Shotley Sailing Club operates active dinghy racing and cruising calendars.

Shotley Sailing Club was originally formed in 1969 by a small group of sailors who wished to put moorings down in the waters along the North shore of the River Stour in and around the Ganges pier and the old Railway pier, now simply known as Shotley or Bristol pier. Harwich Harbour Authority would only negotiate with an organised legal entity to control the moorings and therefore a few founder members established the club.

The club’s objectives were to promote water based activities and provide facilities for anyone who wished to get access to the local waters.

The mooring positions were then leased from HHA at a cost of £10 per annum and the foreshore between the piers was leased from Suffolk county council for a fee of £1 per annum and used to store dinghies and launch boats.

A slipway was built and a dolphin erected which acted as a scrubbing post and a base for race officials.

At this time and until 1976 the Ganges naval establishment remained in operation.

From 1969 until 1976 the club operated out of the Bristol Arms, and used an old summerhouse adjacent to the Bristol Arms on Queen Victoria drive as a club house on Sunday mornings. The summerhouse disappeared  when the Bristol arms was extended in the 1980’s. The club then moved into a purpose built clubhouse which it uses to this day. The original club house site and adjacent land was originally leased from Suffolk county council but the club purchased the site and adjacent areas, including the foreshore, from the County Council in October 2005.