Everywhere we go these days, we hear OCH members saying: “That’s SO off center.”

It usually comes up when someone, or something, is funky and unique but at the same time truly authentic and genuine.

At first we thought we were alone in appreciating the “off centered-ness” of people and things, but we’ve discovered that “off center” is a concept that captures the imagination of OCH members, and is wide open for interpretation.

More often than not, those “off center” interpretations by members are better than our own.

So, naturally, we thought: Let’s have a contest!

We’re opening up the spigot for OCH members and friends to contribute “off center” things as you discover them this summer.

In a world where speed, complexity, and sameness are becoming the norm, “off center” tends toward the slow, and simple and different. We also notice that the thought of making a profit from “off center” things seems much less relevant than the joy experienced while doing it.

We love the unexpected nature of “off center” discoveries, and we have these discoveries most often when we venture off the beaten path. Of all the “off center” things we find, there’s nothing better than stumbling upon a talented artisan making something with their hands using time-honored skills.

Although this is a contest with awards and prizes, more importantly it’s a rallying cry for members and friends to veer off the beaten path this summer and join us in our hunt for things that are inspiring and unexpected — things that give us hope for the world and for our fellow man and woman.

So while you’re out on the water this summer, or surfing the web during a thunderstorm, if you discover something totally unexpected that you believe is “SO off center”, we encourage you submit it, and join the contest.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Entrants can submit any of the following as entries:

• Category #1: Brief write-up of what “Off Center” means to you, or
• Category #2: Photo(s) of a person, place or thing, with a brief description of why you believe it is “off center”, or
• Category #3: Short video clip(s), or a fully produced video, created by the entrant, with a brief description of what makes it “off center”, or
• Category #4: Videos produced by others that are already on the web, along with a brief description of why, for you, they are “off center”. In this case, it may be appropriate to share the award with video’s creator.
• These are guidelines, not hard and fast rules, so they can be stretched or broken if you find something way more compelling or “off center” than we have imagined.
• We encourage entries to be about waterfronts and boating, but if you discover something else that is truly “off center,” you can forget the boat and water.

DEADLINE:
Submissions are due by midnight, September 15, 2017. We may post a few of the submissions earlier, however, for inspiration.

SUBMIT BY EMAIL:
Please submit your entries via email at [email protected]. If your file(s) are too large to send by email, then let us know and we’ll send you a link to upload the files via dropbox.

AWARDS:
Winning submissions will have their own post/page on OffCenterHarbor.com, plus:

1st Prize: $200 Gift Certificate to Hamilton Marine and OCH Burgee

2nd Prize: $100 Gift Certificate to Hamilton Marine and OCH Burgee

3rd Prize: $50 Gift Certificate to Hamilton Marine and OCH Burgee

INSPIRATION:
For inspiration, you can CLICK HERE to see the “Off Center” category on OCH, where you’ll find all the OCH videos and Flotsam we’ve tagged as “off center”.

And be sure not to miss these favorites:

Good luck!
The Off Center Crew