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At a press conference held on the bow of a catamaran at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, Sailing World associate editor Tony Bessinger announced the nominees for our annual Boat of the Year (BOTY) awards. “This may be be the biggest Boat of the Year event the magazine has ever held, with 19 entries, and it’s a great lineup,” said Bessinger. “Our smallest is a high-tech, foil-borne Moth class dinghy from Australia, the Blade Rider, our largest, the Beneteau First 50, designed by Philippe Briand. Our judges will be going through the boats from stem to stern dockside during the U.S. Sailboat Show, then putting them through their paces out on the Chesapeake the following week. To be able to test so many boats in a relatively short time span is an incredible opportunity, and we’re looking forward to it.” Winners of Sailing World’s 2007 BOTY awards will be announced in the January/February issue of Sailing World. (A complete list of all BOTY nominees follows this story.)Shortly before the Sailing World announcement, Cruising World editor John Burnham announced nominees for CW’s BOTY awards. Burnham addressed the boat manufacturers and journalists onhand for the ceremony, commenting, “This year we have something for everyone, ranging from motorsailers and a 39-footer that fits in a shipping container to entry-level 30-footers and million dollar voyagers.” The Cruising World judges nominated 26 boats in six categories: small production cruisers, midsize cruisers, multihulls, full-size production cruisers, full-size cruisers and a special-purpose category called, “Nothing quite like it.” BOTY winners will be announced in the January issue of Cruising World, available on newsstands in mid-December. This year marks the 12th anniversary of CW’s BOTY contest.Two independent judging panels evaluate and test boats for the BOTY contents. The Cruising World awards focus on production boats laid out and equipped for coastal and offshore cruising and voyaging, while the Sailing World awards focus on boats designed and built with racing in mind. Any sailboat model introduced to the North American market between the 2005 and 2006 Annapolis Boat Shows is eligible, and builders may enter boats in both contests. In order to determine the nominees, judges scrutinized preliminary entries at the Newport Boat Show and during the opening days of the Annapolis show, evaluating the boats in terms of design, construction, seaworthiness, performance, purpose of the boat, fitness for the use intended, and cost.
Sailing World Boat of the Year NomineesBeneteau First 10RBeneteau First 50Corsair Sprint 750e33esse 850Flying Tiger 10MGrand Soleil 37J/124J/92-SMaestro 40Nacra Formula 18Open 5.70O’pen BicPixelRaptor 16Salona 37Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 49 PerformanceBlade RiderX-35
Cruising World Boat of the Year NomineesSmall Production Cruisers Bavaria 30 Cruiser Catalina 309 Dufour 325 Midsize Cruisers Alubat Ovni 395 Maestro 40 Malo 40 Najad 440 Multihulls Broadblue 385 Lagoon 420 Leopard 46 Nautitech 47 Seawind 1160 Full-Size Production Cruisers Bavaria 46 Cruiser Beneteau 49 Hunter 45 CC Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 49 Performance Moorings 51.5 Full-Size Cruisers Amel 54 Beneteau First 50 Hallberg-Rassy 48 Passport Vista 515 Trintella 50 Special Purpose (“Nothing Quite Like It”) Alerion Express 38 Far Harbor 39 Island Packet SP Cruiser M-42
