Longstanding CA volunteer Ian Wilson, CBE, has stepped down as the chair of the Cruising Information Development Group (CIDG), the CA committee responsible for CAptain’s Mate and all other cruising information.
Ian, who has chaired the group since January 2017, will now focus on relaunching the CA Lobster Pot campaign, advocating for the proper marking of static fishing gear. His successor is Steve Haines.
CA President, Robin Baron, expressed his gratitude, saying, "Under Ian’s chairmanship, CIDG has achieved much including, notably, the development of CAptain’s Mate and improving the CA’s use and distribution of cruising information.
"On behalf of the CA, I give our heartfelt thanks to Ian for his excellent leadership of CIDG."
A volunteer’s journey
A CA member since 2007, Ian began volunteering in 2011 when he "made the mistake" of mentioning his availability to then-President Stuart Bradley (President 2009-2012).
"The next thing I knew, I was chairing the Library and Information Centre Group (LICG) - the library at that time was the CA's jewel in the crown, but in need of a radical overhaul," Ian recalls.
With a dedicated team of volunteers, some of whom are still quietly doing brilliant work today, Ian delivered an Action Plan that transformed the service before winding down the group.
Not learning his lesson, Ian later mentioned his spare capacity to the next President, Judith Grimwade (President 2015-2018). By January 2017, he found himself chairing the recently formed Cruising Information Development Group (CIDG).
Under Ian’s leadership, CIDG evolved from broad beginnings to refine its focus, with CAptain's Mate becoming a priority. There were two iterations of CAptain’s Mate before the current one. At first CIDG was working to improve the second 'inherited' version, before CIDG commissioned the current (third) version from scratch. CAptain’s Mate is a hallmark of Ian's time as chair.
Ian too credits CAptain’s Mate as a highlight, saying, "We're proud of what we've achieved, though there's always more to do."
Ian also paid tribute to his fellow CIDG members, adding, "I would like to share a huge thank you to the members of CIDG. They did the work, not me."
Parallel to CIDG work, Ian contributed as a RAT (later reservist), and worked on the T2L, pre-Brexit red diesel issues and Croatian sojourn tax. Ian also initiated the CA Lobster Pot campaign producing, with others, the CA Parliamentary petition and video.
Ian Wilson, leaving his berth at Brightlingsea Creek
Looking Ahead
Though stepping down as CIDG chair, Ian remains committed to driving change and continues to volunteer as lead of the CA Lobster Pot campaign.
"The MCA working group outcome was disappointing after years of effort," he admits in reference to the previous campaign. "But we're now launching a fresh campaign. The campaign will be a full-time job if last time is anything to go by!"
A Lobster Pot campaign update will be shared with members in Autumn 2025.
Steve Haines appointed as new CIDG Chair
The CA is delighted to welcome Steve Haines as CIDG’s new Chair.
Steve learned to sail in the 1970s at university and has raced and cruised extensively. He and his wife, Elizabeth, bought their Bavaria Ocean 40, Millie, in 2016 and joined the CA in 2019.
After joining CIDG in 2023, Steve volunteered as chair when the role opened. "I have experience of chairing other voluntary committees. We have a good team on CIDG, and I felt I could do the job," commented Steve.
Steve’s priorities include refining how cruising information is shared, exploring new technologies like AI and encouraging more member contributions.
Members can find out more about the work of the Cruising Information Development Group at www.theca.org.uk/about/committees/cidg.
27 May 2025