Wessex
Welcome to the Wessex Section
Welcome to the Wessex Section. Whilst the ancient Kingdom of Wessex covered a large area, we consider Wessex to be from Southampton Water to the middle of Lyme Bay and inland to Salisbury and Dorchester. The Section aims to serve members living locally, keeping their boats in one of the local harbours, and those who are visiting our coast.
You will find Wessex Section is friendly and relaxed. We meet from autumn through to spring and in the summer we are generally away cruising. We have a series of winter talks, social activities and visits. We don’t charge CA members to attend our talks and any external activities are "at cost".
Our sailing area stretches from Hurst Narrows to Lyme Regis and includes the beautiful World Heritage site of the Jurassic Coast. The main harbours are Christchurch, Poole, Weymouth and Portland. In suitable weather there are anchorages in Chapmans Pool, Warbarrow Bay, Mupe Bay and Lulworth Cove. Studland Bay now has a limited number of mooring buoys and very limited anchoring due to the precious seagrass. With a suitable draft you can explore the backwaters of Poole Harbour as far upstream as Wareham.
Ashore you can visit the RNLI lifeboat college and the All Weather Lifeboat Manufacturing centre in Poole. Portland is the home of the National Sailing Academy and where Team GB won 5 medals in 2012 Olympics.
Where We Meet
Members and prospective members are welcome to our talks, which are normally the third Tuesday of the month from October to March. Please check the events calendar for details.
We meet at Lilliput Sailing Club, 200A Sandbanks Rd, Poole, BH14 8HA. The bar opens at 7pm and the talks start at 7.30pm. There is adequate parking and guests are welcome.
Forthcoming Events
Charting Channels and Anchorages of the West Coast of Scotland
Date: 21/10/2025
Bob Bradfield has devoted much of the last fifteen years to producing 750 charts of channels and anchorages on the West Coast of Scotland. These typically run on an iPad or Android tablet and...
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Antarctica – In the Footsteps Of Shackleton
Date: 18/11/2025
In 2022/23 Andy Beharrell sailed from Tenerife to Antarctica via the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Orkney Islands. During the course of this trip he visited a number of the places where...
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Wessex Section Festive Lunch
Date: 07/12/2025
We are pleased to return to Parkstone Yacht Club again this year to enjoy the very pleasant waterside restaurant for a fun, informal lunch. Details will be announced in October. Date and Time:...
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"Near and Far", and Photo Competition
Date: 20/01/2026
Please join us as we begin the year with our traditional "Near and Far" social evening, where we will hear the tales of travels in 2025 from a couple of our members. Do let us know if you would like...
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To Svalbard and 80 degrees North
Date: 17/02/2026
Bob Hendicott has sailed since he was a child and has owned Rosinis, his Rustler 36, for 15 years. He has cruised Rosinis extensively, accumulating some 30,000NM, much of it sailed solo. In 2018 he...
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Operation PLUTO
Date: 17/03/2026
Operation PLUTO - Pipeline under the ocean - was an ambitious and top secret operation to lay a series of pipelines across the English Channel from the south coast of England to France following the...
Read moreInterested in Finding out More?
Please contact the Section Secretaries at wessex@theca.org.uk or
CA staff at office@theca.org.uk or +44 (0) 207 537 2828.
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.
