long waiting lists for compund spaces.

I kept (and still have) my 14 at Tudor SC in Portsmouth since my sister is at uni there and it is 10mins away. It is a pretty small club and it costs us £50 in total each year + harbour fees to keep the boat there and sail.

Old 14's make great student boats

I found Weston very friendly when I sailed there. They even let me sleep in my van in the dinghy park, nice bacon sarnies too. The pizza place down the road is really bad.  They chucked me out!!