On Wednesday 19 March 2025, RATS will be holding its fifth Evening with RATS. Registration for the Zoom webinar is free of charge for members and non-members, and you can attend either in-person at CA House, London at £4 members or £7 non-members.
While the event will be held in-person at CA House and is part of the London lecture season, the focus will be on online participation, so it will start at 1900 hrs and will not include a break for dinner.
Our new RATS chairman, Simon Hampton-Matthews, will introduce the evening's talks with a brief history of RATS.
Talks will cover a range of topics of interest to cruising sailors.
Orca Update
RATS is involved with an ongoing project monitoring the activity and yacht interactions of the now well-known group of orcas. John Burbeck will cover the latest incidents, the best way to avoid an interaction and what is being done to help crews sailing in the affected Iberian waters.
Sailing with Pets
Choosing to take your pet(s) cruising with you can increase your enjoyment of your trip. However, if you are cruising into EU waters (or beyond) with your pet, some important considerations, planning and preparation are required to ensure your pet meets the requirements of entry to countries you are visiting and returning from. Tania Nieveen will talk about the current regulations, guidance and advice.
Low voltage electrics on small craft
Rick Ballard will talk about three areas of RATS' current work on this important subject: development of articles on the technical basics of low voltage direct current electrics; the development of a spreadsheet model for estimating battery energy consumption on board small craft and considerations of the issues arising from the replacement of lead acid-batteries with lithium chemistry batteries.
The impact of wave and tidal power generation
Wave and tidal electricity generation solutions are developing quickly. As these solutions move from prototyping and pilot projects into more industrial-level capabilities they will have an impact on navigation. Roger Bickerstaff will give an overview some of the recent developments and their implications for yacht cruising.
There will be a Q&A session after the presentations and a brief summary of the range of projects RATS is working on including ETA/EEA/ETIAS, HVO, VAT (still!), Black/Grey Water, etc.
Date: Wednesday 19 March 2025
Time: 19:00
Place: CA House or, for the webinar broadcast via Zoom, your own home or boat
Booking (to attend at CA House): To book your place, and to indicate whether you’ll be ordering food, click on [Book venue].
Booking (to join the webinar via Zoom): If you would like to join the webinar broadcast, please register via Zoom here.
Tickets (to attend CA House): Members £4, non-members £7..
Tickets (to join online via Zoom): Free of charge.
Membership Offer for Non-Member attendees
Non-members attending 'An Evening with RATS' - either in person at CA House or via Zoom - will receive a special discount code for 15% off the first year’s membership (when paying by Direct Debit).
This is the perfect opportunity to join our cruising community and unlock a world of benefits. Find out more on our Membership Benefits page.
Whether you are just starting out cruising, planning European Inland Waterways trips or setting off to explore new waters - from coast-hopping to blue water sailing adventures - the advantages of CA membership are many and varied.
With over 6,400 members worldwide, the CA offers unparalleled knowledge-sharing and support to help you cruise with confidence. Wherever your journey takes you, chances are a CA member has already been there and can offer their insights. Harnessing this collective expertise, the CA facilitates knowledge sharing to enhance your cruising.
About RATS
The Regulatory & Technical Services group (RATS) is an executive committee of the Cruising Association (CA) made up of CA volunteers.
RATS work on behalf of cruising sailors to represent their interests and address issues of concern or interest on regulatory and technical aspects of small boat cruising as they arise.
To do this they research topics and issues and follow political trends. They interact with international, national, parliamentary, trade, special interest and local bodies. Often these bodies seek RATS’ help, advice and comments and consult with them on matters which involve navigation and the cruising boat user. RATS also produce policy papers and technical questionnaires, write articles for CA member-only magazine Cruising and develop material for the CA website.