We have decided not to update this post every month, so please follow the link below for the latest Fort George Range Control Firing Times (monthly update):
gov.uk/government/publications/scotland-firing-times#history

We have decided not to update this post as NTM's are issued, so please use the search link below for the latest information: ww.ukho.gov.uk/nmwebsearch/NMsByChartNumber.aspx?filter=1

You need to provide the Admiralty Chart number(s) for the area you are interested in. Those local to the Moray Firth are:

• 1077 - Approaches to Cromarty Firth and Inverness Firth
  
• 1078 - Inverness Firth

As restrictions on sporting activity start to ease-up we plan to start dinghy recreational sailing, initially from Sunday 11 April to Friday 21 May inclusive. During this period sailing has been scheduled for Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons only.

Needless to say, there are T&Cs so please read on………

Members planning to take part need to sign up in advance using the Club calendar - chanonry.org.uk/calendar.html. There will be a limit of 15 people including safety crew. Under the anticipated restrictions sailing in single-handers and crewed dinghies with a single household is allowed. The Club dinghies should be available with the usual T&Cs - chanonry.org.uk/club-dinghies.html. If you want to use a Club dinghy please add a note when you sign up.

These events need safety cover provided by single household crews. If you are able and willing to volunteer, please Signup via the calendar and add “Safety Crew” after your name – many thanks in advance to the volunteers! Launching and recovering the RIBs will be done as last year using a rope and social distancing. If there are not enough people to safely launch and recover a RIB it may be possible to use Meikle instead.

The changing rooms are likely to remain “out of bounds”, however we may be able to use the disabled toilet – in this case members must disinfect surfaces “before and after” using the cleaning materials provided and mask-up indoors.

Hopefully after 21 May it will be possible to resume “formal” racing and coastal rowing as well as recreational sailing. The key will be for adult contact sport to be permitted – watch this space!

See you on the water,

Helen
Club Secretary
[email protected]

Your Club Committee met via Zoom last Monday evening and a number of decisions were made. Some of these are detailed in the following information.

Club development plan working group and member survey
At the last AGM back in December 2019 we made an undertaking to members to initiate a development planning process for the Club. I am very pleased to be able to let you know that this process is now live. We have a working group with 6 members (Chris Taylor, James Dargie, Marisa Astill-Brown, Ollie Bull, Richard Jenner and Sandra Hogg) actioning the process using the RYAS Club Development Framework.

Club development is all about looking at our Club and asking ourselves ‘Could we do better?’, ‘What should we do differently?’ ‘What are the Club’s priorities?’, while aiming to preserve the best of what we do now while making the club sustainable for the future. Making a commitment to improve what we do now can make a massive difference to life at the club.

The working group are focussed on understanding wants and needs; we have already undertaken a fact gathering exercise producing a ‘where we are now’ analysis of membership, activities, people, facilities and access, equipment, good governance and social.

The next especially important step is for the working group to engage with you and find out what your wants and needs are. The first step of our conversation with you is going to be an anonymous member survey - this survey will go live on Friday 20th November and will remain open for two weeks until close of play on Friday 4th December; we will send a link to the survey by email using the email address you have set in Dutyman (if your email address has changed use the “Update your contact details” function in Dutyman).
The views of every member are important to us and we look forward to hearing from you irrespective of how active you are; if you have a family membership, we would ask that each individual in the family completes a separate survey response (if the under 18s are very young you may wish to help them complete their response from their perspective). This really is your opportunity to have your say – please use it.

This is the start of our conversation with you and we want to take you all with us on this journey, we will share an analysis of the survey responses with you in early January, and we will likely be seeking further engagement with groups of members following up on themes that emerge from survey responses. Once we better understand the wants and needs of members, we will take them into account as we shape the Club development plan.

James Dargie, Commodore 

Pre-AGM information. 
The Chanonry Sailing Club AGM 2020 will take place on Friday, 11 December at 7pm. This year will be different and here is some important information on how the meeting will be run so please take the time to read it. Please do take the time to take part in the meeting too. This single meeting will serve as the AGM for both the current association and the SCIO as transition is still on-going.

Under current restrictions on social gatherings we cannot hold a physical meeting. The RYA and the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) have advised that, in the current circumstances, it is acceptable to hold “virtual” meetings therefore this year’s AGM will be held by Zoom.

The formal calling notice for the AGM will be sent out on or before Wednesday 25 November and will contain a link to the Zoom meeting. Many Club members will already be familiar with Zoom. If you are not, it might be a good idea to have a practice before 11 December, perhaps with a friend or family member who already uses Zoom. You do not need a Zoom account to join the meeting but will need the Zoom application downloaded on the device you will use for the meeting, this can be a desktop or laptop computer, tablet/ iPad or smart phone. Although the meeting won’t start until 7pm, Zoom will be “open” for you to join several minutes in advance so that the meeting can start promptly so it would be good if you could “join” about 10 minutes before the start please.

As always nominations will be invited for the Committee, if there are more nominations than vacancies it will be necessary to hold a vote. Nominations must be received no later than Friday, 4 December, either by email or post. We owe thanks for all they have done for the Club in recent years to our Sailing Secretary, Richard Evans, and Social Convenor, Janet Witheridge, who are not seeking re-election. If you feel able to take on either of these roles or any other, please ask members to nominate and second you! If you know a Club member who may be willing, please ask them! There will be information available on these roles and other AGM matters including the Commodore’s and Treasurer’s reports available in good time at chanonry.org.uk/agm-2020.html; you will probably need this year’s password for the members’ area of the website.

At the suggestion of OSCR your SCIO Board is proposing an amendment to the SCIO Constitution to allow for the possibility of “virtual” board and members’ meetings in future. The motion will be included in the AGM calling notice. This will need a vote! We have tried out polling in Zoom for members. It should be easy; at the appropriate time, a voting box will come up on your screen, you just need to tick the appropriate box, the Club Secretary will be able to see the result immediately. Where there are two members eligible to vote (18 years old or over) you should, if practical, join the meeting from different devices, either without a Zoom account or with different accounts, so that each of you will each be able to vote. If this is not practical, one of you could vote by show of hand and the Club will trust you not to have voted electronically as well!

If you have queries about the AGM process please send them to [email protected] and I will do my best to answer them.

Helen Jenner, Club Secretary

Cold Turkey & Race Marks
The final event of the year will be the Cold Turkey on Sunday 27th December with a 12:30 start. Weather permitting we will hold 2 sailing races and the rowing skiffs will be out. The Clubhouse will still be closed apart from one toilet and the Race Office and there will be no social/catering provided. You will probably want to bring along a flask of soup/drink to help keep you warm!

We need volunteers for Race Officer and Safety Duties for the Cold Turkey and for the last Autumn Race Series on the 22 November - use DutyMan to volunteer. Anyone else wishing to participate must Signup using the TEAMUP calendars for sailing or rowing. We also need volunteers for a work partry to lift the race marks after the 27 December. If you think you might be able to help then please let me know via [email protected] and say when you could be available.

While mentioning volunteers the Committee thanks everyone who has done so. Without volunteers the club activity can't function. Thanks too to those who have supported me over a number of years on the the Sailing Subcommittee; most recently Ben Yeats, Peter Smith, Chrissie Lane, Diarmid Hogan and Calum Pearson.
​
Richard Evans, Sailing Secretary 

Happy news! Following the Scottish Government’s announcement on the 20th September we are now able to start rowing again, with suitable mitigation measures in place. The Scottish Coastal Rowing Association has helpfully provided guidance which we’ve used to create our Return to Rowing procedures. These were tested out on 27 August and approved by the committee on 31 August 2020.  
To summarise, coastal rowing activity can now be undertaken, in fixed seat boats, with more than one household, in the context of an Organised Outdoor Contact Sport. The guidance relaxes the 2m physical distancing requirement by the creation of a “field of play bubble”. This effectively suspends the physical distancing guidelines for the duration of the activity. Normal physical distancing guidelines will apply before and after the activity takes place. Only 5 households can meet to row. In practice this means that we will limit each boat to 5 people with no change over of crews permitted.
The procedures also cover hygiene measures and use of face coverings. This is not a return to normal rowing so please make sure you read and understand the Return to Rowing Procedures.
We will start adding sessions from this Wednesday morning, 2 September. If you would like row at a particular time/day then let us know at [email protected]. Crews can also self-organise with the cox adding the session to Teamup.
See you out soon!
Castle to Crane – 5 Miles from Home, 19/20 September
Castle to Crane is normally a mass participation 13 mile row on the Clyde from Dumbarton to Glasgow. We loved taking part last year. This year, due to COVID restrictions, they have organised a five mile time trial, where crews organise their own five mile (8047 metres) course on their home waters and submit their time recorded on an accurate timing app. Entry is free, the challenge is to be completed within a time window on 19 and 20 September.
We can enter as many teams as we like and teams can have more than one go if they want! If you fancy giving it a go please put your name down on Teamup as soon as possible and we'll sort out crews and times that suit. 
Chanonry Maid
While we were unable to row a team led by Steve Bramwell, and including Donnie McLeod and Richard Cherry, gave Chanonry Maid some much needed TLC. She’s been painted and varnished and is raring to go. The trolley has also had a makeover.
The committee also gave us the go ahead to purchase an adaptive rowing seat that will enable people with limited core strength to take part in rowing. Steve is working on the framework for this and once that’s done we look forward to trying it out and supporting more people into rowing.
Best wishes,


Sandra Hogg, Rowing Secretary, Chanonry Sailing Club.
[email protected]
Chanonry Sailing Club, Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation SC049615

Recreational Sailing
Recreational Sailing on Sunday 12th July went down well again - this time 8 boats and perfect conditions. Thanks to Hanako and David Cameron for crewing the RIB and also producing a video - Sunday 12 July Sailing
The Calendar and DutyMan have been updated to show Recreational Sailing on Sundays the 19th and 26th July. Marisa and Jeremy have already volunteered to crew the RIB on the 19th - thank you both - and the duties for the 26th are open to volunteering. 
As we said last week the number of households with members able to crew a RIB is limited. To enable more volunteer resources the Committee has decided to allow those in a household who are not members to volunteer to help where we would otherwise not be able to run events. They will become "Guest" members until the end of this year with a zero subscription fee and would normally fulfill the Assistant Safety Officer role. Prospective Guest members should contact the Membership Secretary at [email protected] to request a Guest membership form.

Informal Racing
You may have noticed reports of clubs running informal "timed lap" racing. The concept is that there is a window of time during which you may sail around a simple course as many times as you like beginning at any time and perhaps in more than one stint during the afternoon. Your elapsed time, number of laps and handicap can be used to evaluate your average corrected lap time; the winner being the person with the lowest corrected time.
I think we could run this with a Race Officer isolated in the Starters' Box and a RIB crewed by one household during the Recreational Sailing sessions on Sundays. More thought is needed on how this would operate, and to avoid manual sign-on, so watch this space.  

Race Mark Refurbishment
We need to refurbished the race marks and tackle so that, depending on the COVID situation, we can lay some or all at short notice. I'd be grateful if you would let me know of your availability between now and the end of July to refurbish tackle and paint mark letters . I suggest Saturday 18 and 25 July or midweek days if some can do that. We will respect COVID guidance and I think we should be able to do this without breaking the 2m rule. A face covering would be worth bringing along just in case.
 
Richard Evans, Sailing Secretary
[email protected]

​The trial recreational sailing session on Sunday 5th July went down well judging by the feedback from Richard Jenner. 5 out of the 6 boats signed up in TEAMUP took to the water for about an hour; Helen and Richard crewed the RIB. The launch and recovery worked well and everyone managed their personal distancing.
Based on that experience the Committee has agreed the following:

1. The main limiting factor for how often we can support sailing is the number of households that could crew a RIB; we think we have perhaps five. If your household can volunteer please reply to this message with details as soon as you can.
2. We don't expect to be able to programme more than one RIB supported event per week and have chosen Sunday afternoons but will avoid very low tides when RIB retrieval is difficult. Check the Club Calendar which may change at short notice - the next session is this Sunday, 12 July at 14:00. 
3. SIGNUP for individal event is required using TEAMUP via the Club Calendar. Depending on what the SG says this week and the subsequent guidance from RYA Scotland, we might have to limit the number of households that can SIGNUP.
4. We are now permitted to open toilets but NOT changing rooms or club communal areas.
   1. Access is now permitted for one person at a time to the disabled toilet or race office.
   2. Do not enter the clubhouse if the main door is already open but wait at a distance until the occupant has departed. On entering leave the door open.
   3. Use hand sanitizer on entry and before exit. There is a hand sanitizer station in the entry lobby and disinfectant and blue paper towel in both the race office and disabled toilet together with pedal bins. 
   4. Disinfect and wipe down surfaces before and after contact and dispose of towels in a pedal bin.
   5. Leave the small window in the disabled toilet open.
   6. Close the main door on departure and if you are the only person on site lock the main door.

We have developed Recreational Sailing Guidelines that must be adhered to. 
The Committee will communicate again soon as we learn more about the next steps in the relaxation of the lockdown situation.


Richard Evans, Sailing Secretary
[email protected]

Return to Boating Phase 2The lockdown restrictions now make it possible to programme Recreational Sailing supported by a RIB. The Committee are keen to trial implementation of physical distancing and hygiene at the club within the ongoing restrictions and have developed the following trial arrangements.  
Recreational Sailing Trial 5th JulyA trial recreational sailing session very much like our Recreational Sailing on Friday evenings is scheduled for the afternoon of 5 July to test how practical it is for Members to keep to the Scottish Government (SG) physical distancing and hygiene requirements, including single manning of boats and RIBS (unless a single household is involved).
We are individually responsible for complying with the SG’s requirements.
The Trial Plan:

1. The session is aimed at Members who are not comfortable going on the water without support from a RIB. 
2. Use your own boat(s) - club/shared boats are currently out of bounds. 
3. On the website calendar (www.chanonry.org.uk/calendar.html) book a 30 minute time slot in TEAMUP for being in the Dinghy Park to rig and launch your boat.
4. Concurrent time slots can be booked by up to 6 households and if more than three are present they must form groups of up to three households that do not mix.
5. The dinghy park, car parking area and slipway are public areas and physical distancing must be maintained.
6. Boat rigging and put away to take place in the Dinghy Park, moving smartly to the Dinghy Park after washing down. 
7. Launching and recovery to be carried out by the individual sailors without help unless by someone in their own household or bubble.
8. RIB Support Volunteers can not get involved with more than two other households in a day so participants from the first time slot will need to help with the launching and recovery of the RIB. Generally five people are required to recover the RIB safely. Physical distancing will be maintained by using a rope attached to the trailer for 2 helpers well spaced, a 3rd steering at the jockey wheel and the RIB crew at the stern of the RIB.
9. On the water is viewed as a public open space and as such there is plenty of space to physically distance. The RIB crew may lay training marks to designate the limit of the sailing area (there are no race marks laid at present).
10. The RIB provides support while maintaining physical distancing. In extremis a sailor would be taken aboard the RIB for as short a time as possible.
11. After putting boats away Members should leave the club.

Note:

1. The Clubhouse is closed apart from for RIB Support Volunteers who need to pick up keys and radios. These, and any door handles and surfaces touched, to be cleaned before and after use with the materials provided.
2. Participants need to arrive ready to go on the water, or change discreetly at the harbour perhaps in their car. 
3. The length of time on the water will be at the discretion of the RIB Support Volunteer depending on weather and tidal conditions. The maximum period of support on the water for each set will be 90 minutes. Three long whistle blasts from the RIB crew is an urgency signal for all to return to shore.
4. Weather will be monitored in the run up to a session and unhelpful conditions, especially strong winds, will result in cancellation at least 24 beforehand. The RIB Support Volunteer can cancel the session on the day in the light of adverse conditions; e.g. strong or very light winds. 

Richard Evans, Sailing Secretary
[email protected]

The Scottish Government confirmed on 18 June that Phase 2 of the easing of lockdown will go ahead in stages but some of the measures expected in Phase 2 from the route map have yet to be announced.
From the club perspective, the only change from Phase 1 is that it is now permitted for up to 3 households to meet outdoors provided the total number does not exceed 8 people. Physical distancing (the 2-metre rule) needs to be maintained.
RYA Scotland has updated guidance, which has been approved by the Scottish Government, and is available via this link: www.rya.org.uk/scotland/representation/Pages/Return-to-Boating.aspx
Clearly, Club organised activities are still not possible in Phase 2. In-line with Phase 1, the Committee considers it is now acceptable to travel to the club to check over your boat (within distance guidelines), or to move boats to and from the club, or to do maintenance for leisure as an individual or household activity.
You could also go on the water as an unsupported activity (together with up to 2 other households should you wish in separate boats). You are reminded to have a plan before you go, check your equipment thoroughly if it hasn’t been used for a while, stay well within your limits and experience and if in doubt, don’t go out.
The Clubhouse remains closed to general members in-line with RYA Scotland guidance.
The harbour and dinghy park are a public space and we cannot control numbers at the facility. Should there be other people in the vicinity while you are in the public space, please socially distance (unless it’s the other households you planned to meet under physical distancing) and avoid giving the impression of a ‘gathering’ which may bring unfortunate repercussions on to the Club.
Regrettably, we have decided that open events (Regattas and the Black Isle Challenge Cup) cannot go ahead this year. We are hoping though that some organized activities will be possible in Phase 3 and are actively considering the hygiene measures we will need in-place when we are allowed to reopen the Clubhouse, even if access may be limited.
Finally, the Committee is incredibly grateful for your continued support. Your subscriptions are helping to keep the club afloat. Our income is of course down as we are not running social, open or training events but major outgoings such as insurance and maintenance costs continue despite COVID.


Regards,
Your Club Committee
[email protected]

The Scottish Government confirmed on 28 May that Phase 1 of the easing of lockdown will commence on Friday, 29 May. While the main message remains ‘Stay at Home’, it is now permitted to travel short distances for leisure and exercise and to meet-up with one other household outdoors in small numbers provided no one has Covid-19 symptoms. Physical distancing (the 2-metre rule) needs to be maintained and the advice for those shielding has not changed.
RYA Scotland has issued guidance, which has been approved by the Scottish Government, and is available via this link: www.rya.org.uk/scotland/representation/Pages/Return-to-Boating.aspx
Clearly, Club organised activities are not possible in Phase 1. However, the Committee considers it is now acceptable to travel to the club to check over your boat, or to move boats to and from the club, or to do maintenance for leisure as an individual or household activity.
You could also go on the water as an unsupported activity (together with another household should you wish in a separate boat) but please heed this advice from the CEO of RYA Scotland: ‘When we enter Phase 1, it will be more important than ever that we be vigilant in ensuring our safety afloat. Our message to all of Scotland’s boating community will remain for them to be considerate and conservative as they return to the water. Have a plan before you go, check your equipment thoroughly as it hasn’t been used for a while, stay well within your limits and experience and if in doubt, don’t go out.’
The Clubhouse remains closed to general members in-line with RYA Scotland guidance.
The harbour and dinghy park are a public space and we cannot control numbers at the facility. Should there be other people in the vicinity while you are in the public space, please socially distance (unless it’s the other household you planned to meet under physical distancing) and avoid giving the impression of a ‘gathering’ which may bring unfortunate repercussions on to the Club.


Regards,
Your Club Committee
[email protected]