Awards: Introduction

RAYMARINE YJA YACHTSMAN OF THE YEAR & YOUNG SAILOR OF THE YEAR AWARDS

The Yachting Journalists' Association organises the nominations and elections for the annual Yachtsman of the Year and the Young Sailor of the Year awards sponsored from 2003 to 2007 by Raymarine.

The Yachtsman of the Year Award was initiated in 1955 by the late Sir Max Aitken - Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot, chairman of Express Newspapers and himself a leading yachtsman in both sail and power. He subsequently won the Award in 1977 in recognition of his services to the sport. He commissioned the trophy which bears the names of the greatest achievers in British yachting over the past 5 decades.

For many years, Sir Max organised the selection procedure and presentation ceremony for the Award on the opening day of the annual London Boat Show at Earls Court. In 1979, Sir Max donated the trophy and its management to the YJA which has been responsible for the organisation of the Award ever since. The Award is made to the British person whose attainment in the previous year most justifies the title. The winner holds the trophy for a year and is given a replica.

The Young Sailor of the Year Award was initiated in 1993 to recognise endeavour and achievement by young sailors. It is organised through the 13 regions of the RYA which each nominate a regional winner. Nominations are also welcomed from the public. The overall winner is selected in a ballot among members of the YJA The Award is open to young sailors who have not attained their 19th birthday before 31 December on the year of the award, and who are in possession of a British passport or are immediately eligible to receive a British passport. Since its introduction, two winners of the Young Sailor of the Year Award have subsequently won the Yachtsman of the Year Trophy in their early twenties.

Nominations for both of this year's awards can be made by anyone, by midnight on November 7th 2007. From the nominations received for both awards the YJA Committee, with representatives from the RYA and the sponsors, select a short-list of names on which the YJA membership vote to decide the overall winners. The YJA also makes Special Awards from time to time to acknowledge services to yachting.

The shortlist for the Raymarine YJA Yachtsman of the Year Award and the Regional winners of the Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year Award are released in December. The winners are announced during the London International Boat Show. 

Sponsorship Background

The first sponsor of the YJA Yachtsman of the Year Award was Domecq Sherry in the 1980s. There followed a year of sponsorship by Moet et Chandon, the champagne producers, before Brent Walker, the leisure group which then owned Brighton Marina, took over for a few years. In 1991 BT became the title sponsor, and in 1993 the YJA Young Sailor of the Year Award was initiated and sponsored first by BT, then MDL and now on a more consistent basis by Raymarine which also sponsor the Yachtsman of the Year Title.