In less than 24 hours from the start of voting for the first phase of the TAG Heuer Sailor of the Year, you’ve already gone wild: you’ve already given as many as 3,000 votes to your favorites! New attendance record for the most prestigious award in Italian sailing.
HOW IS IT GOING?
For now he leads the ranking (at the time of writing he has received over 340 votes) Giuseppe Fornich, owner of the Grand Solei 37 Sagola Biotrading: he is always a protagonist of Italian and international offshore regattas, this year he won the Italian Offshore Championship in Class 3 Cruising and above all the Overall title of UVAI 2016 Owner of the Year. His popularity is confirmed by his “claque.” Second place is followed by young Francesco Guglielmo Balzano: on the strength of the Crotone Sailing Club, he is the winner among the Cadets class of 2007 in the Primavela Optimist Cup, and is one of the most promising budding sailors to watch closely. Virtual bronze for Paolo Bua, a prolific 37-year-old designer from Sassari: he is little known in Italy but is highly regarded in France, so much so that he was awarded by the prestigious Voile Magazine because no less than four of his designs were in the running for French Boat of the Year (XO-Racer, XO-Classic, Superleggero, Troll 26). They are followed by starters Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi, windsurfer Matteo Iachino, sailors Andrea and Chicca Pestarini, kiter Tony Cili, very young windsurfer Alessandro Graciotti, kiter Francesca Bagnoli, and Vittorio and Nico Malingri.
| Modello | Cantiere Costruttore | Lunghezza (M) (LOA) | Anno di Progetto | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GENESI 43 | Comar | 13.1 | 1990 | ||
| GRAND SOLEIL 34 | Cantiere del Pardo | 10.18 | 1972 | ||
| GRAND SOLEIL 343 | Cantiere del Pardo | 10.4 | 1985 | ||
| GRAND SOLEIL 35 | Cantiere del Pardo | 11.1 | 1981 | ||
| GRAND SOLEIL 39 | Cantiere del Pardo | 12.5 | 1983 | ||
| GRAND SOLEIL 42 | Cantiere del Pardo | 12.65 | 1989 | ||
| GRAND SOLEIL 50 | Cantiere del Pardo | 15.24 | 1993 | ||
| GRAND SOLEIL 52 | Cantiere del Pardo | 16.3 | 1987 |
THE ROAD IS VERY LONG…
But it really has to be said: we are only at the beginning and anything can happen. Up here you can learn about and vote for the 100 magnificent nominees for Sailor of the Year: you can only express one preference and to prevent “repeat votes” you will be required to enter your email address. Remember that you can vote until 12 noon on February 15, 2017: the 50 candidates with the most votes will advance to the next round, and starting the next round we will start from scratch (there is no cumulative voting system. Below is the infographic describing how the Sailor of the Year works.
HOW THE SAILOR OF THE YEAR WORKS
(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
Each of the winners will be awarded a TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 high-precision waterproof chronograph (pictured opposite), capable of withstanding depths of up to 300 meters.
For any information regarding the Sailor of the Year, please write to us at speciali@panamaeditore.it
