Sylvia Mence joined the CA in 1972 and has been an Honorary Member since 1998.

She spent 30 years cruising with her late husband, Bob Parker (one time Chairman of CA Council) in English, Scottish, Scandinavian, Dutch, Belgian, German and French waters. From 1971 to 1995, they contributed many articles to Cruising Association Bulletin and Cruising. She was Editor of the CA's Notes on French Inland Waterways 1994 - 1998 and did the revision of those Notes in 1998 as an Infopak.

Living at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, Sylvia has been an active member of the Royal Solent Yacht Club, being Rear Commodore (House) 1995 – 1998 and Honorary Treasurer 1998 – 2003. She represented the RSYC and the Yarmouth Sailing Club as objectors at the 1995 Public Inquiry into the bid by Associated British Ports to take control of the Western Solent, in which ABP were unsuccessful.

In the 10 years before the Trust Ports Review of 2001, Sylvia served on local committees working to achieve reform of the constitution, practice and standards of Yarmouth Harbour. During the consultations for the Review, she worked to ensure that advisory committee(s) had a statutory position in the enabling Harbour Revision Order, and following the Review she became the Royal Yachting Association’s representative on the General Advisory Committee of Yarmouth Harbour Commissioners; she has been re-elected annually as Chairman of that committee from 2002 to the present time.

Sylvia's involvement in important developments for the harbour has been aided on many occasions by information published by, and liaison with, RATS, the CA's Regulations and Technical Services Executive Committee.