Dustin Reynolds Receives OCC Barton Cup Award
Double-amputee sailor Dustin Reynolds has received the Ocean Cruising Club’s premier award, the OCC Barton Cup — an award that salutes an exceptional or challenging voyage or series of voyages. Reynolds became the first double amputee to sail around the world singlehanded when he completed his seven-and-a-half-year circumnavigation in Hawaii earlier this month aboard his Bristol 35, Tiama.
After losing his left arm and part of his leg when the motorcycle he was riding was hit by a drunk driver, Reynolds embarked on the voyage as part of his recovery — with little experience and little to no money. His boat, Tiama, is “extremely low-tech, with no electric winches or other gizmos to make his sailing easier.”
We’re featuring Dustin Reynolds in the February issue of Latitude 38, which hits the docks next week. In the meantime, you can hear his story on a recent episode of Good Jibes. Tune in here.
The OCC press release lists all the award recipients for 2021 and can be viewed here.
The Ocean Cruising Club is a “worldwide community for adventure sailing. Since 1954 The OCC is the ‘home port’ for those who have sailed long distances across big oceans. With 45 nationalities represented among more than 3100 members, and Port Officers around the world, we have a more diverse membership and a more international reach than any other blue water sailing organization. The Ocean Cruising Club exists to encourage long-distance sailing in small boats.”
The OCC rules state that to become a full member you must have “completed a qualifying voyage of a non-stop port-to-port ocean passage, where the distance between the two ports is not less than 1,000 nautical miles, in a vessel of not more than 70ft (21.36m) LOA.”
Would you qualify?