Awarded to a member for the most meritorious short-handed voyage.
2009
This year’s popular winner was Mike Bickell, who completed his seven year solo circumnavigation aboard Alchemi in March 2009. David and Annette Ridout kindly received the award on Mike’s behalf as he was in Panama. They described Mike as a thoroughly worthy winner and said that he was delighted to have been nominated for the award. David and Annette met Mike on many occasions whilst sailing around the world and they have become good friends. Mike has been a regular contributor to Flying Fish, and his e-mailed apologies for being unable to attend were full of useful information for the Cruising Information Service regarding the transit of the Panama Canal.
2008
Awarded to Jeanne Socrates (Nereida) for her almost-completed singlehanded circumnavigation, which ended with the beaching of Nereida, a Najad 380, in a remote part of Mexico after the autopilot failed.
Leaving from Zihuatanejo, Mexico on 26 March 2007 Jeanne reached Cairns, Australia in July of that year, continuing via South Africa to Trinidad. Departing Trinidad on 1 May 2008 for the Panama Canal transit, Jeanne then headed north up the Central American coast. She was incredibly unlucky to lose Nereida in surf on a beach in Mexico less than twelve hours and about 50 miles short of completing her solo circumnavigation.
Jeanne has already placed an order for Nereida II – also a Najad 380 – with the Swedish builders.
2007 Bill McLaren (Vagrant of Clyde 40’) - for his westabout circumnavigation of the Americas with his wife, Jane, in their Bowman 40 Vagrant of Clyde from Scotland in 2000 back to Scotland via the US nor-east canals, the Great Lakes then on a lorry to the Pacific, thence up to Alaska, down the west coast of S. America including Chile and then home via The Falklands. They spent six weeks exploring the Falklands – 670 miles, 20 anchorages – going around the islands in a figure of eight. Their last major passage was 56 days non-stop from the Falklands to the Azores, including some pretty nasty weather. Again, their voyage has been well documented in Flying Fish.
2006
Stephen Pickard (Lone Gull) – who won the Rambler Medal last year for his voyage on his Neptune 33; Fiddler III, but while holed-up in Tunisia that time he had spotted Maurice Griffiths’ 1938 vintage; “Lone Gull” and this year decided to buy her and sail her back to Beaucaire at the confluence of the Canal du Rhone and the River Rhone. The boat had not been sailed for 5 years and the engine had not been used in that time and, in order to repair the engine he needed to return to France to purchase parts and obtain an outboard as a standby. On returning to Tunisia he rebuilt the engine with local help and re-launched Lone Gull before sailing northwards towards Sardinia but found that she needed a constant hand on the tiller until he started up the engine and she motor-sailed for long periods without needing corrections to the tiller. After some mishaps such as the main halyard being trapped behind a shackle on the jumper stays, the port running backstay being foul of the port after shroud, the fan belt being on it’s last legs due to wear on a re-welded flywheel and the failure of the topping lift, the wind picked up so that they were reaching along at 5 knts together with a school of some 50 dolphins. After 44 hours at sea they found themselves a snug anchorage in Sardinia at 0300 hrs. The voyage was completed via the east coast of Sardinia , the west coast of Corsica, northwest across the Ligurian Sea towards Cannes and then up the River Rhone and the Canal du Rhone to Beaucaire. 2005
Steve and Julie Ferrero (Dos Tintos) – for their 6-year circumnavigation, always double-handed from Jersey, Channel Islands. Theirs was a well-planned, well-executed voyage in the true spirit of the OCC!
2004 - Peter Ingram - Kokiri - for his Pacific cruise from New Zealand to Micronesia with his wife, Katherine, in their newly-acquired Pacific 38. They set off from Nelson, NZ and sailed through Micronesia and Papua New Guinea to the Philippines via Vanuatu to the Solomon Islands they called in at the isolated island of Tikopia, then on to the Santa Cruz Islands and the Reef Islands. Entering Star Harbour on the eastern end of San Cristobal (Makira) Island was a challenge as cyclones had dramatically changed the topography, sprouting densely wooded islets where the chart shows submerged reefs. They then called in at the Indispensable Reefs, then on with a 300 mile passage to Papua New Guinea via New Georgia group which was long and slow, putting into Pinipel Island in the Green Islands for a break but soon continued to the Feni Islands and Lihir Island off the north coast of New Ireland. Then on to Nukuoro Atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia where the islanders were unanimous in their wish to override the mayor's authority and invited them ashore for Christmas Day. They on to Chuuk arriving where the shallow crystal-clear lagoon holds the wrecks of over 50 Japanese ships, sunk by US planes in Operation
Hailstorm in 1944.
Then a very fast passage with great fishing, dipping alternately into the opposing North Equatorial and Equatorial Counter Currents, they finally made Tacloban on Leyte Island, Phlippines.
2002 - Alan Tyson-Carter - Karma - for his circumnavigation, mainly single handed, aboard his 39ft steel ketch. His voyage began in Kiel, Germany in September, 1998 where it started with a Force 8 Gale which took him all the way to England. It has ended in a Storm Force 10 on the night of 13/14 November when he had to heave to off Start Point! He had crew as far as Martinique on the outward leg, but then single handed since then. The route was the classic one Germany to UK, leaving Falmouth for NW Spain, Portugal to Madera, The Canaries, Cape Verde Islands to Barbados; hit a whale after a gale passed on the crossing. No damage to the boat, but the whale was left bleeding behind; Barbados to Martinique, St Lucia, ABC Islands, Panama, Galapagos, Marquesas, Tuamotus, Society Islands, Cook Islands, Tonga, New Zealand, Fiji where the coup took place just before he arrived; to Vanuatu, Cairns, Australia, round Great Barrier Reef to Darwin, Timor; along Indonesian Island chain to Bali, Singapore, Langkawi Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Aden, Red Sea, Malta, Sardinia, Gibraltar and ending in England.
