Stromness Sailing Club

Stromness Sailing Club Stromness Sailing Club is a friendly club based at Ness slip in the South end of Stromness harbour, close to Stromness Golf Club.

The membership of Stromness SC comprises a mixture of dinghy sailors who race during the summer season and others who sail just for fun. The main class of dinghy raced is the Snipe and around thirteen of them are based at the Club. Having a principal class ensures that there is good racing but other classes are also welcome and handicap racing can be provided. For more information about racing click on the Club Racing link on the Club web site. New Members are welcome and information about membership fees are given on the Membership page on the Club web site. If you do not have your own boat you might consider offering your services as crew. Some skippers have regular crews but others have to settle for picking up whoever is available or not sail at all. If you are not already experienced, crewing is a good way to learn the ropes and gain confidence in a boat. Building up a stable partnership between skipper and crew helps to improve competitiveness. Crews also have their own points series and the Club aims to offer one Crew Race each Thursday evening, weather permitting. Although Stromness SC is not itself a training establishment, several members are trained RYA Instructors and able to provide basic training for youngsters and to assist new members. A small group of youngsters is currently undergoing basic training in this way. For those who wish to progress to courses that lead to RYA certification, this can be arranged through Orkney SC in Kirkwall which is a recognised RYA Training Establishment.

It's been a great weekend through in Kirkwall at the Ilca Intercounty, where 21 competitors took part!Our very own Conor...
31/08/2026

It's been a great weekend through in Kirkwall at the Ilca Intercounty, where 21 competitors took part!
Our very own Conor Gilmour, Patrick Verzele and Toby Bennett took part with a couple of 4th places and one 3rd place, to try and get points for the Orkney team!
We'd like to thank our rescue boat crews who were Geordie and Paula on Saturday, and Mark and Tony on the Sunday.
It took a fair bit of organising and comitment to get the fleet of ILCAs from Stromness, Holm, Longhope and Rousay, and we are very thankful for Orkney Ferries and its crew's who helped us out geting them across from the isles! Much appreciated!
Here's to 2028 which will possibly be held in Shetland.
See the post bellow and Orkney sailing clubs page for more info.
Congratulations to the Shetland team who won the Intercounty!
Sailingfast
RYA Scotland

The UK team- Mark Taylor, along with our friends from south- Lloyd Roberts who is crewing for Mark, aswell as Kay and Pa...
23/08/2026

The UK team- Mark Taylor, along with our friends from south- Lloyd Roberts who is crewing for Mark, aswell as Kay and Patrick is currently in Norway at the Snipe Master European Championships! It is a premier international sailing regatta, open to skipper's typically aged 45 and older categorized into divisions like Apprentice Master, Master, Grand Master, and Master legend.
There is 45 dinghies competing, which makes a busy start line and good competitive sailing!
There are some top sailors from around Europe, some of whom are, or have been top in the world.
We wish Mark and Lloyd all the best!

13/08/2026

Burray Regatta 2026

Notice of Race
Saturday 15th August at the Boatyard,
Burray Village.
Organised by Holm Sailing Club.
Racing Rules of Sailing 2025/2028.
All competing boats must have 3rd party insurance.

Eligible Classes
1. Snipe Dinghy, 2. Handicap Dinghies (PY lower than 1170 inc ILCA 6/7), 3. Hobiecat 18, 4. Yoles/Skiffs,

Timetable

Registration 09.00
Briefing for Safety Boats and mark laying 09.15hrs
Briefing for Competitors 09.40hrs
Schedule subject to change on the day
Start 1 Snipes and Handicap, 10.30hrs Cats.10.35hrs Yoles. 10.40hrs

Start 2 Snipes and Handicap 11.30hrs Cats. 11.35hrs - Yoles 11.40hrs

Ashore 12.45hrs approx.
Please bring your own refreshments.
RNLI Funday Raft Race

Start 3 Snipes and Handicap 14.00 hrs Cats. 14.05hrs - Yoles 14.10 hrs
Start 4 Snipes and Handicap 14.50 hrs Cats. 14.55hrs - Yoles 15.00 hrs
Prize Giving 4.30 pm approx.

All timings and classes subject to change in the light of conditions on the day.
Entry Fee £20 per boat plus £5 for each person on board

⛵️ Thumper 27782 is heading to the UK Nationals tonight! Helmsman Ewan Sinclair and crewman Lee Clouston has only sailed...
05/08/2026

⛵️ Thumper 27782 is heading to the UK Nationals tonight!
Helmsman Ewan Sinclair and crewman Lee Clouston has only sailed together a few times this year, but have worked hard together in both light and strong conditions.
It's Lee's first time at a national event, and is keen on meeting other folk in the Snipe fleet, and being amongst a fleet of top UK Sailors down in England.
This will be Ewan’s second time, and is hoping 🤞 to get into the top half of the fleet! He came 41st out of 49 boats 2 years ago at the Nats/European Cup with Iolo Jones as crew, which was his first year as a Helm and Iolo's first year sailing.
To compete and do well at any Regatta, especially the nationals, you have to work as a team and make no mistakes! Tidal curents, small-big windshifts, wind speed changes, altering control lines to change gear, and other boats playing tactics against you within the fairly complex sailing rules is what makes sailing the best sport in the world! 💪😎
Thanks to NorthLink Ferries for sponsoring their trip! It is greatly appreciated and makes a big difference in travel costs!


StromnessOrkney

04/08/2026

We have had a fantastic 3 day summer camp as part of the Well done to all the participants and we hope to see you all on the water again soon! Maybe even for Kirkwall regatta tomorrow 🤔

Some of our friends from the Snipe fleet down south came up for a week or two to compete in our regattas, also Lloyd Rob...
31/07/2026

Some of our friends from the Snipe fleet down south came up for a week or two to compete in our regattas, also Lloyd Roberts did some training with ourselves and sailors from Holm while he was up, which we are very grateful for!
The Snipe sailing dinghy was designed in 1931, and has a strong fleet around the world who are very welcoming! The Snipe motto "serious sailing, serious fun", really lives up to the name.
It is a classic looking 2 person dinghy, where tuning and adjusting controls, in line with the wind strength, direction and sea state, can make you go faster!
It is also a great dinghy to learn how to sail in as a crew as it is fairly comfortable.
5 years until the Snipe fleet turns 100 years old! ⛵️ ⛵️ ⛵️

SnipeToday
Bough Beech Sailing Club
Budworth Sailing Club BSC

Photos of the prize winners from our Regatta. We didn't post earlier due to the loss of one of our members, Willie Macka...
29/07/2026

Photos of the prize winners from our Regatta. We didn't post earlier due to the loss of one of our members, Willie Mackay 😞
A massive thanks to our sponsors Highland Park Wh**ky
Orkney Ferries
E Flett Butcher Ltd
Swannay Brewery
We are hoping it will be a nice breeze in Kirkwall this Saturday for their Regatta ⛵️ ⛵️ ⛵️

22/07/2026

We were all saddened by the sudden death of our friend Willie Mackay, a much-valued friend and longstanding supporter of Stromness Sailing Club, and sailing as a whole. Willie was always around whenever we needed a rescue boat helm, attended most meetings and helped out whenever he could. He will be a huge miss to us as well as the wider community.
Our thoughts are with Willie's family at this sad and difficult time.

Willie’s funeral will take place on Monday 27th July at 2.30pm, at Stromness Parish Church, followed by interment at Stromness Cemetery. The hearse is expected to leave the church at approximately 3.00 pm.

Stromness Regatta 2026 – What a Weekend!A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this year's Stromness Regatta, spon...
16/07/2026

Stromness Regatta 2026 – What a Weekend!
A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this year's Stromness Regatta, sponsored by Highland Park, such a fantastic success.
This year saw the introduction of our new two-day regatta format, with five races held over Saturday and Sunday. A fleet of 25 boats, representing Snipes, ILCAs, handicap dinghies, catamarans and traditional Yoles, launched from Stromness Harbour before making their way across the harbour to committee boat starts in the Bay of Ireland, behind the Holms.
The weather certainly kept everyone on their toes! Saturday's light north-easterly breeze of 3-7 knots, combined with a one-knot tide, made for some challenging tactical sailing, while Sunday's south easterly breeze gradually built from around 4 knots to 10–12 knots for an exciting finish to the weekend.
We're delighted that all five scheduled races were completed, giving competitors a full championship series and some excellent racing across the Snipe, ILCA, Handicap Dinghy, Catamaran and Yole fleets.
It was especially pleasing to welcome sailors from Bough Beech Sailing Club in Kent, and Budworth Sailing Club BSC near Manchester, who made the long journey north to join us. We hope you enjoyed your time in Orkney and look forward to welcoming you back again.
Congratulations to all our race and series winners, and thank you to everyone who took part. Your enthusiasm, sportsmanship and friendly competition made for a memorable weekend on and off the water.
A special thank you goes to our sponsor Highland Park, to Davie and Lorraine Bruce for providing the committee boat, Race Officer Jimmy Clouston and the race management team, our safety boat crews, volunteers, race officials, catering team, and Stromness Golf Club for hosting Saturday's prize giving.
Events like this simply wouldn't happen without the incredible support of our volunteers and members.
We look forward to seeing everyone back on the water soon—and already can't wait for Stromness Regatta 2027!
If you have photographs from the weekend, we'd love to see them—please share them in the comments below!
Photos credit to Harky Hutchison, Lorraine Bruce and Bobby Halcro

Next up, Holm Regatta this Saturday!
⛵️ ⛵️ ⛵️

RYA Scotland Sailingfast SnipeToday

Address

Stromness

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Stromness Sailing Club posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category