HYC Active Fleets
The Houston Yacht Club has several active fleets that provide opportunities for racing at various levels of competition in different types of boats.
The Melges 15 is celebrated for its cutting-edge design and unmatched performance characteristics, earning its reputation as a high-performance racing dinghy. Its wide, flat hull and advanced sail plan are engineered for speed and stability, allowing the boat to excel in both light winds and heavy air. With exceptional upwind pointing ability and exhilarating downwind planing, the Melges 15 delivers a thrilling experience for competitive racers. The boat's quick responsiveness and precise handling make it a favorite among seasoned sailors, while its intuitive design ensures accessibility for those new to the sport. Built with durability and performance in mind, the Melges 15 provides an unmatched combination of speed, agility, and reliability. These attributes have made it a cornerstone of HYC's efforts to inspire enthusiasm and growth in the sailing community.
Ensign 
The Ensign is the largest class of full keel sailboats in North America, with over 2000 boats manufactured since 1962. As a family day sailor, the Ensign has a large, deep cockpit, with enough room to comfortably seat six to eight adults. The helm has a nice feel on all points of sail, and the boat has a versatile head sail inventory, including a working jib, a blade, #2 and #1 genoas, and a spinnaker. The Ensign is 22 and 1/2 feet long, weighs about 3,000 pounds, and is best raced with a crew of four. Favored by former dinghy sailors and cruisers alike, it has no life lines and therefore many dinghy techniques (hiking, roll tacking, etc) can be used effectively. Racing is very close, strategic and tactical, with older boats performing just as well as the newer ones.
The J/22 has a comfortable self-bailing cockpit with 7 ft. long seats and room for 4-6 people in the cabin to escape the rain or cold. It is built for safety with buoyancy tanks and offshore hatches. Her 700 lb. lead keel lowers the center of gravity, creating nearly 1700 foot pounds of righting moment at 90 degrees of heel. There are over 1,650 J/22's now sailing in 65 active fleets in eighteen countries on three continents.
The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two straight settees in the main cabin. The galley is located on the starboard side just aft of the bow cabin. The head is located just aft of the bow cabin on the starboard side stowed under a table. The J/24 class has more than 50,000 people sailing 5,500 boats worldwide; is established in 27 countries with well and is the world's most popular one design keelboat.
