British Nautical Awards category winners announced

The results of the ten categories in the British Nautical Awards 2000, dubbed the 'Oscars' of the British boating scene, were announced this evening during the Boat Show Ball at the London Hilton, Park Lane in the presence of Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal.

BT YJA Yachtsman of the Year

The Olympic Sailing Medallists for their outstanding performances at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney where Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy and Shirley Robertson won gold medals in the three single-handed classes and silver medals were won by Ian Walker & Mark Covell in the Star Class and by Ian Barker & Simon Hiscocks in the 49er Class.

Ben Ainslie MBE
Ben (23) who lives in Lymington, Hampshire, won a gold medal in the Laser Class in the 2000 Olympic Games. His continued outstanding successes, which include the Laser European Championship and Sail Auckland, show him to be a remarkable and talented sailor.

Iain Percy MBE
In his first Olympic campaign at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Iain (24) won a gold medal in the Finn Class. Iain, who lives in Winchester, Hampshire, only began competing in the Finn Class in 1998.

Shirley Robertson MBE
Shirley (32) achieved success in her third Olympic Regatta campaign by winning a gold medal in the Europe Class in the 2000 Olympic Games and in doing so made history as the first British woman to win a medal in a single-handed boat. Other successes in the Europe Class include a silver medal in the World Championship. Shirley, who was recently awarded the ISAF/Sperry Award for Female World Sailor of the Year, lives in Cowes, Isle of Wight.

Ian Walker & Mark Covell
Ian (helm) and Mark (crew) won a silver medal in the Star Class in the 2000 Olympic Games. A great achievement, especially as they have sailed together for only 18 months since they lost their respective sailing partners John Merricks and Glynn Charles in separate tragic accidents. Residents of Hampshire, Ian (30), a previous silver medallist in the 470 Class at the 1996 Atlanta Games, lives in Hamble and Mark (33) in Emsworth.

Ian Barker & Simon Hiscocks
Ian (helm) and Simon (crew) won a silver medal in the 49er Class, which made its Olympic debut in the Sydney 2000 Games. Teaming up in 1998, Ian Barker (34) lives in Hamble, Hampshire and Simon (27) lives in Dorking, Surrey.

The runners-up are: Ellen MacArthur from Cowes, Isle of Wight and Adrian Stead from Netley Abbey, Hampshire.

MDL YJA Young Sailor of the Year

Sam Carter (17) from Debenham, Suffolk and Robert Graves (13) from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, for their endeavour and achievement as young sailors.

Sailing in the International Cadet Class, Sam (helm) and Robert (crew) won the UK Inland Championships at Rutland, the Flanders Youth Regatta at Nieuwpoort in Belgium, the World Championships in Poland and the MDL National Championships at Torquay. They are the first to win all four of these major events in one year as well as being the first UK sailors to win the Cadet World Championships for ten years. Sam and Robert are also joint winners of the MDL YJA Young Sailor of the Year for the RYA East Region.

Sam is a pupil at Woodbridge School, Woodbridge and is a member of the Waldringfield Sailing Club, Haven Ports Yacht Club and the RYA National Youth Squad. Robert is a pupil at Thorpe Hall, Thorpe Bay, Essex and is a member of the RYA National Youth Squad as well as the Corinthian Otters in Burnham-on-Crouch.

The runners-up (in alphabetical order) are: Katie Archer from Woodbridge, Suffolk; David Evans (14) from Lisvane, Cardiff and Helen Mayhew (17) from Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

Challenge Business Offshore Yachtsman of the Year

Former Olympic competitor, Adrian Stead for his outstanding performance in the Tour Voile 2000.

Adrian (33) proved his outstanding ability as skipper of the British Mumm 30 'Barlo Plastics', which was the first British boat ever to win the Tour Voile 2000. They achieved six wins in 24 races and 15 top three positions in the one-design yacht race along France's three coastlines, the Channel, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Adrian, who was also last year's winner of the Challenge Business Offshore Yachtsman of the Year, lives in Netley Abbey, Hampshire.

The runners up are: Ellen MacArthur from Cowes, Isle of Wight and Emma Richards from Hamble, Hampshire.

WS Atkins Inshore Yachtsman of the Year

The Olympic Gold Medallists, Ben Ainslie MBE, Iain Percy MBE and Shirley Robertson MBE, for their outstanding performance at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney Australia.

The runners up are: the Olympic Silver Medallists, the Olympic Sailing Medallists.

Peters Plc Power Yachtsman of the Year

Tom Price for his outstanding motor-boating performance in 2000.

Tom (28) from Caldy, Wirral, started sailing in a dingy at the age of two. This year, as winner of the North West and North Wales region, he was one of eleven teams in the Volvo RYA National Motor Cruiser Challenge Finals 2000. Judged on seamanship, confidence, safety and demonstrating impressive boat handling skills over a two-day competition, Tom gained top position and the prestigious title of National Champion. He was a previous National Motor Cruiser Champion in 1997.

The runners up are: Peter Little & David Arthur from Witney, Oxfordshire and Ian Andrews from Tamworth, Staffordshire.

Sunseeker Endeavour Award

Rod Carr, recently appointed Secretary General at the RYA (Royal Yachting Association), for his outstanding contribution to the marine industry.

Rod, formerly the RYA Racing Manager, has an impressive record that includes several Olympic yachting campaigns as both Coach and Manager. Widely recognised for his successful leadership, he represented the UK as the Deputy Chef de Mission to the Team in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. He has also been extremely successful in attracting new funding from the Sports Lottery Fund World Class Initiative.

Before joining the RYA staff 18 years ago, Rod was Chief Instructor at the National Sailing Centre in Cowes where he worked as a Dinghy and Cruising Instructor. Based in Winchester, his own sailing is family cruising in his 34 ft. catamaran.

The runners up are: Tim Davison from Arundel, West Sussex; Lindsey Neve from Southampton and The Kingfisher Design Team.

Sealine Marine Media Award

Dick Johnson for outstanding and invaluable broadcasting for Cowes Week Radio.

A finalist in last year's Sealine Marine Media Award, Cowes Radio broadcasts for one week only and is devoted entirely to sailing talk, racing commentary, gossip and music. Dick Johnson founded Cowes Radio with Steve Ancsell in 1985 and an estimated 30,000 yachtsmen and spectators now tune in, within a five mile radius of the Isle of Wight waterfront, to listen to Dick's well-informed, professional, interesting, relaxed and spontaneous coverage of the annual regatta.

The runners up are: Alistair Garrod for 'Electrics Made Simple' in Practical Boat Owner and Basil Mosenthal for 'The Skipper's Pocket Book'.

Motor Boat & Yachting Motorboat of the Year

Sealine International's T47 for being the best motorboat placed on the market by a British builder in the last 12 months.

The Sealine T47, designed by Sealine in-house Design Team, represents a new departure for a motor yacht of this size. The 47-foot flybridge motor yacht has been built to an uncompromising design, is exceptionally spacious and offers a standard of finish normally only found on much larger boats. With a top speed of 32 knots, the T47 offers state-of-the-art facilities with safety and attention to detail high on the list of priorities.

The runners up are: Fairline Boats for the Fairline Targa 40; Sunseeker International for the Sunseeker 105 and The Landau Launch Company for the Landau 20 Walkaround.

Yachting World Inshore Sailboat of the Year

Performance Sailcraft Europe's Laser Vortex for the best inshore sailboat that has been placed on the market by a British builder in the last 12 months.

Exceptional performance and outstanding design by Jo Richards, former Olympic medallist and designer of international supercats, make Performance Sailcraft's Laser Vortex one of the most popular of its kind on the market. The tunnel hull hydrodynamics produce lift and stability, rig control is precise and manoeuvrability and speed are excellent, setting the Laser Vortex into a stylish class of its own.

The runner up was Performance Sailcraft Europe's Laser Funboat.

Yachting World Offshore Sailboat of the Year

Moody Yacht's Moody 54 for the best offshore sailboat that has been placed on the market by a British builder in the last 12 months. Introduced as the flagship to the Moody range in terms of size, specification, quality and design, the Moody 54 is a good value, well-built boat, designed by Bill Dixon. Accommodating seven people in three generously proportioned double cabins, the quality interior, with space and comfort foremost along with a stiff, stable and seaworthy structure, makes the Moody 54 particularly suitable for long periods of offshore cruising.

ThatBoatSite.com Marine Product of the Year

Pains Wessex Safety Systems for producing the SOS Precision 406 GPS EPIRB, an innovative, attractive and a useful marine product.

Developed by McMurdo, finalists in last year's Marine Product of the Year and a world leader in technically advanced marine safety electronics, the SOS Precision 406 GPS EPIRB is a highly advanced product which combines leading edge safety technology with a compact, aesthetically pleasing design. Designed specifically to meet the needs of leisure and commercial boaters and a massive step forward in the safety of lives at sea, the Precision 406 GPS features an internal 12 channel parallel GPS receiver within a compact 406 EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon), which can alert the rescue services of an emergency within three minutes, and pinpoint the location to within 30 metres.

The runners up are: Halyard Ltd: HMI Self Adhesive Noise Insulation and Tacktick Ltd: Tacktick Sail Master.