Just got this press release:
Sailing World Magazine
Announces Boat of the Year Winners for 2005
Newport, Rhode Island - Sailing World magazine unveiled its annual salute to boat design innovation with the 2005 Boat of the Year Awards, featured in the Sailing World December 2004/January 2005 issue. Subscribers will be receiving the must-read issue this week. It's available on newsstands
December 7.
Of the 16 boats nominated, four received awards; top honors as overall Boat of the Year went to the J/100, a fast, simple 33-foot day-racer and daysailer with modest accommodations belowdecks. This marks the second year
in a row that the designers at J Boats (Newport, R.I.) and the builders at TPI (Warren, R.I.) have taken the award. In 2004 the J/133 racer/cruiser earned Sailing World's overall Boat of the Year honors.
The boats were inspected and sailed by independent judges Meade Gougeon, of Gougeon Brothers, Alan Andrews, of Alan Andrews Yacht Design, and Chuck Allen, head of North Sails One Design for New England. Judges toured the boats at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Md., and sailed them over four days on Chesapeake Bay.
In addition to an overall award, the judges named Boat of the Year winners in three categories: Best Raceboat was the British-built Seaquest 36, Best Cruiser/Racer went to the French-built Beneteau First 44.7, and Best Performance Boat was the Nacra A2 singlehanded catamaran.