18 December 2007 - Winners of the Raymarine/YJA Yachtsman of the Year and Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year will be announced during the Collins Stewart London Boat Show, January 2008.
Raymarine/YJA Yachtsman of the Year finalists include: disabled yachtsman Geoff Holt, who has been wheelchair bound since 1984 and achieved his ambition to sail around the UK single handed earlier on this year; Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson who are the World and Pre Olympic champions in the Yngling; Mike Golding, who selflessly rescued fellow competitor Alex Thompson in the Velux 5 Oceans Race, dashing his chances of winning the race;
and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who completed the Velux 5 Oceans Race at the age of 68, thirty-eight years after his original (the first non-stop) solo circumnavigation of the world. This ranks Sir Robin as one of the oldest competitors ever to complete this feat.
Sir Robin first made history in 1969 when he took 312 days to become the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world in the Sunday Times Golden Globe, sailing Suhaili. He said he entered the Velux 5 Oceans Race, which finished in May this year, to prove that age is not a barrier to getting out and doing things in life.
After finishing the race, one of the toughest sporting challenges in the world that pushes skippers' endurance, resilience and determination for more than 150 days in demanding and extreme conditions, Sir Robin said he would not have missed it, but vowed never to do another solo circumnavigation of the world.
As well as his racing, Sir Robin, who lives near Newton Abbot in Devon and has a large interest in youth development, was President of the Sail Training Association for many years, helping the organisation to raise £11m to build two identical brigs, Prince William and Stavros Niarchos. In 1995 he was appointed to the Sports Lottery Panel and from 1999 until 2002 served on the English Sports Council. He is currently a Trustee of the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall.
Finalists in the Young Sailor category include Alistair Masters, an RYA Youth Squad 15 year old who has dominated domestic and international competition in the Techno 293 junior windsurfing class, and has won two gold medals and one silver at the last three world championships; Holly Scott, winning crew member of Mirror World Championship 2007, who with her skipper (Anna Mackenzie), was the first all-girl team to win the title; Topper World Champion Michael Wood, who devotes hours of his private time to train other youngsters in the RYA West Zone Squad; Tom Gillard, the first RYA Team GBR sailor to win the 420 European Championships in Medemblik; and Laurence Greenough, who has overcome adversity to enter the RYA South West Topper Zone Squad.
Winners of both awards will be voted for by the Yachting Journalists’ Association (YJA). Raymarine/YJA Yachtsman of the Year will be announced at an awards ceremony at midday on Tuesday 15 January 2008 at The Painted Hall, the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich.
Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year will be announced at 4.00pm, Saturday 12 January at the Collins Stewart London Boat Show on the Main Stage. RYA Regional Winners will also be presented with their awards at this ceremony.
Notes to Editors:
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· The Raymarine/YJA Yachtsman of the Year award is open to any British resident or passport holder who has made an outstanding achievement under sail or power during 2007. Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year awards British youngsters aged 18 and under (as at 31 December 2007), in possession of a British passport (or are immediately eligible to receive a British passport), who have made a significant impact on youth sailing.
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· Raymarine/YJA Yachtsman of the Year award was initiated in 1955 by Sir Max Aitken and now bears the names of the greatest achievers in British yachting circles over the past five decades. Previous winners include Eric Hiscock, Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Sir Chay Blyth, Sir Edward Heath and Tracy Edwards, together with Dame Ellen MacArthur and Ben Ainslie who have both won the award twice.
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· Raymarine/YJA Yachtsman of the Year receives the prestigious Yachtsman of the Year trophy, a silver navigation buoy mounted on a sea of crystal, which was commissioned by the late Sir Max Aitken.
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· Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year award was first presented in 1993. Early winners include Dame Ellen MacArthur and Ben Ainslie - who both went on to win the Yachtsman of the Year title.
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· The winners of both awards are nominated by the public and elected by the votes of the Yachting Journalists’ Association (YJA).
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· In addition to votes from members of the public for Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year, over 1,700 RYA affiliated clubs have the opportunity to nominate. Plus, the RYA puts forward winners from each of its 13 regions as nominations for the Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year.
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· Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year receives a trophy and Raymarine goodies.
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· Raymarine is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of marine electronics for the recreational marine market.
For further information contact Chloe Bartle UK Marketing Coordinator, +44 (0)23 9269 3611 Ext. 1395 or chloe.bartle@raymarine.com or Gemma Sweet at ADPR, Tel +44 (0)1460 241641 or Fax +44 (0)1460 242719 or by email at gemma@adpr.co.uk.
This text can be downloaded from www.adpr.co.uk
December 2007 (RM480)
