Yachting Monthly’s marine environmental journalism award is being launched with the support of Coppercoat, with cash prizes worth £3,000 and £1,000-worth of new camera equipment up for grabs. 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 storytellers.

This year ‘Our Changing Seas’ is the main theme of the entries. Judges will be looking for images and stories that answer the questions: How have you witnessed the changing marine environment and weather patterns through your sailing and along the coast? What was driving this change? and How do we respond to it?

In the main article competition, we are looking for a story about sailing that you have done and that reveals something about our changing seas. It should be enjoyable to read, with engaging images that help tell the story. You can support your entry with video, though this is not essential.

The late Brian Black

Thoughts on what is driving the changes you describe and how we respond can be your own or researched ideas and can include local or national initiatives if relevant.

For example, you might have seen something that you were surprised to see because it shouldn’t have been where it was, or there was something missing that you would expect to see.

Coppercoat, experts in bio antifouling solutions, is sponsoring the award for the second year and, for the first time, and Canon is offering two camera kits for the best adult and junior photographers.

For the written submission, there is a prize of £2,000 for the best 1,800-word article and accompanying images.

There is also a photography competition open to adults and juniors aged 14 years and under. Submissions consist of one photo on the theme of ‘Our Changing Seas’ and up to 300 words to give the story of what the photo shows and how it was taken, as well as a short biography and a head shot of the author. The winner in the adult category will win £1,000 and a Canon camera kit. The junior photography competition (run in association with The Week Junior) has the same submission criteria with a prize of a Canon camera starter kit.

The winning article and photographs, along with the runners-up, will be published in Yachting Monthly, and on Yachting Monthly’s online channels. Winners will be announced at the Southampton Boat Show on Friday 19 September 2025.

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

Marine environment consultant Sarah Brown, who launched the BBMA in honour of her parents, said: ‘Marine conservation is a passion for me. I’m excited to hear what inspires other people to get involved. I’m fascinated to see what this year’s submissions have to teach me.’

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, and to do so with minimal impact on the environment, is absolutely aligned with our values.’

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.

Previous BBMA winners include: Jon Amtrup, who witnessed the retreat of glaciers in Svalbard during his voyages over 12 consecutive years; Tim Linsell, who evoked his expedition from Norway to Svalbard beautifully but was dismayed by the rate of change in the Arctic; and Sophie Dingwall, who crossed the Atlantic and witnessed remote islands buried beneath ocean plastic.

The judging panel includes Chair of the World Sailing Trust Dee Caffari MBE; Vendée Globe veteran Mike Golding OBE; conservation expert Dr Bob Brown, Sarah Brown, plus the Yachting Monthly team.
Entries should submitted by email to yachtingmonthly@futurenet.com by 1 September 2025. 

Find out more about the Brian Black Memorial Award

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