Sailing World selects “Boat of the Year” winners
NEWPORT, R.I. – Sailing World magazine has chosen the winners of its 2005 “Boat of the Year Awards,” saluting boat design innovation, the publication said in a recent release.
Top honors as overall “Boat of the Year” went to the J/100, a fast, simple 33-foot day-racer and daysailer, marking the second consecutive year that the designers at J Boats (Newport, R.I.) and the builders at TPI (Warren, R.I.) have taken the award. In 2004, the J/133 racer/cruiser earned Sailing World’s overall “Boat of the Year” honors.
“It came down to how the boat sailed, how it was put together, and the fact that any one of the judges would have been delighted to take on any weekday evening PHRF fleet in the country with the J/100,” said Tony Bessinger, Sailing World’s “Boat of the Year” director.
Of the 16 boats nominated, four received awards.
In addition to an overall award, the judges named “Boat of the Year” winners in three categories: “Best Raceboat” was the British-built Seaquest 36; “Best Cruiser/Racer” went to the French-built Beneteau First 44.7; and “Best Performance Boat” was the Nacra A2 singlehanded catamaran.
The boats were inspected and sailed by independent judges Meade Gougeon of Gougeon Brothers, Alan Andrews of Alan Andrews Yacht Design and Chuck Allen, head of North Sails One Design for New England.
Judges toured the boats at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Md., and sailed them over four days on Chesapeake Bay.
Sailing World will feature the winners in its December 2004/January 2005 issue.
- For more of the latest news, click here.