The Special Offer from the Cruising Association
Half Price CA membership for members of S.S.O.A.
Those of you planning to cruise further afield than your local area may be very interested in an offer made to our members by the Cruising Association (CA). If you are not already a member of the CA, you may join, paying only half price for your first year’s membership, just £58. This enables two members of your household to experience first-hand what the CA offers, for one year, to see if longer term membership will work for you.
There is a lot of information on the CA web site at http://www.cruising.org.uk/ , but there is much more to be found on the member’s only part of the site.
The code to use when applying for this offer is SA2R.
To qualify for this half price offer you will need to pay by direct debit and give the special discount code. This will be available on page 1 of the 2011 year book and on the member’s only pages of the Sadler and Starlight web site. Applications can be made easily through the web site. If applying by phone (020 7537 2828) the CA will post you a direct debit form to be filled in. Direct debits can, of course, be cancelled if you decide not to continue.
Comments from Joyce Gordon, immediate past chairman of SSOA, and Colin Gordon, our present treasurer.
We joined the CA in 1982 when we purchased our first cruising boat, a Rival 32. At first we just attended evening supper meetings with a talk and the occasional rally, but when, in 1993, we retired and changed our boat to a Starlight 39 we planned to spend longer away each summer. We visited CA headquarters at Limehouse a few times to use the cruise planning facilities at the library. After a very enjoyable cruise around the Netherlands in 1996 we were thinking of going further north to the Baltic, when in 1998 we were asked to join a working party to plan The Millennium Baltic Rally. This entailed going up to London three or four times a month for two years, and so we got to know the staff in the secretariat and many of the leading members. Although it was hard and committed work we all had a lot of fun. Unfortunately we, personally, were unable to go on the rally but we felt very satisfied when the crews of forty yachts sat down to a grand dinner in one of the Royal Palaces in St Petersburg on mid summer’s day in 2000. As a result of the rally the Baltic Section was formed and we still meet up with many members of that group, which has grown considerably over the years because many Brits now keep their yachts in the Baltic area.
What does the CA offer? The CA own their headquarters building that is situated next to Limehouse basin near the City of London. At HQ there is a library that is probably the best nautical library in the world, with every new book that is published added to the collection. But, more importantly, there is a superb cruise planning section with racks of charts world wide and almost every pilot book you could possibly need. The charts are often out of date and have been donated by members, but at least one can browse the world and decide which ones you might need when you go off to your chosen destination.
There is also a section for regional reports. One of the rules of membership is that when cruising foreign parts, if you find that details of pilotage have changed, you should send a report back to HQ detailing the change. By reading these reports for an area that you intend to go to you will find up to date information that will not be in even the latest pilot book. After all, every pilot book is out of date as soon as it is printed. The regional files are an absolute treasury of new information and local knowledge.
The CA web site is also a source of endless information. The membership is so keen to help others and share experiences, and believe me, where ever you may be planning to go someone in the CA has been there already and will be pleased to answer your queries.
Another unique feature of the CA is the network of Honorary Local Representatives (HLRs). In many of the major ports around the world and in many of the smaller popular areas, representatives have been recruited to act as contact and helpers. It may be the local Harbour Master, or a local Boat yard manager, a British expat living in the area or just a keen local sailor who speaks English. The list of HLRs is published in the yearbook with their phone numbers and e-mail addresses and the area that they cover. When you are arriving in their area it is possible to contact them and ask for help and advice. The stories about them are many and varied. They are known to help sort out mechanical, rigging and all manor of boat problems as well as advising on the best local restaurants and hostelries in the port. They enjoy being invited on board for a drink and a chat. You can just imagine how it must feel as you approach a completely foreign land, with a problem on board, to know that you can contact an English speaking person who can advise you where to go and what to do to get the problem sorted.
At the HQ building in Limehouse there are six cabins where it is possible to stay the night sleeping in comfortable bunk beds with a help yourself breakfast, all for a very reasonable price for central London. There are local Sections all over the UK that organize meetings, training and rallies and there is a very comprehensive programme of training and talks every week at HQ. There are also the sections covering the Baltic, the Mediterranean, the European Inland Waterways, Bluewater sailing and Biscay.
There are many other activities that are too numerous to cover here, and We would recommend the CA to anyone that is going to cruise extensively.
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-The Member's only Pages
The members area contains over 50 copies of past magazines, many of which have techincal articles and new technical articles written by members for members.
Over time we'll also be adding further information as it comes available.
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