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

The Story of Navigation: 2000 BC to 2020s AD, Jeremy Batch
Date: 05/02/2025

Birds do it, bees do it, even educated salmon do it – and all with a precision that we have only just begun to match. The contributions to navigation made by Galileo and...

Canal History and Amusing Tales – Roger Butler
Date: 05/02/2025

Roger is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society; he will tell us about some of the history of canals in Britain and their impressive engineering. Many entertaining...

An Evening with Tom Cunliffe
Date: 06/02/2025

We have been kindly invited to make up a table for supper, followed by a talk from the always-entertaining Tom Cunliffe, at the prestigious Royal Motor Yacht Club. A "Sailor's Supper" of...

Crossing Biscay Seminar
Date: 08/02/2025

For many mariners, crossing the Bay of Biscay requires a longer passage than they have previously taken and although conditions in the Biscay are kinder during summer than other seasons, careful...

Money, Power and Yachting by Andy Beharrell - Booking Open
Date: 08/02/2025

The cast of characters involved in the Americas Cup ranges from Thomas Lipton (of tea fame), through Thomas Stopwith (of Stopwith Camel fame), through Alan Bond (of prison fame), to Larry Ellison....

In Praise of Wooden Boats, Paul Eedle
Date: 12/02/2025

Nine years ago, Paul Eedle became obsessed with owning a historic wooden boat even though he could hardly sail. He found his 1907 Looe lugger Guiding Star so rewarding...

Sailing Round Britain, the Easy Way – Kim Sturgess
Date: 12/02/2025

Kim had enjoyed club racing and some brief sailing holidays before he decided to sail around Britain. Sailing mostly single-handed, he broke the voyage into a series of...

30 Years of the National Coastwatch Institution
Date: 13/02/2025

Discover the vital role of the

Tug Kent by Barry Hill, National Captain
Date: 13/02/2025

On Thursday 13th February 2025 Barry will be talking about the heritage Tug Kent which is based in Basin number One at Chatham in Kent. She was built in 1948 at Lowestoft and began her life on...

Baltic Seminar
Date: 15/02/2025

Baltic Seminar. Aimed at those going to the Baltic for the first time. Presentations include getting to the Baltic, preparations and what to expect, moorings, overwintering, the CA...

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