The Ocean Cruising Club
Terms and Conditions apply.
Welcome to the OCC: the Home Port for Ocean-Going Cruisers
To be a part of the OCC is to be a part of a group of people who have said ‘yes’ to adventure and who will welcome you if you choose to do the same.
The people in the Ocean Cruising Club represent the distilled essence of the cruising community, a potent combination of accomplishment, experience, idealism, eccentricity, generosity and humility. The sole qualification for Full membership, the only ticket to entry, entails stepping aboard your boat, casting off the docklines and making a continuous ocean passage of at least 1000 nautical miles, measured along the rhumb line, in a vessel not more than 70 feet overall length. This is open to anyone aboard, either as skipper or certified as competent by the skipper. There is one additional class of membership; an Associate, for those aspiring to cross oceans. Membership is about achievement, and the OCC welcomes those who qualify, without restrictions.
To review the benefits of membership, please view this pdf.
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MUST BE LOGGED IN TO VIEW MEMBERS' ONLY SECTIONS OF THE WEBSITE!
News from the cruising world...
RoRC News
At our recent Committee Meeting there was a change to three of our Roving Rear Commodores.
David Bridges in Blue Yonder has taken over from Scott and Kitty Kuhner in Tamure. David will initially cover the US Eastern Seaboard and he has hopes of turning Westwards before too long.
Simon and Hilda Julien in Brisa are taking over from John and Christine Lytle in Oriole and will be covering the Eastern Caribbean.
Jack and Zdenka Griswold in Kite sailed home and stopped roving and Bill and Laurie Balme in Toodle-OO are taking their place, initially on the US East Coast then South to the Western Caribbean and the Western coast of South America.
Where Are Our Port Officers?
Here's a quick easy look at a Port Officers' map. For full details, login to the website and select the Port Officers pages from the Menu on the left hand side of the page. Please extend the common courtesy of giving them a call, even if it's just to drop in for a cuppa or invite them over for cocktails in the cockpit! If you've enjoyed the time spent with them or received exceptional help and assistance, let us know. It's always good to recognise their dedicated service.
Detailed port information can be accessed from links at the end of selected listings. Check back often for updates.
OCC Caribbean SSB Radio Net 2016-2017
The OCC Caribbean radio net will again be in operation this winter from 1st December to April as a minimum. This is not a HAM net so anyone with a SSB radio is very welcome to join in. Getting the net started in December sometimes requires persistence by the net controller to recruit contributors and build a roster of net controllers, so please listen and call until we establish a workable group after which it should become self-sustaining.
0730 local time (1130 GMT) on most days – usually Monday to Saturday – on 6227kHz USB.
Simon and Hilda Julien, Roving Rear Commodores (East Caribbean)
OCC's Best Practices in Blue Water Cruising
Join in on the discussions on the OCC Forum and help the OCC generate valuable references for cruising sailors.
New threads open on Communications at Sea and MOB Retrieval. Share your expertise and experience.
Now live...
- Best Practices in Watchkeeping - the first paper in the developing series (May 2015)
- Heavy Weather Sailing by Tony Gooch is the second paper added to the collection. (Aug 2015)
Calling all Junkies! A discussion of Best Practices in Junk Rig Sailing has been started here by David Tyler!
New article Strategy for a Flooding Vessel has been posted by Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy...thoughts welcome!
New thread open on Seasickness Management. Please add your thoughts.
Please weigh in on a new thread for Man Overboard Recovery on the Forum.
The OCC Youth Sponsorship Programme
Are you planning a passage? Can you offer a young person a berth?
The aim of the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) Youth Sponsorship Programme is to foster the development of ocean cruising by enabling young people to gain experience as a crew member on a long distance sailing passage. The programme enables the introduction of individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 to experienced ocean sailors, and the sponsorship award contributes towards the costs of the voyage.
Learn how to apply for the programme here.
Focus Your Binoculars On Seabirds!
Please contribute to the Birding Aboard Project! Birding Aboard was created to raise awareness among long-distance boaters from around the world to record their seabird observations. All data goes to eBird, a worldwide resource for scientists and conservation groups.
More information is available at www.birdingaboard.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/BirdingAboard/, where you can share your questions, photographs, and experiences with other birders aboard.
The OCC Mentoring Programme
We are seeking mentors for the OCC’s Mentoring Programme to help Associates prepare for their first 1000 miles ocean passage, enabling them to become full members. If you have recent experience of cruising (anywhere in the world) with either monohulls or multihulls, of transocean rallies, electronic navigation or sailing with children, please email Priscilla Travis (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) describing your areas of expertise and giving your boat details, plus the URL of your website, if you have one.
If you are seeking a crew berth to gain experience or to complete your qualifying passage, or if you have
a berth to offer to a crew member, please use the OCC Forum ‘Crew Needed and Crewing PositionsWanted.’ That’s the fastest way to advertise your needs to the members.
"When contemplating our forthcoming circumnavigation we were very kindly introduced to the OCC by a senior member to the club and its marvelous mentoring scheme. It has been a huge benefit. We were very fortunate in having previous cir
cumnavigators appointed as our mentors. They were brilliant and fielded our unremitting questions for a whole day. Their immense knowledge has proved to be invaluable."
– Jonathan Lloyd
[Reproduced with permission.]
Meet our Members
This biography features Hum Barton and Mary Barton, adventurers who like the idea of going to places where people aren't, where flora and fauna are relatively untouched, and where a sailor's preparedness and resourcefulness may be tested daily.