CA London

In 2009, Kath set off from Lancashire with her husband Barrie on Yarona, their Hallberg Rassy 43, with a vague plan of spending a few summers in the Med. Yarona was hauled out for the winter in Italy in the Fiumara Grande, and this year they have spent three months exploring Corsica and the Italian Islands of Elba, Sardinia, and Sicily. Kath will try to convince us this can be done without destroying the cruising budget, and that coming across the occasional Italian male with an attitude problem is a small price to pay in order to enjoy the

Nicola and her family sailed away for eight years, exploring the Caribbean, Bahamas, US Eastern Seaboard and the Mediterranean. Her book, Sail Away, offers practical guidance for the would be adventurer, including choosing a boat, planning a round-the-world route, information on safety, communications, children, insurance, and budgeting and extensive information on routes and destinations around Europe, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and beyond - as well as a realistic look at the pros and cons of living onboard. Whether

They travelled around the world, through the Northwest and Northeast Passages, to the Poles, to the bottom of the ocean, through the sound barrier, to the edge of the atmosphere and to the surface of the Moon. They built their craft from papyrus, balsa, cedar, oak, iron, titanium, canvas, carbon fibre and aluminium foil.  Their teeth fell out, their joints came apart, their blood boiled, their eardrums burst and their eyeballs came out of their sockets. They made voyages that were thought to be too far, too fast, too dangerous or too expensive – or

 As usual, our traditional twice yearly welcome to new members will follow the Boat Show. This year, Jimmy Cornell will celebrate the release of his latest publication, Cornell’s Ocean Atlas, at a special launch event with a short talk and some cheese and wine. The Atlas shows the prevailing direction of winds and currents for every month in all oceans of the world, and also along the most commonly sailed trans-ocean routes, and all based on the latest meteorological information rather than the old observation data used by pilot books.

Greece is lucky to have large numbers of free anchorages and quaysides, some superb destinations to visit, and good yacht support, albeit relatively few marinas. This makes it a very economical cruising destination. – all the more so if you can tolerate its uncertainties and idiosyncrasies. Jim has lived, worked and sailed around Greece for over 30 years. His talk will illustrate many of the highlights, oddities and surprises of cruising in Greece, using lots of pictures. Anecdotes will illustrate the common bureaucratic traps

For those who have always wondered how and why celestial navigation works, and for those of you who once used to know but now feel the need for a quick refresher, John has the answers. Here’s an explanation of the underlying theory, how it has developed over the years, a demystification of all the specialised words that are used, and a review of the practical aspects of celestial navigation from a small boat, including the calculations necessary to turn your hard won sight into a position line.  Illustrated with diagrams, photos, sextants and almanacs,

Anne and Gen won a special award in the CA log competition this year for their account of their trip around Britain. They left Burnham-on-Crouch on Easter Sunday in Amanapuri their Jeanneau 42 foot Sun Oddessey, heading up the East Coast to take the anticlockwise route. On the way they enjoyed fabulous scenery and wildlife and all the pleasures and frustrations of the British weather. As well as distances, tides and harbours, their planning had to take account of timetables for planes, trains, buses and ferries, because

Yacht surveyor, lecturer and author, Paul Stevens, will explain how to conduct a thorough inspection of your boat. Small craft surveying is entirely unregulated and can be a potential minefield for the boating public, so this is an excellent opportunity to pose those awkward questions! Paul has written a definitive handbook, based on the course he teaches at the International Boat Building Training College in Lowestoft, that will prove a godsend to small craft owners as well as being used by practising surveyors and students.

Roger and Jenny Flint took their Gemini 105 catamaran, Demani, through the European inland waterways to the Danube delta and Istanbul in 2005. For Roger, it was a retirement project which took 18 months of meticulous planning. A channel for conquest, commerce and culture since its banks were first settled, the Danube links the heartlands of Central Europe with the Orient. Over the past 2000 years, it has seen the passage of Roman legions, crusading knights, the armies of the Ottomans and the Hapsburgs, and more recently the