Look at the photograph above. Shot underwater off the Caribbean island of Barbuda, it shows a mass of abandoned fishing nets wrapped around the hull and propeller of a sailing yacht. The water is clear, the colors are striking, the composition is strong, and the story it tells is immediately legible: this boat is in serious trouble.
What makes it extraordinary is the context. Photographer Kirstin Jones didn't set any of this up. She was simply on the boat when it happened. Caught in the nets in rough seas, she and her crew managed to sail their steel 43-foot yacht slowly, without engine, into a sheltered anchorage, where it took more than an hour to clear the hull.
The image won the adult photography prize in the 2025 Brian Black Memorial Award, run by Yachting Monthly in partnership with antifouling specialist Coppercoat. This year, Digital Camera World joins the judging panel, and entries for 2026 are open now.
Article continues belowWhat the award is
The Brian Black Memorial Award was established in 2020 to honor Brian and Lesley Black: sailors, naturalists, and journalists who, between them, documented the state of the world's oceans, long before it became a mainstream concern.
Brian was a broadcaster and filmmaker in Northern Ireland; Lesley was the first female commodore of a Northern Irish yacht club. The award, now in its sixth year, asks sailors to do what the Blacks did: go out on the water, pay attention, and come back with a story worth telling.
There are two strands. The article competition invites sailors to write around 1,800 words about an inspiring encounter with the marine environment, supported by images.
The photography competition asks for a single image that captures that encounter, with a 300-word explanation of the shot and its significance. There is a separate junior category for photographers aged 16 and under. The theme for 2026 is 'Our Inspiring Seas'.
What the judges are looking for
Last year's judging panel praised Kirstin Jones's image precisely because it earns its impact honestly. As the judges noted, it is rare to have a photograph of a boat in this situation that is well composed, in clear water, with striking colors, and that quickly tells a complex story. Nothing about it is staged or simplified.
The gear tangled on the hull is known as "ghost gear", one of the most serious and least visible threats to marine ecosystems. Over 500,000 tonnes of nets, lines and traps enter the world's oceans every year, where they entangle wildlife, damage the seabed and break down into microplastics.
For 2026, the judges, including multiple circumnavigator Mike Golding OBE, TV presenter and environmentalist Monty Halls, conservationist Dr Bob Brown and the editorial teams of Yachting Monthly and Digital Camera World, are looking for images that go beyond the beautiful.
The winning photograph should reveal or challenge something about the viewer's relationship with the marine environment. Technique matters, but so does meaning.
The prizes and how to enter
The adult photography prize is camera equipment to the value of £750. The junior prize is worth £500. The article prize is £1,500 in cash, plus publication in Yachting Monthly and an interview on The Sailing Podcast. Yachting Monthly and Coppercoat will also donate £500 to marine conservation charity Sea-Changers.
You do not need to be a professional photographer or an experienced sailor to enter. You 'just' need a genuine encounter, the patience to capture it well, and the honesty to explain why it matters.
Entries are open to UK residents. The closing date is August 30 2026. AI-generated entries are not accepted. To enter the adult photo competition, the junior photo competition, or the article competition, visit yachtingmonthly.com.
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