PORTSMOUTH, RI—Rolex and US Sailing have named CST Composites International Moth World Champion Bora Gulari and Semaine Olympique Française Laser Radial Champion Anna Tunnicliffe as their 2009 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year. Tunnicliffe and Gulari will both be presented with specially engraved Rolex timepieces in an award ceremony held at the New York Yacht Club in February.

This marks the second year in a row that Tunnicliffe, who won a gold medal in the Laser Radial Olympic class at the 2008 Games in China, has been named Yachtswoman of the Year, making her the first woman to win back-to-back awards in 27 years.

Since her Olympic victory, she has gone on to compete and win not only in Lasers, but in a number of other boats as well. Tunnicliffe’s 2009 successes have included a win at the Detroit Cup in Ultimate 20s and a second at the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship in St. Thomas sailed in IC 24s. She took third at the ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final in Brazil sailed in J/24s, and bronze at Skandia Sail for Gold in England, sailing the Elliott 6 Metre—the same boat chosen for the debut of the new women’s match racing event at the 2012 Olympic Regatta.

“It’s truly amazing to win this award again,” Tunnicliffe said. “I could not have done half of my season without the help of my crew, Molly Vandemoer, Debbie Capozzi, Liz Bower and Alice Manard. I feel honored, lucky and fortunate to win. Being nominated is an achievement. Winning is amazing!”

In a field of tough candidates, all but one of whom won a world championship title in 2009, Detroit sailor Gulari edged out the competition thanks to his meteoric rise sailing hyper-competitive Moth dinghies—a cutting-edge development class in which underwater hydrofoils are now used to lift the rest of the hull out of the water in a sensation akin to flying. Traditionally dominated by Europeans and Australians, Gulari took up Moth sailing only a couple of years ago, making repeated trips to Australia as he strove to master the art of “foiling.” Complementing his world championship victory, Gulari set a new Moth speed record of 30.31 knots last September, breaking the previous speed record of 27.9 knots, which had been held for almost three years.

In addition to dinghy racing, Gulari was a member of the winning team at the Audi Melges 20 Miami Winter Series Event No. 1, as well as the Muskegon Yacht Club One Design Regatta and Bayview Yacht Club North Channel Race, both in Melges 24s. He also logged first-place finishes as a crewmember at the Sperry Top-Sider Detroit NOOD, the CYC Race to Mackinac, Bayview Mackinac Race and the Super Mackinaw Race aboard Phil O’Neil’s Natalie J.

“I just do this because I love it, and I think this year was the start of great things to come for dinghy sailing in the U.S.,” Gulari said. “I don’t think it will take people away from traditional dinghy classes, but the Moth is so fun that it's attracting people that have never had any interest in dinghies, and its bringing people back to dinghies who thought they were done getting wet.”

Established in 1961 by US SAILING and sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. since 1980, the Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards recognize the outstanding on-the-water competitive achievement of an individual man and woman in the previous calendar year.

Gulari and Tunnicliffe were chosen from a shortlist of 10 male and five female sailors, which was determined from nominations submitted by members of US SAILING, and then evaluated and voted on by a panel of sailing journalists, including SAIL senior editor Adam Cort.

For more on the award, visit www.ussailing.org.

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