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

Frozen in Time - An Ancestor in the Arctic
Date: 22/01/2026

Learn about the ill-fated Franklin Expedition and the two ships that were wrecked. The Franklin Expedition set out in in 1845 to discover the Northwest Passage across the Arctic...

Annual Channel Section Seminar
Date: 24/01/2026

Saturday 24th January 2026 CA House, London You are invited to our annual one-day seminar for CA members and non-members interested in cruising in the Channel area whether they are experienced or...

Your First Channel Crossing – a CA Channel Section Seminar
Date: 25/01/2026

For many skippers a first crossing of the English Channel is a big step in their cruising accomplishments – one undertaken with some trepidation. Sunday 25th January 2026, including sandwich...

Anchoring and Rodes by CA member John Barry
Date: 12/02/2026

This talk is about how anchor rodes work, how they respond to the various forces acting on them, and how understanding them can help give your anchor an easier time and enable you to rest easy at...

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...

Crossing Biscay Seminar
Date: 28/02/2026

For many sailors, crossing the Bay of Biscay is one of the longest and most challenging passages they’ve attempted. While summer generally offers more favourable conditions, careful preparation is...

Voyage around the UK in memory of Sam by CA member Camilla Hermann
Date: 12/03/2026

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 in 2012 which left him...

Life and Times of a Harwich Harbour Authority Pilot
Date: 14/03/2026

A light-hearted evening talking about the life of a sailor and the work of a pilot at Harwich Haven Authority. Come and hear Jane Stone talk about her life in the marine industry and her role as...

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...

Eyes of the Few - Bawdsey Radar
Date: 26/03/2026

The fascinating story of why, how and by whom radar was developed in the 1930s and the role it played in the Battle of Britain. We all understand the value of radar today when navigating...

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