Top flight in sailing

I always look forward to a visit to Trinity House which is at the heart of the safety of shipping and the wellbeing of seafarers, yet is steeped in a history of the sea.
 
So there could be no more fitting place to reveal the winner of  the British Yachtsman of the Year title for 2015 and the equally impressive Young Sailor of the Year which recognises budding talent among young sailors. Both will be revealed tomorrow.
 
Both awards recognise the top flight in yachting and are organized by the Yachting Journalists’ Association with sponsors boats.com, a leading internet player in leisure boating.
 
The Yachtsman of the Year Award was launched 60 years ago, in 1955, by the late Sir Max Aitken, Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot, chairman of Express Newspapers and himself a leading yachtsman in both sail and power. 
 
For many years, Sir Max organised the award ceremony on the opening day of the annual London Boat Show, then at Earls Court. In 1979, he donated the trophy and its management to the YJA, which has been responsible for the organisation of the award ever since.
 
The Young Sailor of the Year award was initiated in 1993 to recognise endeavour and achievement by young sailors. Since its introduction, two of the winners, Dame Ellen MacArthur and Sir Ben Ainslie, have subsequently gone on to win the coveted Yachtsman of the Year trophy.
 
The aim of the Yachting Journalists' Association is to promote greater awareness of all aspects of leisure boating through the professional services offered by its members. These include the written word – in newspapers, magazines books and websites – as well as the spoken word, on radio, television and illustrations and cartoons.
 
boats.com is the largest global search engine in the leisure marine market with more than 300,000 boats for sale from 143 countries. It is part of Dominion Marine Media the Internet partner of choice for the recreational marine industry and operates the four market leading web portals – boats.com, YachtWorld, Boat Trader and CosasDeBarcos.
 

The story of Trinity House  goes back much further — it was granted a Royal Charter by Henry V111 in 1514.