Royal Cruising Club (RCC) Awards the Medal for Services to Cruising – 2020 to the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC)

The RCC announced at the Awards Evening 07 January, held on Zoom, that the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) has been awarded the Medal for Services to Cruising.  

 

“The Medal for Services to Cruising was founded in memory of Jocelyn Swann for rendering outstanding services to yacht cruising.

 

The Ocean Cruising Club provided exceptional services to cruising yachtsmen during the COVID 19 pandemic. There was early recognition of the mayhem caused by the pandemic to the cruising community around the world.  Many cruising yachtsmen found themselves and their yachts trapped in places they did not expect to be, at the wrong time of the year, and with tropical storms threatening for which they were not insured.

 

The Ocean Cruising Club rapidly became a trusted centralised source of information concerning border restrictions for recreational craft. Communications platforms were established to provide the wider cruising community, including non-members, with advice, support and practical help for hundreds of yachts, faced with challenges of unplanned ocean passages. This initiative was a major factor in helping coordinate support for two yachts which were dismasted, one hit by lightning, and the rescue of a yachtsman when his yacht sank, after an unfortunate collision with a whale.

 

The Medal for Services to Cruising is awarded to The Ocean Cruising Club.”

 

OCC Commodore Simon Currin remarked, “Congratulations to the whole team. This is great recognition for our Club. Some great news to lift the spirits during a grim new year.”

 

The story behind the effort, which occurred in tandem with other organisations, is documented in the OCC’s publication Flying Fish (‘Retreat from Paradise’ by Vice Commodore Daria Blackwell).  ‘Lessons Learned’ during the pandemic response was documented by Regional Rear Commodore (Ireland) Alex Blackwell.

 

 

 

About the Royal Cruising Club

 

The Royal Cruising Club was founded in 1880 by Sir Arthur Underhill and a coterie of friends to encourage and facilitate cruising in small yachts. Members contribute to the enjoyment and safety of others by writing accounts of their cruises for the Club Journal and publishing coastal guides.

 

The Club's prime objective remains the furtherance of cruising under sail and its membership, by invitation only and limited to four hundred, enjoys the same friendly intimacy as Underhill's group of Victorian sailing eccentrics. 

Web: https://www.rcc.org.uk

 

About the Ocean Cruising Club

The Worldwide Community for Adventure Sailing Since 1954

The OCC is the “home port” for those who have sailed long distances across big oceans. With 45 nationalities represented among more than 3100 members, and Port Officers around the world, we have a more diverse membership and a more international reach than any other blue water sailing organisation.

The Ocean Cruising Club exists to encourage long-distance sailing in small boats. A Full Member of the OCC must have completed a qualifying voyage of a non-stop port-to-port ocean passage, where the distance between the two ports is not less than 1,000 nautical miles, in a vessel of not more than 70ft (21.36m) LOA; associate members are committed to achieving that goal. This standard distinguishes the OCC from all other sailing clubs.

Our membership as a whole has more experience offshore than any other sailing organisation – in the number of circumnavigators, in the range of extraordinary voyages members have completed, and in the number of solo sailors and female sailors among our ranks. This is what sets us apart from other organisations, even as it draws us together as a group.

Web: www.oceancruisingclub.org
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OceanCruisingClubMembers/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/oceancruisingclub/
Twitter: @OCC_org