Who gets your vote as Afloat Sailor of the Year 2017? The past year, in the view of Winkie Nixon, has produced some 'extra-special sailors', and over the past 12 months we have picked out 28 individual sailors and pairings who have excelled in their respective disciplines, be it offshore, dinghy, cruise or powerboating.
On Friday, February 9, our judging panel will announce the Sailor of the Year at the RDS in Dublin — and you can have your say by voting in our poll on any page of the Afloat website.
The overall award will be announced at a ceremony which will also see each Sailor of the Month individually honoured.
As in previous years, the boating public and maritime community can have their say to help guide judges in deciding who should be crowned Ireland's Sailor of the Year for 2017 by using our online poll (see right of page). The judges welcome the traditional huge level of public interest in helping them make their decision, but firmly retain their right to make the ultimate decision for the final choice while taking voting trends into account.
Please note: One vote per person. Your vote DOES NOT necessarily determine the overall winner.
The national award is especially designed to salute the achievements of Ireland's sailing's elite. After two decades the awards has developed in to a premier awards ceremony for water sports.
As in previous years, the overall national award will be presented to the person who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to, Irish sailing during 2017. You can read more from Afloat's WM Nixon here.
By supporting your favourite nominee you are creating additional awareness of their nomination and highlighting their success.
Voting online is open to public view from January 1 until Friday, January 26th 2018.
CLICK THE LINK ON EACH SAILORS' NAME TO READ THEIR ACHIEVEMENT FROM 2017 AND VOTE FOR YOUR SAILOR in the right hand column (on desktop machines) and below on tablet and mobile.
ABOUT THE AFLOAT.IE SAILOR OF THE YEAR AWARD
Created in 1996, the Afloat Sailor of the Year Awards represent all that is praiseworthy, innovative and groundbreaking in the Irish sailing scene.
Since it began 20 years ago the awards have recognised over 320 monthly award winners in the pages of Ireland's sailing magazine Afloat and these have been made to both amateur and professional sailors. The first ever sailor of the year was Dinghy sailor Mark Lyttle, a race winner at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
