ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards marble Trophy, Photo by: Rolex / Kurt Arrigo
On Tuesday 12 November, the highest award a sailor can receive in recognition of his/her outstanding achievements will be presented during the ISAF Annual Conference 2013 taking place in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. The nominees for this year’s World Sailor of the Year Awards are: London 2012 Olympic gold medallist and four-time 470 World Champion Mathew Belcher (AUS), the youngest victor of the Vendée Globe, François Gabart (FRA), who set a new sailing record of 78 day, 2 hours, 16 minutes and 40 seconds at the solo round-the-world race last January (currently he competes in the ocean race Transat Jacques Vabre 2013 on the IMOCA ‘Macif 60′), ‘King of the Kites’ Johnny Heineken (USA), Paul Larsen (AUS), who set a new outright world speed sailing record of 65.45 knots on his ‘Vestas Sailrocket 2′ and four-time ISAF Match Racing Champion Ian Williams (GBR).
Nominated as the female World Sailor of the Year: 470 Team Jolly, Jo Aleh & Olivia Polly Powrie (NZL), London 2012 Olympic and 470 World Champions 2013, first triple Farr 30 World Champion Deneen Demourkas (USA), ‘Queen of the Kites’ Erika Heineken (USA) and Raiya Al Habsi (OMA), the first Omani woman who competed in the Rolex Fastnet Race sailing the MOD70 Oman Air-Musandam. The ‘Oscars’ of sailing will be presented at the Al Bandar Hotel, host venue of the 2013 ISAF Annual Conference, the ceremony will be attended by international sailing stars and key decision makers. More on the Nominees 2013 and World Sailor of the Year Winners 1994–2012 here! Who will win the race? We are already so curious to know!