Ivana’s talk will cover a day and a night in the life of a Thames Sea Pilot: from first call and passage planning, to being bounced around in a pilot boat and THAT ladder climb. She will walk and taus through every step to meeting the Captain on the bridge and what entering and leaving the Port of London looks like, on any given day, at every stage of the tide.
Julia’s latest book tells the stories of more than 100 women sailors from the 1870s to the present day. Its focus, however, is on the twentieth century: trying to get some sense of how the social history of the time and the gradual steps towards equality, are reflected in the lives -- and sometimes the struggles -- of independent women who longed to go to sea. Sailing can so often seem to be a male dominated activity, but women have been on board all along, often almost invisibly.
Sitting between the very popular Greek and Croatian cruising areas and the rising star of Montenegro, Albania has a way to go before it can offer the delights of typical Mediterranean cruising. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a fascinating country to visit. Its history includes nearly 50 years of brutal communist dictatorship which only fell in 1992. This inevitably informs the experience of the visitor, though the country is developing fast, maybe too fast?
In 2024 James delivered his Regina 43 ‘Arkyla’ from its winter base of Valencia in the Med to the Caribbean. In this talk, based on his Hanson Cup winning log, he will touch on exiting the Med and negotiating Orca Alley but will concentrate discussion on the Atlantic phase of the journey. This will include blue-water fit-out, crew choices (and issues), the pros and cons of joining the ARC+ rally, and the trans-Atlantic passage itself from the Canaries to Grenada via Cape Verde.
Advancements in battery technology and an ever-evolving range of motors mean that it's increasingly feasible for many of us to swap out not just the petrol outboard on our tenders but also the diesel inboard engine on full size sailing yachts for cleaner electric propulsion.
Greece has many hidden treasures in addition to the well-known tourist sites, some of which can be reached easily from ports where your boat can be left safely for a day or more.
When you are planning a cruise, it is worth making time to explore the hinterland of the ports you visit to enjoy the rich experiences Greece has to offer. Equally, if the weather is less than perfect for sailing, become a land explorer until the storms pass through!
Despite never having owned a yacht before, Chris and Roger bought one and set off to sail her round Britain with long time CA members Rachel Edwards and Alan Bennett as crew. Storms, dolphins, breakdowns, a Coastguard commendation and becoming lead feature on the Home Page of the Berwick Upon Tweed Lifeboat website followed. This trip had everything! This is their story.
The East India Company became the most powerful multinational the world has ever known. However, its first voyages were somewhat haphazard. This talk by London tour guide Rob Smith looks at the attempts by British sailors to set up trading missions in India, China, Japan and what is now Indonesia.
That the Earth is round had been known for centuries; that it might also be (very) slightly oval was long-suspected, although we disagreed with the French as to which way the oval went.
