SAILOR OF THE YEAR 2016 – We reveal the candidates… from F to G!

Here we go. The time has come again this year to launch the most prestigious award in Italian sailing, given since 1991. The Sailor of the Year is awarded to the one who, based on your preferences (which you can express in the poll on our website, starting January 29), turns out to be the sailor who has most excited you. It will be your votes that will decide who will be part of the shortlist for the final victory (you can also add your favorite to the list, if not found in the “big list”, by sending an email with the cv of who you want to nominate to speciali@panamaeditore.it January 29 to February 4), among which will be unveiled at the 2016 TAG Heuer VELAFestival (May 5 to 8 in Santa Margherita Ligure: info on www.velafestival.com), during the Day of Champions on Friday, May 6, the 2016 TAG Heuer Sailor of the Year.

THE “MAGNIFICENT 100” LIST
Rankings and articles in hand, in the editorial office we made a review of the past season by identifying 100 “nominations” among Italian sailors, distinguishing them into athletes (derivists and specialists in the Olympic classes), owners and sailors (i.e., ocean sailors or those who otherwise showed off their skills in “long sailing”) But not only that. Every owner knows that the boat has a soul. We created a unique category for both offshore and classic winning boats. The categories are indicative: the challenge is all against all! We will present to you, ten at a time for ten days all 100 candidates (in strict alphabetical order), whom you will be able to vote for on our website, let us remind you, starting January 29. Let’s find out the fifth 10, at the bottom you will instead find the outline of how the 2016 TAG Heuer Sailor of the Year works.

FIFTH ROUND – BY FERRUZZI… A GUALANDRIS / ZANETTI

MASSIMILIANO FERRUZZI (Owner)
The owner of the Moro di Venezia I (a 2015 TAG Heuer Innovation award-winning boat) last year triumphed in the prestigious Panerai circuit reserved for Classic Boats, confirming that he is a regular in the high ranking areas.

ALESSANDRO FORNASARI (Athlete)
Yet another athlete protagonists of an excellent 2015: Alessandro Fornasari took silver at the European Under 18 Championships in the Laser 4.7 class. Even on the most famous single in the world, we have all the credentials to be well represented in the future!

MICHELE GALLI (Owner)
The owner of TP52 B2 (right next to Francesco De Angelis) took home the IRC victory of the 2015 Rolex Middle Sea Race: a victory can be the result of a fortunate series of events. But since B2 also triumphed in 2013 at the Mediterranean’s toughest regatta, let’s face it: Michael is just
bravo!

GUIDO GALLINARO (Athlete)
Guido Gallinaro is, data in hand, a potential phenomenon: in 2015 he won the 4.7 Under 16 World Championship in Medemblik by 62 points (sic!) over the second, also taking bronze in the overall ranking. A bronze medal that, at the end of the day, is a bit tight for the young athlete (born December 20, 2000) of Fraglia Vela Riva: until the very end he was in the place of honor just two points behind the leader. Not content with that, he went on to win the U16 and U18 European titles in Poland!

GIANCARLO GHISLANZONI (Owner)
For many years now, the “Ghisla” (second from right) has been a protagonist in offshore racing. The 2015 season, although passed slightly more defensively, saw him graduate as Shipowner of the Year in Class 1, thanks to the excellent results achieved by his J-122 Chestress 3.

GIANIN VI (Hallberg-Rassy 41 – Boat)
Can an old Hallberg-Rassy 41 from 1976 (you read that right, 40 years old!) win the Giraglia Rolex Cup for the second time? The answer is yes: Pietro “Ciccio” Supparo, owner of Gianin VI, which won in both 2011 and 2015, succeeded. This means two things: great crew and timeless boat

GIANCARLO GIANNI (Owner)
The Circolo Canottieri Aniene shipowner, with his Carroll Marine 60 Durlindana III, completed a cracking 2015 ARC (from Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia), finishing third overall (out of 268 starters) and winning silver in the Racing A category, behind – just think – VO65 Team Brunel!

PAOLO GIARGIA (Athlete)
Ligurian Paolo Giargia helped replenish the already rich medal haul obtained by Italian athletes in the season just past: his was bronze at the EUROSAF U19 European Championships for the Laser Radial class.

GIUSEPPE GIUFFRE’ (Owner)
Last year we honored him with the TAG Heuer Performance award for winning the ORC World Championship on his Low Noise. The likeable Milanese publisher replicated the success again in 2015 (on Low Noise II, during the Barcelona Offshore Worlds), confirming himself as the owner to beat for the second year in a row, even with a different boat. How good!

MARCO GUALANDRIS / MARTA ZANETTI (Athletes)
The Paralympic Sailing World Cup in Melbourne was sweet for the two Italian athletes-Mark and Marta took home bronze in the Skud 18 class. The pair is more than worth keeping an eye on ahead of the Rio Paralympics.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE FOURTH ROUND – DIETHELM TO FERRARO/IERALDI


HOW THE 2016 SAILOR OF THE YEAR VOTING WORKS

On Friday, May 6, at 7 p.m., the Sailor of the Year award ceremony will take place at the VELAFestival in Santa Margherita Ligure (Genoa) during the Evening of Champions. But how does one come to award the most prestigious prize in Italian sailing? With a long and “hard” online selection process where your input is crucial. We explain it in detail, step by step.

– FIRST STAGE (WINNING VOTE) – FROM 100 to 52 CANDIDATES.
– 100 CANDIDATES to vote online on our website from Jan. 29 to Feb. 16
– 20 CANDIDATES INDICATED BY YOU (you can send us names and motivation from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4) voted online from Feb. 5 to Feb. 16
– The 50 most voted and the 2 most voted among those indicated by you pass the round
– SECOND STAGE (WINNING VOTE) – 52 to 25 CANDIDATES.
– 52 CANDIDATES to vote online from March 4 to 15
– The 25 highest vote-getters pass the round
– THIRD STAGE (CONSULTATIVE VOTE) – 25 to 5 CANDIDATES.
– 25 CANDIDATES to vote online from March 31 to April 15. The online public vote has advisory value: taking into account your preferences, a jury selects the 5 who pass the round
– FOURTH PHASE – CHOOSING THE SAILOR OF THE YEAR (AND OTHER AWARDS)
-THE 5 CANDIDATES make up the shortlist of “papabili” for Sailor of the Year. These will compete, based on the jury’s decisions, for the Sailor of the Year award and the others: TAG Heuer Sailor of the Year “Passion,” TAG Heuer Sailor of the Year “Innovation,” and TAG Heuer Sailor of the Year “Performance.”

FIND OUT WHAT IS SAILOR OF THE YEAR