The Cruising Association unveils a refreshed website for the cruising community

The CA has introduced the first phase of its upgraded website, which marks a significant step to provide an improved digital cruising experience for members and visitors.

We have already introduced a new look for the CA shop and a different log-in process, and the latest enhancements include:

• Refreshed look and feel: a cleaner, more modern design that works seamlessly on phone, tablet or computer.
• Faster performance: a more responsive site with faster load times.
• New member portal: an upgraded 'My Account' area, centralising member details and boat information.
• New navigation: restructured menus to help find key information more intuitively.
• Revamped public site: an improved showcase into the CA community for prospective members.

This phase of the website upgrade delivers a more powerful, intuitive and connected digital environment, designed to enhance performance, navigation and functionality. The upgrades are a direct response to member feedback, which highlighted the need for a streamlined, mobile-friendly design to ensure the CA's vast wealth of knowledge and services is easier to access than ever before.

Lucy Gray, Chief Operating Officer, described the changes as an evolution for the community, saying, "Our focus was on a robust and seamless transition, laying the groundwork for future innovations while delivering immediate benefits to users. For our members, this is the first phase of building a more intuitive digital clubhouse. For the public, the website offers a clearer window into our cruising community and what CA membership provides."

Key Enhancements

The website upgrade is more than just a visual refresh, it is changing the way members engage with the CA online, now and in the future. At the heart of this upgrade phase are new features designed to empower the CA's membership.

Members will notice a new 'My Account' hub provides a centralised dashboard to manage contact and personal information, along with boat details and cruising regions. The single sign-on process offers a more secure and seamless login experience across the site.

Navigation has been restructured to make it easier for members to find what you need, from country information and rally details to training opportunities and technical advice. The new layout is cleaner and more user-friendly, with responsive design that adapts to any screen size. Enhancements to the CA Forums make it easier to read and participate in discussions.

The technology behind the scenes has been overhauled too. A more powerful search engine means members can find pages and resources more efficiently. The online shop has been modernised, providing a seamless experience to buy all items the CA offers. Image galleries now integrate more smoothly with content across the site.

Phased Approach

As the complete new platform evolves, the phased approach to upgrades will ensure a stable and seamless experience for users, allowing the CA to migrate our vast library of content without interruption.

Many new features designed to help members find content more easily are built into this new foundation but will be activated in the coming months. Similarly, while many pages will have a new look, others will initially retain their familiar format, as our volunteers work through the immense task of evaluating, refining or reorganising over 30,000 pages.

Scheduled for a staggered implementation from late 2025 through Spring 2026, the next phase of enhancement will further improve how members explore, plan and connect. Its centrepiece will be a geo-referenced cruising resource, allowing members to find information relevant to particular locations, from other members’ cruising logs to regulatory requirements, through an intuitive map-based interface.

Members can also look forward to further improvements to search functionality, with advanced tagging to make content discovery effortless. We will launch a reimagined events calendar, and new content tools will empower Committee members and Section Secretaries to connect with their communities more dynamically.

Derek Lumb, Chair of the Website Project Group, commented, "The CA is indebted to the efforts of Ivan Andrews in making this happen. Ivan has put in countless hours as a volunteer, alongside our technical staff team, and led the way through some of the most technically complicated parts of the process."