From new boaters to round the world cruisers, crewing service members to inland waterways explorers, the thriving cruising community visiting the 53rd Southampton International Boat Show represented a diverse mix of interests. The Cruising Association welcomed a throng of visitors who tapped into our expertise and support wherever their destination.
The CA’s membership was boosted during the Boat Show by well over 100 new members who took advantage of the discount offers to join the association’s 6,400+ worldwide membership.
There were plenty of reasons to visit the CA stand and discover what’s new, demo CAptain’s Mate, buy the 2023 Cruising Almanac, receive advice on cruising in UK waters and abroad and drop in on our Q&A sessions. The daily and show prize draws were ever popular, crewing service members checked new opportunities, and our drinks social was lively and full of talk about all things cruising.
Lucy Hyslop, CA General Manager, commented, "There was a fantastic atmosphere on the CA stand at the 53rd edition of Southampton International Boat Show and a huge turnout of support over the nine days, with plenty of visitors from the UK and abroad welcomed.
"The Boat Show is the perfect platform for the Cruising Association to showcase the benefits of membership, and we really enjoyed spending time with existing and new members, as well as visitors who came to discover more about membership."
Amongst the myriad of visitors was renowned circumnavigator Jeanne Socrates, a CA member since 1996, who perfectly summed up her experience of membership, saying, "We are sitting here at the Boat Show and there are a lot of friendly faces, and I don’t think I recognize anyone, but I know I can go and chat to them as we have common shared experiences.
"For me, first joining the Cruising Association, the attraction was the library of charts. I used to regularly take the tube over to CA House and spend a couple of hours in the chart room planning my entire journey from Sweden back to England via Norway. It is a wonderful resource, and of course the lectures and educational material," Socrates concluded.
Expert Knowledge
The CA provided a range of opportunities for the new and seasoned cruising community to tap into the expert knowledge of our volunteer Regulations and Technical Services group (RATS), with how-to talks on the main Foredeck Stage showcasing the CA’s expertise to a wide audience and drop-in Q&A sessions on the stand providing an effective format to answer questions from sail and motor cruisers.
CAptain’s Mate demos were as always extremely popular as users experienced the CA’s unique digital cruising companion, providing an unrivalled breadth of information and cruising reports covering 6,500+ locations around the world. Accolade to the success of CAptain’s Mate was the announcement by Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting that the app has been nominated for the ‘Equipment Innovation of the Year’ at the British Yachting Awards. Voting is open with the winners to be announced on Monday 28 November 2022.
Information on the CA Sections and upcoming lectures and events was exhibited, and the 2023 edition of the CA Cruising Almanac, the go-to on board reference for sail and motor cruisers, was launched and is available to buy online and at CA events.
Prizes for all
The Cruising Association offered a spectacular line-up of prizes with our marine partners, including a daily prize for members, a daily prize of a 1-year Navionics subscription for new members and the open to all show prize of a VirCru Launch Bundle + three months’ complimentary subscription.
New member Simon Butler, who joined the CA only a few weeks ago, was delighted with his Marlow Ropes voucher, saying, "How very exciting to win this prize, thank you very much to everyone at the CA and Marlow Ropes. What a bonus as I was only thinking last weekend as I pulled up the mast on the main halyard that it was about time to change it!"
The Big Prize Summer Draw for a £2,000 AquaMarine voucher closed on 21 September 2022, with a delighted Liz Campbell now able to enjoy her pick of equipment.
Lalizas UK is generously providing a £2,000 voucher for the Big Prize Winter Draw to spend across the New Marine Equipment Selection Catalogue. This is the perfect prize for CA members who are planning a major winter fit-out or undertaking a boat restoration project. Members can find details on how to enter here.
Boat Show Membership Offer Extended
The CA is extending the discount on membership offered at the Southampton International Boat Show. If you join online by midnight on Sunday 2 October 2022 and pay by Direct Debit, you will enjoy a 10% discount on the first year's membership and the £15 joining fee is waived. When joining online, use code SIBS2022 in the 'Promotional Code' field.
Southampton International Boat Show 2023
Early bird tickets are on offer for next year’s show, 15-24 September 2023, at £19.99 per person through until 31 October 2022 with just 5,000 tickets available at this price.
28 September 2022