Chanonry Sailing Club

26/01/2026

Lovely Burns supper last night. Huge thanks to Anatole, Emma, George, Craig and Margaret in the galley. Edith and Steve for set up, George M piping, George H address to a haggis, Steve for Tam O'Shanter and Doug and Vint for music.

17/01/2026

We’re very sad to share the news that Joan Maxwell passed away peacefully on Thursday morning.

Joan was a longstanding and much-loved member of Chanonry Sailing Club, joining in the mid-1960s. She sailed and raced dinghies and cruisers, but above all she was passionate about encouraging young people into sailing and racing. Many sailors and coaches will have fond memories of Joan as a coach, mentor, and tireless supporter of youth sailing.

She had a remarkable memory and a deep interest in the history of the Club, and in later years she was rightly made an Honorary Member and led the club as Commodore in 1984 and 1985.
Joan influenced far more of us than we probably realised at the time — her enthusiasm, encouragement, and commitment made a lasting difference.

If you have photos or memories of her, please do share them.

Our thoughts are with Joan’s family and all who knew her.

Funeral details will follow once available.

Photograph: Club Prizegiving Dec 2018
RE

27/11/2025

Annual General Meeting and Prize Giving
Friday 5 December at 7pm

All members are welcome to attend our AGM and Prize Giving. This is a great opportunity to reflect on the past year and look forward to the future. We will also celebrate the achievements of members taking part in sail racing and supporting the club. We’ll have some light refreshments after the AGM and it’s a great chance to catch up with other members. This is also a great opportunity to enjoy the company of other club members new and old, in a relaxed social setting.

24/11/2025

Chanonry Sailing Club features in this news from the North Highland Initiative. We were delighted to secure a Community Infrastructure Support Programme grant to appoint a Technical Partner to assess the condition of the east slipway and to propose a realistic, costed programme of work to renovate, and if possible enhance it. Thank you NHI!

As the temperatures begin to drop and the nights are drawing in, we're reflecting on where our funding has helped and had impact.

03/09/2024

Chanonry Sailing Club Open Dinghy Regatta is this weekend! (7th & 8th September)

Loads of reasons to get involved, including:

⛵️Plenty of excellent racing over both days
🍰Great social opportunity to meet and chat to other members, and visitors
☀️Weather forecast for the weekend looks fab – dry, nice breeze, possibly even some sunshine!
⛵️New this year – special races for anyone new to racing (juniors and adults) – everyone is welcome to give racing a try.

➡️The event kicks off with a sailor's briefing: 12:00 on Saturday.
➡️Full details, notice of race, and entry forms at: chanonry.org.uk/dinghy-regatta
➡️Get in touch with any questions: [email protected]

21/06/2024

Reminder, Chanonry Sailing Club Fun Day, Saturday 22nd June, 12.00 -16.00

We’re delighted welcome the North Kessock Life Boat who’ll be visiting from 12-2, and the Sea Safety Officer will be on hand to tell you everything you want to know about water safety

Plus, we’re running taster sessions all afternoon for Dinghy Sailing and Coastal Rowing. And, we've got some lovely refreshments to enjoy in the club house.

Pop along to Fortrose Harbour anytime 12-4. See you there!

A glimpse of some of the activities at Chanonry Sailing Club, shot at one of our Fun Days in 2021

09/06/2024

➡️Date for your diary: Midsummer Fun Day, 😀Saturday 22nd June. Fortrose Harbour 12:00 – 16:00 🚣‍♀️⛵️

➡️Open to everyone. Taster sessions running all afternoon – no need to book, just drop in and have a shot of coastal rowing or dinghy sailing.🚣‍♀️⛵️

➡️Taster sessions are not charged for, but we are inviting donations towards club funds, which helps us get people of all ages out on the water.

➡️Or if swimming is your thing, come and join us, there's great access to the water, and hot showers!

➡️Light refreshments will be available in the Clubhouse🍰🫖☕

06/02/2024

Blue-sea Thinking - 22 February, 7pm
Join us in the clubhouse for a fascinating talk by Dr Francis Williams - Project Biologist, Moray Ocean Community.
Both oysters and seagrass used to be abundant in the Firths around Scotland and across the wider North Sea region. Francis will outline the historic extent of these species in the Beauly, Inverness and Cromarty Firths compared to the current distribution. He'll discuss what Moray Ocean Community (a volunteer marine citizen-science group) is doing to restore oysters and how they aim to aid the recovery of seagrass meadows in the local area.
Please signup so we have an idea of numbers at https://teamup.com/event/show/id/EpnFBZbQ1KdCpfesTroY2fKbS8289f . Non-members welcome.

30/01/2024

Congratulations to member Mandie Cran on her new role. What a fantastic job all the RNLI volunteers do. Thank you.

This is Mandie, and we are very pleased to announce that Mandie is the first female launch authority here at Kessock Lifeboat Station.

We asked Mandie why she signed up and her response was

“ In 1978, an oil rig Orion broke free from her tow in a Force 10 and went aground on the west coast of Guernsey, it was so close to the beach that the local TV cameras recorded the entire rescue, as the boat pitched in huge breaking waves to rescue those on board just feet from the beach. The cox was awarded the Silver Medal for bravery. Growing up on the islands of Mull and Sark meant that we were all very aware of the sacrifices that the lifeboat crew made but until then I hadn’t realised just what that really meant and to this day those images are engraved on my mind. I have therefore always had a huge respect for the RNLI and would have liked to join - but I joined the Army for 34 years, where not only did I have a very busy life as an engineering officer but was often away skippering offshore expeditions and teaching sailing. I have sailed all my life and knowing that there are people who are prepared to go out in all conditions to save those they don’t know, has always been hugely reassuring.
We returned to Scotland two years ago, and I now work as an RYA sailing instructor at Compass Sea School in Inverness, I also do coastal rowing and the safety boat at Chanonry Sailing Club; when I heard they were looking for Launch Authorities I thought that finally I could support the lifeboat and give something back for all the reassurance they have given me over the years. Throughout my career I was always the first female in a role, so being the first female Launch Authority feels completely normal! “

The Launch Authority’s role is to ensure it’s safe for the volunteer crew to launch on a rescue. This involves checking tidal information, weather forecasts and the rescue itself. If it’s unsafe, our volunteer crew will not be authorised to launch.

Thank you Mandie, and good luck in your role.

18/09/2023

What a great day at the Club Fun Day on Sunday, with loads of people getting out on the water, enjoying sailing, rowing and paddleboarding.

Thanks to everyone to came along, supported the event and gave generous donations towards club funds. We’ve raised over £700, which will help us provide even more opportunities to get people of all ages out on the water in the future.

Massive thanks as well, to all our amazing volunteers who kept everyone fed and watered, ran the table stalls, managed the car park, organised everyone, transferred people out to dinghies, and introduced people to rowing, sailing and paddleboarding.

Finally, we were delighted to announce the name of our new club boat, the RS Quest. With over 100 votes cast, the winning name is….Mara. We remain very grateful to The Gordon & Ena Baxter Foundation who supported the purchase of this boat.

We had a blast, and we hope everyone enjoyed the day. If you want to know more about what we do, check out www.chanonry.org.uk

(Thanks to Sandra, Claire and Gordon for the photos.)