IN 1965 an unassuming copy editor called Robert Manry from Cleveland set off in a 13.5ft boat called Tinkerbelle on a lone voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from the port of Falmouth in Cleveland to Falmouth in England.

He set off with no fanfare, but as word spread of his mission over the following months, he eventually arrived to an international hero’s welcome. His main motivation for the trip was his fear of living a mundane life.

In the film Manry is quoted as saying: “There comes a time when you must choose whether to risk everything to achieve your dreams or spend the rest of your life in your own back yard.”

This was just one in a series of nine inspiring short films about our oceans, from above and below the surface, featured in this year’s Ocean Film Festival, the sister to the Banff Mountain Film Festival.

Now in its sixth year, the 2019 UK tour is visiting locations across the county in September and October,

Over the space of a few hours you are taken on a journey around the globe featuring stories from surfers to fisherman, and marine scientists to artists.

Highlights include A Peace Within about an extreme artist called Philip Gray as he ventures below the surface to paint Mexico’s astounding cenotes – clear-water subterranean pools; Surfer Dan, a landlocked ocean-lover who lives on the shores of Lake Superior in Michigan where he braves deadly currents and icebergs to catch waves in the winter and Emocean, a documentary starring an eclectic assortment of people sharing tales of adventure, adrenaline and overcoming adversity through their relationship with the ocean from California, Hawaii, Australia and beyond.

Some of the films felt a tad long in places and some almost too short, but overall you cannot fail to be inspired to explore, respect and protect the oceans.

Don’t worry if you missed it though. Further screenings take place at Regent Centre, Christchurch on October 2 and 17 and Lighthouse, Poole on October 18. See oceanfilmfestival.co.uk.

And if you're a dog lover, Banff are also bringing The Top Dog Film Festival to Lighthouse on October 3 which celebrates the connection between canines and their companions.