At sea, unforeseen circumstances can arise, and having local support is invaluable. That's why the Cruising Association maintains a worldwide network of voluntary Honorary Local Representatives (HLRs) ready to assist members wherever they may be.
HLRs help with things like sourcing emergency repairs, finding moorings, securing visas, translations, explaining local customs and bureaucracy, provisioning, land transport and excursions. And if they can't help, they will know someone who can.
The CA is delighted to welcome our new HLRs in Portugal, Spain and the UK:
Ingrid Fortunato - Portugal
Based in Lagos, Ingrid is the manager of the Lagos Marina (Marina de Lagos) and is extremely familiar with the area. She is looking forward to meeting and supporting CA members.
Roberto ‘Chuny’ Bermudez de Castro Munoz - Spain
Roberto, more commonly known as ‘Chuny’, covers the Galicia region, from Ribadeo to Bayona. Chuny lives in A Coruna and is based at Marina Coruña and is Director of the fi/grupo:marinas which include Marina Coruna, Varedero boatyard, and Marina Viveiro.
David ‘Davie’ Clough - United Kingdom
David has been sailing for over twenty years and is the HLR for the Cowal Peninsula in Scotland. Davie has plenty of contacts in the region and if he can’t help will certainly know someone who can.
Find your local HLR
There are various ways CA members can find an HLR, whether you are looking for one near to you or researching locations of HLRs linked to future passages:
HLRs by country – you can review a list of countries, select one and view the HLR name, contact details and where relevant, their link with particular locations on CAptain’s Mate. CAptain’s Mate app or CAptain’s Mate web.
Find an HLR on CAptain’s Mate
Recently the CA has introduced new features on CAptain’s Mate to make it even easier to find an HLR.
CA member Ivan Andrews published an explanation in the March edition of our quarterly members’ magazine 'Cruising', which is reproduced below:
"The quickest way to find a local HLR is to tap the filter button, and then the HLR button. The map will now show you only locations that have HLRs. You should pick the nearest and then scroll down the Overview page where the HLR’s contact details will be shown.
"We have recently enhanced the HLR features. Some of our HLRs cover an entire area, and some have “preferred” ports that they operate from. Some HLRs cover many locations, in which case you may see many location pins, but you may want an idea of where the HLRs themselves are based, rather than the nearest location covered by one.
"When you tap the HLR button, the latest app will show you locations with HLRs as before. However, there will be additional HLR icons. You may see three types:
This shows a location where an HLR is based, or their primary port. When you tap the icon there will be two choices; You can tap for the HLR details, or for the location details.
This shows either the centre of the HLR’s area or their base, but there will be no location information at this point.
This shows a location that the HLR serves, but it is not where they are based.”
9 April 2024