Each year, the Cruising Association hosts the Flag Officers’ Lunch and presentation of the Challenge Awards at CA House, London to celebrate the outstanding volunteer work and support which contributes to the goals of the CA.
This year’s event, attended by seventy guests, took place on Saturday 20 January, hosted by President Derek Lumb and Council Members, with Honorary Member Mike Golding as guest of honour.
CA members attending the lunch represented the diversity of volunteer roles, including members of Committees such as Council, Finance, RATS and the Crewing Service, Section Secretaries, authors of cruising guides and the Cruising Almanac and Honorary Local Representatives. Together we celebrated their successes and contributions to the cruising community. The CA is run by volunteer members and the time and expertise given by so many individuals is invaluable.
"The Challenge Awards recognise volunteer members who go above and beyond to make a difference," commented CA President, Derek Lumb. "They truly embrace the spirt of the CA and extend knowledge and access across our membership and the wider cruising community."
Challenge Awards
The Challenge Awards are an annual highlight of the calendar and represent the highest honours presented by the CA:
The President's Plate
Awarded for: outstanding service to the CA.
Presented to: Paul Lingard in recognition of his contribution to the CA orca online portal to log orca interactions and uneventful passages off the Atlantic coast of Europe.
The Desmond Scott Memorial Cup
Awarded for: the most outstanding contribution by a CA member to the work of the CA.
Presented to: Alison and John Hadley for leading the establishment of online webinars during the Covid lockdowns and continuing the format to benefit members worldwide.
The Knight Cup1
Awarded for: the authorship of a major body of work published by the CA in a written format.
Presented to: Gordon Knight who has written 16 Mooring Guides to the inland waterways of France and edited 6 major Cruising Guides on the inland waterways of France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
The Fid
Awarded for: best cruising article not exceeding 3,000 words published in Cruising.
Presented to: Julian Dussek for his informative and amusing series of articles on the ‘Adventures of Pluto’ and on the myriad uses of the humble pipe cleaner.
The Laver Sextant
Awarded for: services to the Sections.
Presented to: Ann Rowe, CA member and staff member, for her outstanding help and support to enable Section Secretaries and RATS to use and update the CA website.
The Brittain Cup
Awarded for: most valuable contribution to knowledge of a cruising area.
Presented to: Keith and Åsa Mann for their long-term contributions to Baltic Cruising and the Baltic Section, including editing the Baltic Lay-up Directory, documents and guides.
The Michael Manton Commemorative Plate
Awarded for: innovative work to build the CA’s cruising community in the Mediterranean.
Presented to: Chris Robb for his advice on Greek regulations, including the Greek 180-day visa and UK flagged but EU VAT paid boats which leave Greek waters.
The Dussek Plate
Awarded for: the most valuable collection of forum posts.
Presented to: Judy Evans for her investigations on the Long-Term Visitor French visa application process for UK subjects and interpretation of visa requirements.
Members can view further information about the Challenge Awards and recipients here.
Volunteer with the CA
Whatever your area of expertise or interest, make 2023 the year to be part of our volunteer team leading the excellent work of the CA. Find out more by emailing Lucy Hyslop, General Manager, on generalmanager@theca.org.uk.
Note 1: The Knight Cup has been re-purposed to ‘recognise the authorship of a major body of work published by the CA in a written format’, and its original citation of being awarded for ‘the most outstanding contribution by a CA member to the work of the CA’ is now honoured through the awarding of the new Desmond Scott Memorial Cup.
26 January 2023