Who We Are

Sentinel Ocean Alliance is a community-rooted organisation based in Hout Bay, South Africa.
We create access to the ocean for children and youth from underserved coastal communities, using education, therapy, and leadership development to build confidence, connection, and environmental awareness.

Our work began with a simple question: How can young people living beside the ocean grow up without ever learning to swim in it?
From this starting point, we built a model that uses the ocean itself as both classroom and teacher — a place to learn new skills, restore wellbeing, and develop a sense of belonging.

Our Approach

We believe that real change begins with connection.
Through hands-on learning, mentorship, and community participation, our programmes turn proximity to the ocean into opportunity.

Our approach combines:

  • Ocean Education

    building literacy through the Parley Ocean School

  • Ocean therapy

    developing safety and confidence through Turn the Tide

  • Leadership development 

    cultivating long-term commitment through Ocean Sentinels

  • Environmental action

    restoring ecosystems through Parley Coastal Cleanups

Together, these programmes form a pathway — from first encounter to leadership — that helps young people understand and protect the ocean that sustains them.

Our Story

Sentinel Ocean Alliance was founded in 2018 by big-wave surfer and community activist Frank Solomon.
What began as a small surf club offering water-safety lessons has grown into a registered non-profit organisation providing structured ocean-based education and therapy to hundreds of children each year.

Today, the organisation is led by a dedicated team of educators, coaches, and community leaders.From our base at the Parley AIR Station in Hout Bay, we now partner with schools, NGOs, and funders locally and internationally to expand access to ocean programmes across South Africa, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Our Partnerships

We work in close collaboration with Parley for the Oceans, Sealand, ONDA Foundation, McPike Zima Foundation, Patagonia, and many other partners who share our belief that access and inclusion are essential to conservation.
Through the Parley Global Cleanup Network, we contribute locally collected data to international efforts that track and reduce marine pollution.

Our Commitment

Sentinel Ocean Alliance is driven by a commitment to inclusion, safety, and integrity in everything we do.
We provide transport, meals, equipment, and trained facilitators to ensure that all participants (including children with special needs) can take part fully and safely.

We see the ocean not as a boundary, but as a bridge.
By reconnecting people and nature, we aim to build stronger, healthier coastal communities and a culture of care for the ocean that sustains us all.

Registered Details

Sentinel Ocean Alliance NPC (2018/260033/08)
Registered Public Benefit Organisation (PBO #930071178)

Based in Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa