Yachtsman of the Year shortlist announced
The six shortlisted names for the boats.com YJA Yachtsman of the Year and Young Sailor of the Year Awards have just been revealed.
November 17, 2015
The shortlists have been announced for the 2016 boats.com YJA Yachtsman of the Year and Young Sailor of the Year Awards, and there are some impressive names, and stories, among the lists.
boats.com YJA Yachtsman of the Year shortlist
Three names will go forwards to the ceremony in January: Giles Scott, Ian Walker and Ian Williams.
On a personal note, I think it's a shame we don't see any female sailors on this year's shortlist, the likes of Sam Davies (skipper of the female entry in the Volvo Ocean Race), Libby Greenhalgh (navigator with the same team) and Sarah Ayton (tactician competing in the Extreme Sailing Series) certainly cried out for attention, but at the end of the day the competition was just too hot.
There were plenty of other worthy nominees that didn't make it to the shortlist. The extraordinary feat of windsurfer Jono Dunnett, who completed an unsupported circumnavigation of the UK in aid of charity was also certainly right up there, but, as impressive as it was, even his achievement didn't quite make the cut.
Giles Scott - photo Richard Langdon/British Sailing Team.
Giles Scott
Giles Scott has dominated the Finn class for the past two years and is undefeated since October 2013. He has won the last two Olympic test events, three Sailing World Cup events and the ISAF Worlds. Scott is also part of the Ben Ainslie Racing team. He helped the team win the first event of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series in Portsmouth. For more details read: Who is Giles Scott?
Ian Walker (left) became the first British skipper to win the Volvo Ocean Race. Photo Volvo Ocean Race.
Ian Walker
Ian Walker became the first British skipper to win the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race, when he led his Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team to victory in the 2014/15 event. It was an outstanding achievement, with the race held for the first time in one-designs. Walker and his team also won the in-port race series and set a 24-hour distance record of 550.82 nautical miles. Read: Who is Ian Walker?
Ian Williams. Photo GAC Pindar.
Ian Williams
Ian Williams is undoubtedly one of the world’s top match racers and has won the ISAF World Match Racing Championship a record five times. His victories have spanned a period of eight years. He finished the 2014/15 season with an impressive record of 13 event wins and 35 podium finishes, which culminated in the history-making fifth Championship crown. Read: Who is Ian Williams?
boats.com YJA Young Sailor of the Year shortlist
There were plenty of UK sailors who performed impressively both at home and on the world stage. Again just three names could be included on the shortlist; Jack Lewis, Eleanor Poole and Cameron Tweedle.
Jack Lewis
Jack Lewis had a highly successful season helming in two different classes. With his crew Lucas Marshall, he won both the RS Feva Junior World Championship (finishing third overall) and the RS Feva Junior Europeans, which he also won outright ahead of older helmsmen. Lewis also won the singlehanded RS Tera Pro Nationals
Eleanor Poole
Eleanor Poole proved that sailing is a sport where gender doesn’t have to be a barrier to winning as she won the 2015 Topper National championships outright. With a string of firsts she controlled the finals series with immense skill to add the national title to her impressive seventh at the worlds in Garda.
Cameron Tweedle
Cameron Tweedle, aged 16, had an impressive first season in the Olympic Finn class. He finished as first Under 18 in the Finn Silver Cup, 11th overall in the French Nationals and was lying 10th when he retired due to mast breakage from the UK Nationals. He also finished first in the Oxfordshire Youth Championships and the NSSA Championships.
Voting and presentation of the Award
The title is decided by the members of the Yachting Journalists' Association, making it the sport's most prestigious award as it is decided by some of the world's top yachting journalists. The results will be announced at a gala lunch held in London in January 2016. For more on the awards, read “Knighthood of Yachting” celebrates 60 years and Inspiring company at Yachtsman of the Year Awards.
