£3,000+ prizes for sailing writing and photo competition

Entries are open for Yachting Monthly’s annual environmental journalism award, the 2026 Brian Black Memorial Award.

Back for a sixth year, Yachting Monthly is running the Brian Black Memorial Award in partnership with Coppercoat. The award commemorates Brian and Lesley Black, trailblazing sailors, environmentalists and journalists. This year, there are over £3,000-worth of prizes to be won for the best article and the best photos of the marine environment on the theme of ‘Our Inspiring Seas’.

The judges are looking for article and photographs that capture an inspiring encounter that you have had with marine wildlife or the marine environment more generally that impacted, inspired and changed you in some way. The photo competition is open to adults with a separate category for young people aged 15 or under.

Judges include multiple circumnavigator Mike Golding, TV presenter and environmentalist Monty Halls, as well as conservationist Dr Bob Brown, the editorial teams of Yachting Monthly and Digital Camera World and Sarah Brown. Brian and Lesley's daughter Sarah Brown is a former Chair of the Sea-Changers Board and a much loved member of the Sea-Changers team. Sea-Changers is very proud to support and promote this wonderful award.

Full details about the competition, terms and conditions and the entry process can be found here.

The prize for the winning article will be £1,500 in cash, along with publication in Yachting Monthly and yachtingmonthly.com, and an interview on The Sailing Podcast. The prize for the adult photo competition will be camera equipment equivalent to a value of £750 and of £500 for the junior competition. Yachting Monthly will also be making a donation of £500 to Sea-Changers.