Join the CA Community - afloat & ashore

Check out the Sections below to find a Cruising Association group near you, check out the events they’re running and find their contact details.

'Cruising Sections’ cover sea areas whilst ‘Local Sections’ are UK-based. There’s also an Antipodean Section for members ‘down under’ and a Motorboat Section for those cruising in motorboats.

When you join consider signing up to at least two Sections, one near home and another where you want to cruise. You can join as many Sections as you like – it’s FREE - and there are opportunities to get involved in events and discussions most relevant to you and your cruising.

Cruising Sections use dedicated online forums to exchange information. As a CA member you can access any forum at any time, whether you’re a Section member or not. You can even set up automatic forwarding of posts from any forum and the ‘cruising mode’ helps you control receipt of emails when airtime might be expensive or bandwidths restricted.

Cruising Sections

Baltic

Covers the Baltic Sea, Norway, Iceland, Greenland and Faroes. Holds a popular introductory seminar every spring.

Biscay

Covers Western France, Spain and Portugal as well as crossing Biscay. Holds a popular introductory seminar every spring.

Blue Water

For those sailing outside of European waters. Holds a popular Blue Water seminar in the summer.

Celtic

Covers waters from Land’s End to Cape Wrath. Meets at various west coast venues to share knowledge on all aspects of cruising the region.

Channel

For those cruising the south coast of the UK, Channel Islands, and France from the Belgian border to NW Brittany. Holds an annual seminar and summer rally/cruise-in-company.

European Inland Waterways

Covers over 30,000 km of navigable rivers and canals passing through over 20 countries. Annual seminar and lunch each autumn at CA House.

Mediterranean

Covers the Mediterranean from Spain and Morocco in the west to the Levant in the east, and includes the Black Sea. Meets at CA House in the winter, and afloat in the summer.

Motorboat

The Motorboat Section aims to bring together motorboaters where ever they are and whatever type of motorboating they enjoy.

North Sea

Covers the UK, Belgian and Dutch coasts. Meets at East Coast venues to share knowledge on all aspects of cruising the region.

Local / UK Sections

Antipodean

For members who live in Australia and New Zealand and who sail in the Northern Hemisphere.

CA London

CA London events are held at our Limehouse HQ.

Essex

Meetings held at Blackwater Sailing Club and mid-week lunches arranged.

Kent

Kent Section's 'Winter Warmers', talks by a variety of speakers, will be held via Zoom for the forseeable future.

Solent

Summer rallies with weekend meets. Winter talks with ‘club’ suppers usually at a Hamble yacht club or marina.

South West

For members living in or cruising the areas from Portland Bill to the Isles of Scilly and along the north coast of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset to Bristol.

Suffolk

Joint meetings are arranged with the Royal Harwich Yacht Club at Woolverstone.

Thames Valley

Winter talks are held in partnership with the Gerrards Cross Sailing Association (GXSA) at Colston Hall at The Memorial Centre in Gerrards Cross.

Wessex

Talks are held at Lilliput Sailing Club, Poole.

Forthcoming Section Events

Non-members are welcome to attend

Reflections of a female Transatlantic sailing co-skipper, Julia Tybura
Date: 30/10/2024

Julia, an executive coach, non-executive director and former CA Council member, has recently completed her first transatlantic sail on a 42-foot sailing boat with her...

Platforms, Pirates and Pornography - Andy Beharrell
Date: 30/10/2024

The Second World War army and navy forts were built in the Thames Estuary to protect London from enemy air force and naval incursions. Andy will explain what is left of...

Carry on Cruising, Gilbert Park
Date: 06/11/2024

Like taxes, growing old is inevitable! For some it may mean giving up sailing while others, like Gilbert, find a way of dealing with the changes associated with ageing so...

Normandy D-Day 80th Anniversary - Stuart Gaunt
Date: 06/11/2024

Stuart visited Normandy twice this summer; once by boat and the second time by car, visiting some locations he couldn’t reach by boat. The talk covers the highlights of...

RNLI, 200 Years and Counting - Ryan Hall
Date: 13/11/2024

Ryan is Head of RNLI Region South-East. He will tell us about the excellent lifesaving work done by RNLI with recent developments across 238 lifeboat stations, 244 beaches...

Med Section Autumn Meeting and Dinner
Date: 14/11/2024

Our Med Section autumn meeting will be an opportunity for members to discuss the best way forward (e.g. volunteers, new ideas) for the Section as Peggie Manton and Sarah...

Swinging, Spinning and Wobbling: pendulums, gyroscopes and Inertial Navigation by Jeremy Batch
Date: 14/11/2024

On Thursday 14th November 2024 at 20.00 there is another opportunity to hear a talk by our own Jeremy Batch. Our world is round (sort-of) and takes 24 hours (almost) to revolve. The roundness was...

Southern Ocean Sketchbook by Claudia Myatt - Plus tips for sketching afloat - Booking Open
Date: 16/11/2024

Suffolk artist, Claudia Myatt, is known for her cartoons and illustrations in yachting magazines as well as for the 'RYA Go Sailing' series of books. She likes to take her sketchbook to the world's...

Sail design, trim and care
Date: 19/11/2024

Paul Lees is founder of Crusader sails and has 50 years of sailmaking experience. He is a highly experienced inshore and offshore racer. Paul will talk on how to get the best out of your existing...

Sailing around Britain in memory of Sam, Camilla Herrmann
Date: 20/11/2024

Cruising editor Camilla Herrmann and her husband Sam Brown always wanted to sail around Britain in their Westerly Storm Kalessin of Orwell, but after Sam suffered a stroke...

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