About the OCC  
Written by George Curtis   
Friday, 25 January 2008

The Ocean Cruising Club is an international club administered from the UK for cruisers. Members are identified by a distinctive blue and yellow burgee with a stylized Flying Fish on the blue part of the flag. Founded in 1954 by the late Humphrey Barton after his east-west crossing of the Atlantic in the 25 foot Vertue XXXV the club exists to promote long-distance cruising in all its forms. The club has no premises, regarding the oceans of the world as its clubhouse, although it enjoys visitors' rights with a number of major clubs world-wide. Membership is about what the applicant has done rather than who they are. Membership is open to anyone either as skipper, or certified as competent by the skipper, who has completed a continuous ocean passage of at least 1000 miles, measured along the rhumb line, in a vessel of under 72 feet. The Ocean Cruising Club maintains a network of over 100 Port Officers world-wide to assist members in their undertakings and publishes the journal ‘Flying Fish’ twice a year and a quarterly newsletter. Much published material is available for non-members to review on the OCC website www.oceancruisingclub.org. This material includes the archive of the journal 'Flying Fish' published since 1991 covering first hand experience of cruises over most of the naviagable waters of the globe.

The Club sponsors a number of cruises in company, rallys and get togethers in different areas of the world.


Cruising Information

The OCC Cruising Information Service is provided by reports from OCC amateur yachtsmen and is for OCC members only although some reports are posted on the public part of the web site. The date given in a report is the date that the member supplying the information visited this place and the information may have changed at any time. The OCC has taken no steps to verify the information, which should be confirmed independently. The OCC accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information and cannot be held liable for any damage howsoever caused whether directly or indirectly or any consequential losses.

Links to Commercially Published Cruising Guides and Pilot Books are provided on the Public part of this site. In addition links are provided to sites providing regional and world-wide coverage of weather and tidal information. Reports on harbours and cruising grounds across the globe provided by OCC members are available to members only on the password protected part of this site where files may now be down-loaded for Europe, Mediterranean, Atlantic Islands, South America & Antarctica, West Atlantic & Caribbean, Pacific Rim, Pacific Ocean, Australia & New Zealand and West, East Asia & Indian Ocean, South & East Africa.

A successful CIS is reliant on the regular submission of updated information and members are encouraged to do this. Instructions on how information should be provided are given to members in the password protected part of the site in the General CIS Information section, together with an example submission.
  • World Wide Information and Weather  ( 3 items )
  • Europe  ( 62 items )
    Listings of CIS Reports for Europe on the password protected part of the site are in an order roughly North to South. Please note that the listing of reports extends to more than one page; use the "Next" button at the foot of the page 1 list to see the next page.
  • Mediterranean and Black Sea  ( 47 items )
    Listings of CIS Reports on Mediterranean and Black Sea in the password protected part of the site are in an order roughly West to East.
  • West, South & East Africa  ( 39 items )
    Listings of CIS Reports West, South and East Africa in the password protected part of the site are in an anti-clockwise order
  • Indian Ocean & Asia  ( 93 items )
    Listings of CIS Reports on the Indian Ocean and Asia in the password protected part of the site are in order in general from East to West. Please note that the listing of reports extends to more than one page; use the "Next" button at the foot of the page 1 list to see the next page.
  • Australia & New Zealand  ( 55 items )
    Listings of CIS Reports are in order anticlockwise for Australia and Southwards for New Zealand. Please note that the listing of reports extends to more than one page; use the "Next" button at the foot of the page 1 list to see the next page.
  • East & West Pacific Rim  ( 44 items )
    Listings of CIS Reports on the password protected part of the site for East & West Pacific Rim run in a generally clockwise order.
  • Pacific Ocean  ( 68 items )
    Listings of CIS Reports in the the password protected part of the site are in general from East to West. Please note that the listing of reports extends to more than one page; use the "Next" button at the foot of the page 1 list to see the next page.
  • South America and Antartica  ( 53 items )
    Listings of CIS Reports the password protected part of the site for South America and Antartica generally run clockwise. Please note that the listing of reports extends to more than one page; use the "Next" button at the foot of the page 1 list to see the next page.
  • West Atlantic & Caribbean  ( 48 items )
    Listings of CIS Reports in the password protected part of the site on West Atlantic & Caribbean are in an order roughly North to South
  • Atlantic Islands  ( 20 items )