OCC Conservation &
Adventure Grants
The Ocean Cruising Club membership has had a long tradition of adventurous ocean sailing and marine conservation activities.
For questions or more information please email: ChallengeGrant@OceanCruisingClub.Org
Whether high latitudes voyaging, non-stop solo circumnavigating, sampling ocean waters, or researching threatened species, OCC members’ adventures and conservation efforts, documented in its flagship publication Flying Fish, have helped sailors dream big and plan exciting and meaningful voyages.
Now, with decades of storied history, the OCC continues to support these endeavours and is proud to stand behind the individuals and their projects which seek the betterment of the sailing community and maritime environment.
The Challenge Grant encompasses two categories:
The Conservation or Environmental Grant and the Adventure Grant.
OCC Conservation Challenge Grant
This Grant is for members looking to make a difference with a specific conservation or environmental project that is centred around the ocean, marine or maritime environment. Conservation Grants are intended to help with project costs and range from £250 to £5,000, depending on the size and scope of project.
- Be related to the ocean, maritime or marine environments
- Have measurable, high impact yet achievable goals
- Incorporate best practices for sustainability
- Improve the marine conservation and/or conservation practices
- Demonstrate “Leave No Trace” practices
- Demonstrate a plan for long-term success
- If possible, engage members of the community to ensure the sustainability of the project
- If possible, have local and national conservation manager endorsement and appropriate local/national licensing where necessary.
- Have a realistic budget
- Incorporate the best ethical practices
OCC Adventure Challenge Grant
This Grant is for sailors in pursuit of adventure sailing and similar expedition activities. Awards will typically fall in the £250 to £5,000 range; however, award amounts will vary based on project and budget. Challenge Grants will not be awarded for participation in yacht racing or other organised events.
Grants are open to all blue water sailors who can satisfy OCC requirements for membership.
(Click here for details ). Grant winners will be awarded OCC membership, with dues for one year covered by the Challenge Grant.
Those receiving financial or in-kind support from corporate sponsors are also eligible, however the level of sponsorship must be disclosed.
Applicants should possess a resume of past sailing experiences that illustrate their ability to have a
reasonable potential for success. The Review Committee recognizes that risk and uncertainty are
factors in pushing frontiers and, as such, ambitious projects will not be viewed negatively.
However, an Applicant(s) must demonstrate that they are a capable sailor and experience should
be generally within the range of the difficulty of the stated objective while still allowing the Applicant to push boundaries and expand existing skill sets.
That in line with the OCC Code of Ethics, recipients are required to comply with the laws and regulations of whichever territory they are sailing whilst actively benefitting from the Challenge Grant. Recipients may be called upon to provide deliverables such as trip reports, photography/video, slideshows, articles, media, participate in OCC-led volunteer commitments and community outreach.
A Grant Recipient may be called upon to provide deliverables such as trip reports,
photography/video, slideshows, articles, media, participate in OCC-led volunteer commitments
and community outreach. Applications can be initially based on a simple 2 x A4 page written proposal t
hat is appropriately referenced and email to ChallengeGrant@OceanCruisingClub.Org.
Furthermore, Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to their objective by expressing a detailed understanding
of the proposed expedition’s objective, timeline, budget, and logistics, including what permits and/or visas may be required.
All third-party funding or support must be disclosed. Applications can be submitted anytime but the Grant Program has limited
funds available annually, so applicants are encouraged to submit applications as early as possible.
Objectives featuring a low-impact style, conservation, and leave-no-trace
mentality will be looked upon with favour. Points may be given for short-handed, remoteness, preparedness
of crew and craft, having a positive impact at the destination, self-sufficiency and projects along the way.
Projects may be academic research, popular science research, aid, relief, film, literary or photographic,
mountaineering, diving or other exploratory sport. Applications should show the amount of research and planning
that has gone into the proposal and objective difficulties along the way.
Previous Challenge Grant Winners
Listed below are previous recipients of OCC Challenge Grants.
| Year | Awarded To | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | OCC Challenge Grant awarded to Nicole Trenholm and the ‘Ocean Research Project’ | The Ocean Cruising Club awards a Conservation Challenge Grant to the Ocean Research Project | Read more |
| 2025 | Ocean Cruising Club Challenge Grant Recipient reaches Virginia | Mathews Yacht Club, Mathews VA welcomed OCC Challenge Grant recipient, NOVARA One Planet to the Chesapeake Bay | Read more |
| 2025 | OCC Challenge Grant Awardees Duncan & Larissa | Following on from an earlier post about the award of an OCC Challenge Grant, it is good to see that the news has been picked up by Sail Magazine | Read more |
| 2025 | OCC Conservation Challenge Grant awarded to Free Range Ocean. | The Ocean Cruising Club Awards a Conservation Challenge Grant to Free Range Ocean. | Read more |
| 2024 | Report on OCC Challenge Grant awarded to Project Manaia | The Ocean Cruising Club awards money to various adventurous and environmental good causes through the OCC Challenge Grant scheme. Below is a report on one recipient - Mediterranean Cleanup Mission. | Read more |
| 2024 | Introducing ‘Voyage to the Wild’ | Marine scientist, Charlie Young, has been awarded an OCC Challenge Grant to share her story. | Read more |
| 2024 | Voyage to the Wild | Conservation Grant of £3,000 to Charlie Young's storytelling sailing project which documents wildlife and conservation efforts and reports on the greatest challenges facing the natural world. | Read more |
| 2024 | OCC Challenge Grant recipient | Practical Boat Owner (PBO) magazine has written up the story of Jenny Decker, an OCC Challenge Grant recipient. | Read more |
| 2024 | Project Manaia | Conservation Grant of £3,000 to Manuel Marinelli's marine debris initiative. | Read more |
| 2024 | Jenny Decker | Adventure Grant of £5,000 to a solo sailor battling a neurodegenerative disease and aiming to circumnavigate while she can. | Read more |
| 2023 | The Novara One Planet Project | Conservation Grant of £3,000 to connect people to the impacts of climate change through science, education, art and adventure. | Read more |
| 2022 | sv Danú of Galway | Conservation Grant of £3,000 to sail from Ireland for Scoresby Sound to sample for microplastics as part of a scientific collaboration with the Trinity College Dublin’s Centre for the Environment. | Read more |
| 2021 | Thierry & Barbara Courvoisier, sv Gaia | Conservation Grant of £3,000 to establish a program called ‘Science et Voile Avec Gaia’, (Science and Sailing with Gaia). | Read more |
| 2021 | Juho Karhu & Sohvi Kangasluoma, sv Sylvia | Adventure Grant of £3,000 for an Arctic Expedition, leaving from Finland for Greenland, where they would overwinter with their sailboat frozen into the ice. | Read more |
| 2020 | Greg Landreth & Keri Pashuk, sv Saoirse | Adventure Grant of £3,000 to undertake sailing expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula. | Read more |
| 2020 | Dustin Reynolds, sv Tiama | Adventure Grant of £3,000 to complete a six-year solo circumnavigation as a double amputee. | Read more |
| 2020 | Philippe Jamotte, sv Changabang | Adventure Grant of £1,906 for a west-about solo non-stop circumnavigation in a Class40 sailboat, the first from the West Coast of the Americas. | Read more |
| 2019 | Jon Sanders, #NOPLASTICWASTE | Conservation Grant of £1,320 to bring attention to ocean plastic and to collect data and samples of micro plastics in less trafficked areas. | Read more |
| 2019 | Bert ter Hart, sv Seaburban | Adventure Grant of £2,000 to support a single-handed, west-about circumnavigation via the five great capes using only traditional navigation. | Read more |