20 years of action and raising awareness

Having spent time in many less-fortunate regions of the world, Peter and Sally Edington are acutely aware of such issues as Global-warming's effect on developing island nations. They have also worked with a number of NGOs helping poor and blind people in Africa.

The Ocean Sailing Club yacht Loquax has been involved in raising awareness for NGOs and charities in Britain, Africa and Australia for twenty years.

As an aside, Loquax has crossed half the oceans of the world with a crew made up exclusively of women and girls. Include in that crossing the Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the South Pacific and you will see the Ocean Sailing Club believes absolutely in equality between women and men.

Poverty Action

In 1998, Loquax sailed to West Africa carrying materials for bush hospitals 200 miles up the Gambia River, in support of the UK NGO Sightsavers International who, with the Gambian government, designated a week in November as Blindness Awareness week. With the help of the British press and BBC, the story of the work done by Sightsavers got widespread coverage and support.

In Australia, the yacht carried banners for the Make Poverty History campaign and the Fred Hollows Foundation. The sailing school that was then operating Loquax allowed students to allocate 50% of their tuition fees to Fred Hollows.

In 2004-5, forty young social justice activists from the Oaktree Foundation trained up to sail Loquax all the way to Melbourne for the 2005 G8 summit, in the hope of raising awareness for the Make Poverty History campaign. All these young people gained their Yachting Australia Competent Crew certificates and great life experience from this adventure.

In 2007, Peter Edington spent some months working with the Botswana government, teaching IT skills in the government offices of Gabarone and in remote community centres as far away as the Namibian border. He then went on to Kenya to work with the Kenyan Society for the Blind and the Fred Hollows supported Nakuru Hospital where he created a computer-based patient record system for them. Of course, Botswana is on the Kalahari Desert, so the yacht was not actually part of this trip!

Climate Change

Poor countries - especially island nations - are the first to be hit by global climate change. So it makes sense that anyone concerned with reducing world poverty should be concerned with climate change.

While we accept that change must come through evolution, not revolution, the need to switch to renewable energy sits very well alongside a lifestyle that relies on wind for its motive power and sunshine not diesel to drive the electrics on board the yacht. So it makes sense that Loquax will carry banners and logos promoting the work of organisations concerned with Climate Action

Carrying the message

2022 will see Loquax switch to being an Australian flagged yacht, but she will continue to carry Club members across the Oceans.

October will see the start of our co-operation with the Ocean Climate Challenge, to spread a better understanding of the importance of our Oceans in maintaining balance in our climate, and a habitable planet for the future.


The Ocean Sailing Club looks forward to promoting the work of NGOs working to combat the damage our generation is having on the planet planet.

Look out for The Ocean Sailing Club's yacht on the water as we gear up for these voyages.

Join us

If you, your organisation or your NGO feel we could help you in your fight for a more ethical world, please call or text on +61 405430525 or use the Contact Us page to ask a question send us a message of support. We'd be happy to try and help