Meet The Training Team
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Marisa Astill-Brown:
Senior Instructor I took up sailing properly in 2010 when I attended the RYA Level 1 and 2 courses being run here at Chanonry Sailing Club. I bought my first boat (Topaz – yes, really!), and a couple of years later I bought my current boat (Europe). I’ve enjoyed instructing kids and adults at Chanonry – it’s just great seeing folks enjoying themselves on the water and becoming more skillful as the summer progresses! I’m looking forward to continuing to engage with our members, young and less young, on the water. |
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Mike Wilson:
Chief Instructor (Power) I have been an active sailing member of the club since 2011 and prior to that completed RYA 1&2 at the club in the '80's. I enjoy sailing and volunteering for duties in equal measure. My occupational background is as a forester and arborist and work now for SSE Transmission in an IT role developing our GIS mapping system. |
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Chris Taylor:
Chief Instructor (Dinghy), Senior Instructor My first experience of sailing was racing Mirrors on the Tay as a child and I have been hooked on water sports ever since - in dinghies, windsurfing, occasional SUP trips and latterly cruising in Scotland and in Scandinavia. I love the buzz you get from sailing, and I enjoy racing at the club in my Solo dinghy. I’ve been a member of club since 2018, and really enjoy meeting and teaching new people - helping people learn new skills and have fun on the water. Looking forward to seeing at the club soon! |
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Richard Jenner:
Senior Dinghy Instructor I dabbled briefly with dinghy sailing in my late teens, crewing a Firefly. I did my various levels in a Wayfarer, and we bought an old Mirror dinghy which we raced for a couple of years at Peterhead. I did my RYA Day Skipper practical and then the Coastal Skipper as well as a raft of shorebased courses (Yachtmaster, Short Range Certificate, RYA First Aid, RYA Radar, RYA Diesel Engine etc). I gained experience sailing on the south coast of England, the western Baltic, and the Dutch inland waters. We moved to the Black Isle in December 2003 and joined Chanonry Sailing Club. These days I’m sailing a Streaker and enjoy the view of the fleet, mainly ahead, when racing. |
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Helen Jenner:
Power Boat Instructor, Assistant Dinghy Instructor I joined the Club twenty years ago shortly after moving to the area. I greatly enjoy sailing my Streaker dinghy, although only in lighter winds these days. When not sailing, I am happy to be on the safety boat and enjoy teaching our safety volunteers and helping out with the dinghy courses. I am currently also the Membership Secretary so you may have been chased up by me to renew your Club membership! |
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Willie McLeod:
Senior Instructor, Powerboat Instructor I'm a Senior Instructor (Dingy) and a Powerboat Instructor. I've been a Senior Instructor since 2004 and Power Boat Instriuctor since 2007. I've taught in the outdoors for 22 years and also coach Adaptive Skiing, Canoeing, Sup, Kayak, and many other activities. I am currently Active Schools Coordinator for the Dingwall cluster and I have much more time to play at doing the things I used to be paid to do! I look forward to meeting you at one of the club activities. |
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Jen Babb:
Senior Instructor I learnt to sail in my early twenties as part of an internship, working for a holiday company on the Greek island of Samos. I did my instructor training that same year, teaching dinghy sailing in Greece and Turkey the following years. Having been spoilt by learning to sail in the warmth of the Med, I wasn’t sure I’d continue with it back in the UK! But I love being out on the water and getting to teach others so they can enjoy it too, and so I’ve decided the faff with wetsuits is definitely worth it! |
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James Nicholson:
Senior Instructor I joined Chanonry in late 2023. I originally learned to sail at Exe Sailing Club, Devon, where I volunteered for 10 years as an instructor and raced mostly Lasers and RS200. More recently I have raced 707s and sailed bigger boats on the west coast (my favourite race being the annual Scottish Islands Peaks race!). I currently hold the RYA Senior Instructor and Coastal Skipper certificates, as well as various other outdoor leadership qualifications, and I am looking forward to getting more involved with training and racing at the club. |
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Calum Pearson:
Dinghy Instructor I first learned to sail at Findhorn as a boy and on returning to the north in 2013 picked up sailing again at Chanonry and love it. I particularly like day sailing or cruising for a wee bit of adventure. See you out on the water. |
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Oliver Bull:
Dinghy Instructor, Race Coach (Level 2) |
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Graham Bull:
Dinghy Instructor, Powerboat Instructor, Race Coach (Level 2) |
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Steven Guthrie:
Dinghy Instructor I learned to sail at Haversham Sailing Club in Buckinghamshire in 2019, and sailed there for three years, volunteering as an assistant instructor, before qualifying as dinghy instructor in 2022. I joined Chanonry Sailing Club in June 2023 following relocation back to Scotland and absolutely love sailing at Chanonry. |
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James Dargie:
Powerboat Instructor I joined the Club in 2015. My first sailing experiences were in a Mirror dinghy a long time ago, and some RYA cruising qualifications back in the 1990s. Then I bought a Hunter Sonata and sailed it up to Scotland from Wales as a maiden voyage in 2010. If you see a cruiser messing it up, it is probably me. My professional background is as a marine data manger in the public sector where I have worked with GIS and databases for too long. |
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Simon Hammock:
Power Boat Instructor Married to Trine and together with our children Shay and Becky we live in Fortrose. I have been messing about on the water from a very young age and enjoy getting out on anything that floats whenever I get the time. I particularly enjoy dinghy sailing but also like to get out on the powerboats and larger yachts from time to time if the opportunity arises. I’m very fortunate to enjoy my work as crew on the Coastguard Helicopter based in Inverness. |