Introductie Ocean Cruising Club (OCC)

Dear members of De Toerzeilers 

I am really happy to write to you particularly as our two clubs are becoming affiliated. 
My name is Fiona Jones and I have the honour of being the current Commodore of the Ocean Cruising Club.

Myself and my husband Chris were live aboard cruisers for 14 years and have sailed over 96000nm together and we found the camaraderie of OCC to be a really great part of cruising life. 

From its earliest days, the OCC has celebrated those who dared to brave the ocean in small boats, and many of its early members became adventuring legends, founder Hum Barton, Francis Chichester, David Lewis, Bill Tilman and the Reverend Bob Shepton to name a few. 
Every full OCC member has made a 1,000-nautical mile offshore passage in a vessel of 70 feet or less. Associate members are committed to the achievement of that passage and have access to all the clubs resources as well as being able to make use of the OCC mentoring scheme. 

Members use words like camaraderie, like-minded, experience, accomplishment, non-elitist and adventurous, they describe our club as a place to be together, to share our experiences and to enjoy one another's company. 

Though it has no physical clubhouse, it is, in a way, the "home port" for all of us who have sailed long distances across big oceans. 
Like those in De Toerzeilers members understand what it means to be at sea, to be completely reliant on our own skills, to be subject to the whims of Mother Nature, to be humbled and empowered at the same time. This draws us together as a group. 

By drawing on the experiences of all of our members and sharing the lessons they have learned the hard way we can help future generations of offshore sailors. We hope that you may see the OCC as a stepping stone to ocean sailing and perhaps one day you will become full OCC members yourselves. 

The OCC maintains a network of over 200 Port Officers worldwide as well as Regional Rear Commodores to cover various geographic areas. They are the key to building vibrant "home ports" around the world, by establishing a wide range of support, social activities and communications in their local area.

As Affiliates you can access our website and see the journal 'Flying Fish' published annually, together with a quarterly newsletter. The cruising information pages of our website contain a wealth of information covering first hand experiences of cruisers over most of the navigable waters of the globe.

You are also able to join in with some of our activities. Regional Rear Commodores organise local events in Australia, Canada, Europe, Ireland, UK and the USA. With these events and a significant number of members on passage, the blue and yellow burgee with its flying fish motif is carried proudly throughout the cruising waters of the world.

We hope to meet many of you over the years and perhaps this will begin at the shared OCC event in Enkhuizen on September 8th this year. 

I wish you fair winds and good cheer,