Now in its fifth year, Yachting Monthly’s Brian Black Memorial Award celebrates the best written and photographic storytelling about marine environmental issues as explored by boat.

Enter the Brian Black Memorial Award 2025

Submit an entry to the adult photo competition.
Submit an entry to the adult article competition.
Submit an entry to the junior photo competition.

The Award was created in honour of environmental broadcast journalist Brian Black who was passionate about the marine environment and eloquent in his writing and filmmaking about the crises facing fragile Arctic ecosystems.

He was also a lifelong sailor and contributor to YM. His wife Lesley was a sailor and author in her own right, becoming Northern Ireland’s first female yacht club commodore. Both passed away in recent years.

The Black family, with YM, established a journalism award in their name to celebrate sailing adventures which shed fresh light on marine environmental issues.

In 2025 written submissions will be in with a chance of winning 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 Brian Black Memorial Award is sponsored by Coppercoat, makers of the environmentally responsible multi-season antifoul.

For the last 35 years, Coppercoat has offered an award-winning alternative to self-ablating antifouls that are expensive and time-consuming to apply annually, while also leaching uncontrolled amounts of the toxic biocides into the marine environment.

Tests by sailing magazines, commercial operators and for offshore installations have repeatedly found Coppercoat to be the best-performing product with a negligible impact on the waters it is in.

The company constantly works to improve its product, packaging and operations to further reduce its footprint, and is delighted to support this initiative to promote healthy seas.

In 2025, the theme is ‘Our Changing Seas’. YM will also be making a donation of £1,000 to the marine conservation funding charity Sea-Changers.

Submit an entry to the adult photo competition + T&Cs.
Submit an entry to the adult article competition + T&Cs.
Submit an entry to the junior photo competition + T&Cs.