The Brian Black Memorial Award was established in 2021 to commemorate Brian and Lesley Black who were trailblazing sailors, daring small-boat explorers and passionate story tellers. A film-maker and broadcaster, Brian used his boat to capture first-hand footage of melting glaciers to tell the story of global warming decades before it was in the public awareness.

The award aims to encourage other sailors to use their boats to share the stories of the places and wildlife they encounter on their voyages with the wider world.

The late Brian Black

Reducing our impact

This year, the judges will be looking for entries that focus on ‘treading lightly’ in the marine environment; how we can cruise and enjoy pristine areas while leaving nothing more than our wake as our evidence of having been there. Whether it’s where and how we moor, what we do with our waste water and rubbish, or something deeper in how we engage with the sea and coast. It is about the things sailors can do to reduce their impact on the planet.

Coppercoat, experts in bio anti-fouling solutions, is sponsoring the award this year for the first time. There is a prize of £2,000 for the best 1,800-word article and accompanying images. There is also a prize of £2,000 for the best video of up to 10 minutes, and prizes for two additional runners up in each category. The winning article and video, along with the runners up, will be published in Yachting Monthly, and on the magazine’s digital channels.

The award also includes a donation of £1,000 to the marine conservation charity, Sea-Changers, which raises funds for grass-roots conservation projects around the UK coastline.

Ewan Clark, Director of Coppercoat, said: ‘The team at Coppercoat is delighted to support the Brian Black Memorial Award. The concept of using sailing boats to explore the natural world with minimal impact on the environment is absolutely aligned with our values, and we believe our product helps sailors do just that.’

‘Coppercoat antifouling has almost no biocide leach and lasts for 10-15 years between applications.

‘At Coppercoat, we remain convinced that our product is still leading the market when it comes to low-impact antifoul, and independent tests have shown that Coppercoat’s impact on the marine environment is almost completely negligible compared to any eroding antifoul,’ added Director Jayson Kenny.

In esteemed company

Previous BBMA winners include: Tim Linsell, who evoked his expedition from Norway to Svalbard with his beautiful writing and dramatic images, but is dismayed by the rate of change in the Arctic; Jon Amtrup, who witnessed the retreat of glaciers in Svalbard during voyages to the island over 12 consecutive years, and Sophie Dingwall, who crossed the Atlantic and recounted how remote islands are being buried beneath mountains of ocean plastic.

Irenka and Alan Wood, who have been sailing the world with their three children since 2017, won the 2023 video award with a fun, informative and emotional video that captured the joy of wildlife at sea and the pressures faced by different eco systems. Their adventures are often documented on their Mothership Adrift Youtube channel.

The judging panel for the award includes Volvo Ocean Race skipper Dee Caffari MBE; Vendée Globe veteran Mike Golding OBE; conservation expert Dr Bob Brown, and marine environmental consultant and daughter of Brian and Lesley Black, Sarah Brown, plus the Yachting Monthly team.

Learn more about the Brian Black Memorial Award sponsor at: coppercoat.com

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