UK’s ultimate sea view is revealed!

The eagerly anticipated results of the UK-wide photography competition ‘Ultimate Sea View’ have been revealed by national maritime charity, the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, following a challenging judging process of over 1,300 entries.

The overall winner of the competition was ‘Beams’ by William Pollard. The image, which captures the lighthouse at St Abb’s Head shining into the North Sea night, landed the amateur photographer a £500 prize voucher for photographic equipment.

In addition to the overall prize, winners were also named in four categories:

• Working at Sea: John Roberts – ‘Mackerel Fishing – Homeward Bound’, Outer Hebrides
• Ships and Wrecks: Alex Iacobet – ‘The Tide that Never Came’, Sidmouth
• Coastal Views: John Dyer – ‘The Stacs of St Kilda’, Scotland
• People and Recreation: Roy Curtis – ‘Surfing into the Wind’, Newquay

The winners were selected from a shortlist of over 100 photographs.  The four judges: Picture Editor of The i, Sophie Batterbury; Editor of Amateur Photographer, Nigel Atherton; Picture Editor of The Sunday Times, Ray Wells and the Chief Executive of the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, Commodore Malcolm Williams had a difficult task.

The Society, which provides financial support to former seafarers and their dependants, was on the lookout for images of ships, harbours, ports, wrecks, seafarers and seascapes. The competition, sponsored by Inmarsat and supported by Nautilus International, ran from the Society’s website www.shipwreckedmariners.org.uk, and across social media.

On the competition, Commodore Williams commented: “We had over 1,300 entries for the competition from over 400 people from right across the United Kingdom. Not only did we see a record number of entries this year, the quality was very high, making the judging an extremely difficult process.”

On the entries, Nigel Atherton said: “We were blessed with some really fantastic entries this year, with a series of captivating, technically accomplished and emotive shots ending up on the shortlist. Of the few years I’ve enjoyed judging this competition, this was certainly the most difficult. It’s so pleasing to see so many talented photographers submit their images in support of the charity’s crucial work.”

Commodore Williams continued: “The competition raises awareness of us as a charity and what we can do for people facing financial hardship, as well as celebrating our enduring relationship with the sea. In the last twelve months, we’ve distributed £1.4 million in over 2,000 cases and it is vital we continue to receive fantastic support from the public to enable us to continue to help those in need.”

To view a gallery of winners, go to: https://shipwreckedmariners.org.uk/photography-competition-2017/