The British Yachting Awards is an annual celebration of all things sailing; from the finest bits of kit, to the most extraordinary feats of endurance or skill out on the water. The shortlists for each category were published in our November 2024 issue and nominations included some of the biggest brands and most famous names in sailing, as well as burgeoning marine companies, along with seasoned pro sailors, amateur yachtsmen and young tyros. What makes the awards so unique is that the winner in each category is decided exclusively by you, the reader – no outside influences or ‘expert’ panels, it’s all down to you. As ever, there was a healthy turnout, with over 17,000 casting a vote. We therefore thank you all for participating and for making a difference – categories can be decided by a handful of votes, so your vote truly counted!
Winner: Lagoon 60
Scooping up a whopping 44% of the votes in this category, the Lagoon 60 was a clear winner with its blend of extreme comfort and acres of space perhaps seducing readers. Lagoon is the master of the cruising catamaran, and this seems to have been reflected in the vote.
Highly commended: Nautitech 48
Nautitech’s 48 is a cruising catamaran that bridges the gap between cruiser and performance catamarans and the N48 wowed our test editor earlier in the year by hitting 17kts on a test sail. Clearly voters were equally impressed.
Winner: Jeanneau Sun Fast 30OD
French manufacturer Jeanneau has never been afraid to push the boundaries and, when approached to design a racing yacht with a relatively low price point, it produced a clever little boat that is fast and built with biodegradable epoxy.
Highly Commended: ClubSwan 43
Less amped up than some of its sisters in the ClubSwan brand, being less technical with more focus on comfort. Not to say she’s not lightning quick and stylish.
Winner: Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 350
One of the last designs that the late, great March Lombard worked on, the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 350 is a versatile and stylish family cruising yacht that is fun to sail with a lot of forward thinking innovations.
Highly Commended: Dufour 44
The introduction of full ‘scow bows’ in racing yachts triggered a revolution in cruising boats which have boosted internal volume at the bow by adopting fuller sections. The Dufour 44 took that concept to the extreme and the result is a fast, powerful, roomy yacht.
Winner: Hallberg Rassy 69
Bigger really does seem better when it comes to legendary Swedish boatbuilder Hallberg Rassy. The 69 is its biggest yacht to date, and readers voted for it in their droves. This German Frers designed giant blends comfort and performance into a seductive package.
Highly Commended: Contest 63CS
Anyone who has stepped aboard a Contest will know that these boats are all about class and style, blended with safety and ease of handling. The Dutch boatbuilder has achieved this blend with aplomb and deserve the plaudits.
Winner: The America’s Cup
It was agony for team Ainslie and INEOS Team Britannia in Barcelona but that did not detract too much from the magnificent spectacle of the huge foiling AC75 yachts flying across the water and, combined with the thrills and spills of the Louis Vuitton Series, this was a superb spectacle.
Highly Commended: Ocean Globe Race
The Ocean Globe Race looked to rekindle the spirit of those early Whitbread races of the 70s and 80s and certainly dished up plenty of excitement and sub plots. Not to mention a return to the spotlight for Maiden.
Winner: Bembridge Harbour
Bembridge Harbour is something of a hidden gem but clearly the public has uncovered the secret. Situated in a Site of Special Scientific interest, Bembridge is a wonderful place to keep your boat or just drop in to enjoy the tranquillity.
Highly Commended: Cowes Harbour Shepards
Cowes Harbour Shepards Marina is conveniently situated near the mouth of the River Medina and offers a great gateway into the home of yachting, offering fine facilities and a warm welcome. Clearly the voting public appreciated its many benefits.
Winner: Henri Lloyd Sail Jacket
Henri Lloyd marked 60 years in the business this year with an inspiring range of clothing which included the Sail jacket. This stylish garment is a versatile choice for inshore and coastal sailing. It’s a jacket that’s ready for all-weather adventures.
Highly commended: Musto BR1 Primaloft Midlayer Jacket
Musto’s BR1 Primaloft middle layer sailing jacket clearly won the heart of many voters with its blend of practicality and versatility. And rightly so – although this is intended to be a middle layer, it has fully taped seams, making it entirely waterproof should it be worn as a stand alone jacket in warm temperatures – a superb all rounder.
Winner: sMRT ALERT DSC AIS MOB
Safety clearly comes first among voters, who appreciated this clever class-M compliant device which uses AIS and VHF DSC technology to enhance localised man overboard recovery. Automatic or manual activation triggers a DSC distress signal, with location tracked using dual GPS and Galileo receivers through AIS. that makes greener sailing possible now.
Highly commended: Lewmar ultra low profile hatch
Lewmar has reason to celebrate, having designed and developed an ultra-slim hatch, combining practicality, aesthetics, and ease of installation, even in harsh marine environments. These qualities were appreciated by the voting public.
Winner: Heather Thomas
The Ocean Globe Race threw up many twists and turns on its way around the world and it was only late in the game that skipper Heather Thomas and Maiden took overall victory in this exacting race. She clearly won the hearts of the voting public.
Highly commended: Sam Pascoe
Sam Pascoe’s dominant performance in the Selden Sailjuice Winter Series deserves full credit – particularly as he achieved the win in a Musto Skiff – the first time since 2011 this has happened.
Winner: Jessye Opoku-Ware
Jessye Opoku-Ware sailed alongside Kai Hockley at Cowes Week and was the joint winner of the Youth Trophy. Noted as an unsung hero, he took his chance to shine – the public clearly appreciated his performance.
Highly Commended: Charlie Holland
Another up and coming talent who deserves all the plaudits. 11-year-old Charlie Holland won the Optimist British and Open Championship 2024 – Main Fleet Junior at Plas Heli in August from a 75-boat fleet.
Winner: Arkema Composites and Jeanneau Yachts
The team at Arkema Composites has spent many years developing an epoxy resin that can biodegrade over time. This provides the key that will enable manufacturers to produce yachts built out of glassfibre that can be recycled – something previously impossible in a yacht built using standard epoxy resins. The fruition of many years of work was seen in the Jeanneau Sun Fast 30OD – winner of performance yacht of the year. This is the first production yacht to be built using Elium as standard. This paves the way to a more sustainable future for boatbuilding.
Winner: Scaramouche Sailing Trust
Every year as part of the Awards, we nominate a Charity of the Year with the aim of turning the spotlight on the invaluable work that goes on, often overlooked, within the sport of sailing. This year we’ve selected the Scaramouche Sailing Trust which, in partnership with the Greig City Academy School, has worked tirelessly since 2014 to open up sailing to children in inner city areas who might otherwise miss out.
The Greig City Sailing Academy Sailing Programme was kick started in 2014 when Jon Holt, GCA’s Head of Outdoor Education, was driving students down from North London to Poole for sailing weekends. They loved getting out on the water and some of them wanted to take it further. There wasn’t an obvious route to follow. And they couldn’t believe it when they couldn’t join one of the few schools regattas around because GCA isn’t a fee-paying school.
So, they did it their own way. They bought an old 22ft yacht on eBay, rotting in a field. And spent the summer sanding her down and getting her seaworthy.
By June 2015, students were getting a feel for sailing her unaccompanied. And they formed the ambition to be the first state school to complete the Fastnet. Their next purchase was a step up: Scaramouche, a 45ft Admiral’s Cup yacht built in 1981. They bought her for a song and rolled up their sleeves to get to work again.
Since then, they’ve gone from strength to strength, with a number of pupils cutting a dash on the racing circuit. They completed back-to-back Fastnets in 2019. They’ve got students sailing at all levels, from dinghies on the local reservoir to national level 420s, Squibs, Dragons, training yachts as well as offshore.
They’ve shown what’s possible. With much more hard work and dedication than money, the whole world of sailing has opened up for them. In 2019 The Scaramouche Sailing Trust was founded to support the Greig City Academy Sailing Programme and provided the framework to grow the project. It is telling that two of the nominations for the 2024 British Yachting Awards Young Sailor of the Year are involved in the Scaramouche Sailing Trust.
We’ll be taking a closer look at their work over the next few issues of Sailing Today with Yachts and Yachting. In the meantime, if you’d like to donate to the trust or just find out more about their work, go to scaramouchesailing.org.uk.
Few in the world of sailing have not heard of Jimmy Cornell; a larger than life character who, by force of personality combined with drive and vision, has inserted himself into the annals of the sailing world. An exacting man, a maverick, someone unafraid to ruffle feathers in pursuit of his vision, he continues to make waves in the sport even as he approaches his 85th birthday, doing all he can to raise awareness on climate change and its effects on our ocean currents and winds.
Born in Romania in 1940, he grew up behind the Iron Curtain before emigrating to the UK in 1969 where he took up sailing while working as a reporter for the BBC World Service. In 1975 he took the leap into the unknown that would change everything; embarking on a round the world odyssey with his wife and two children. The trip would last six years and cemented Jimmy’s almost symbiotic relationship with the sea.
In 1986 he changed the face of cruising when he established the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), an event still flourishing to this day, which provides participants planning to cross the Atlantic with reassuring backup in the form of safety advice, passage planning tips and a social framework for the crossing. He went on to set up a number of other cruising rallies, four of which encircled the globe.
Following on from that, Jimmy continued to pursue his own adventures aboard a series of cruising yachts which he refined and perfected to suit his needs. His work with Garcia Yachts was vital to the development of that brand of rugged ‘go anywhere’ aluminium yachts. Jimmy ultimately traversed the North West Passage in Aventura IV, a Garcia Exploration 45.
Throughout this time Cornell has remained a prolific writer and his cruising guides have proven themselves to be invaluable to both aspiring and experienced cruisers. His World Cruising Routes is now in its 9th edition and is an invaluable guide for anyone planning a long offshore passage.
For all this and much more, we salute Jimmy, who continues to fight the good fight – most notably in recent years for his powerful voice on the effects of climate change – particularly for sailors. In a world that can sometimes seem short on personalities, Jimmy adds a welcome splash of colour, while his vision in setting up the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers has left an indelible mark on the sailing world. For all that and more, we salute you Jimmy!
For more info and to view this year’s categories, visit the British Yachting Awards 2024 website.
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