About The Cruising Club of America

At its core, the CCA is a collection of passionate, seriously accomplished, ocean sailors making adventurous use of the seas. All members have extensive offshore boat handling, seamanship, and command experience honed over many years. It is a special club for many reasons. Our members have found pleasure and fulfillment through the camaraderie of like-minded friends who share a love of ocean sailing and voyaging. The membership is not held together by a physical clubhouse — it is a diverse community of individuals with a mission that has inspired its achievements, guided its growth, and passed along an identity and purpose that has served many generations.

The CCA has long been considered a reliable source of information on ocean sailing, and its members are among the most accomplished ocean sailors of our day, leaders in developing and codifying best practices of the sport. Their passion to take the less traveled and more challenging oceanic routes has led to a body of collective knowledge that the membership freely shares in seminars, and has been documented in books, magazine articles and presentations on a variety of topics.

The CCA is all about the spirit of helping others who share our passion for making adventurous use of the seas. Today’s CCA members are engaged in making a positive difference in the world. They voluntarily write cruising guides, run courses on safety and seamanship, contribute to the technical foundations of yacht design and systems, and take an active role in improving ocean health, collaborating with environmental organizations around the planet. The CCA also performs a leadership role in organizing the biennial Newport Bermuda Race.

Learn more about the CCA at crusingclub.org

About CCA Cruising Guides

A BRIEF HISTORY OF 70-PLUS YEARS OF QUIET SUCCESS

The Cruising Guide to the Nova Scotia Coast was first created in 1950 by Charles W. Bartlett, a Rear Commodore of the Cruising Club of America and a resident of Boston. Charlie was a gunkholer at heart with a strong work ethic and desire to share his hard-won cruising experience with fellow CCA members and later with the cruising community.

His early books were printed on a hand-operated mimeograph machine, placed in 9-ring binders, and mailed throughout the East Coast. There was enough demand and a desire to explore new areas that five years later (1955), Charlie produced The Cruising Guide to Newfoundland and subsequently followed with The Cruising Guide to The Labrador. A fourth, the Cruising Guide to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, was added several years later.

Since its first editions, these guides have accumulated a loyal collection of readers, correspondents, and a dedicated crew of CCA cruisers who continue to write, publish and improve these four guides. Today, the next generation of hearty adventurers and writers update the books every two to three years and still get great satisfaction in sharing their cruising acumen.

Current books are professionally designed, printed, and distributed throughout the eastern U.S. States and Canadian Provinces.

In 2020 the CCA observed that the usage of digital cruising guides was expanding, and to serve this growing market, the club decided to meet the needs of cruisers with a unique online guide. Maine was chosen first since the club has many members who live in Maine because they love cruising here – plus a few others “from away” who also enjoy sailing in Maine.

We selected about 30 members from these hundreds of cruisers – those with the deepest experience on the Maine Coast and a strong desire to share their intimate knowledge.

This first electronic edition represents nearly two years of planning, writing, and professional website expertise. We believe it will enhance and simplify your cruise planning needs by:

• Pre-selecting the best 65 Harbors (places with marine and other essential services) and Anchorages (more secluded places of iconic rugged Maine beauty).
• Providing constantly updated information — annually and as often as possible in the summer to ensure you have the most current facts.
• Using the deep experience of CCA members to give you the most reliable and relevant information – both place-specific and general advice in a series of blogs or articles.

We invite you to explore our innovative guide and share your opinions via the Feedback tab.