SAIL Wins Big at Annual Boating Writers Awards
SAIL magazine takes 11 awards, winning five of 16 categories, at the annual Boating Writers International writing contest.
SAIL magazine took home 11 awards at the annual Boating Writers International (BWI) writing contest, winning first place in five of the 16 categories for stories that cover the range of the sailing life, from racing, chartering, and cruising to safety and sustainability. The winners were announced at the start of the Miami International Boat Show in February.
“I am just so proud of all of our writers and editors and so happy their hard work and terrific writing has been recognized by their peers,” said SAIL Editor-in-chief Wendy Mitman Clarke, who won three categories. “I’m grateful for the contest sponsors and the hard work of the judges and organizers, and it’s always a great feeling when your work comes out on top.”
This year’s BWI Awards (presented now for 31 years) drew 76 participants submitting 248 entries representing stories, videos, and photography published in 2023. In addition to cash awards for first, second, and third places, 26 certificates of merit were presented. Each of the categories was judged by four active journalists in the first few weeks of 2024.
Clarke’s stories took gold in three categories: “Sailing With the Boy” for the Boating Lifestyles category sponsored by Discover Boating; three of her Setting Sail editorials in the Columns category sponsored by KVH Industries; and her review of the Tartan 455 in the Boat Tests & Reviews category sponsored by Volvo Penta. She also took a merit award for Lifestyles with “One True Boat.”
SAIL Managing Editor Lydia Mullan took gold in two categories. In Boating Adventures sponsored by Yamaha Marine Group, “Baptism by Fire,” her story of sailing in the Annapolis to Newport Race is, “a rollercoaster adventure that you’d rather read about than partake in, for which the credit goes to the gifted author,” said judge Tristan Rutherford. And, as editor of Multihull Power & Sail, a special publication twice a year from SAIL and Power & Motoryacht, Mullan also won the new Women in Boating category, sponsored by Yamaha Watercraft, for “Tri and Tri Again,” her story about multihull sailor Dona Bertarelli and the Sails of Change team’s efforts toward a Jules Verne Trophy.
SAIL also won the Photography category, sponsored by epropulsion, for Tor Johnson’s dreamy, evocative cover of the May 2023 issue. SAIL writer/photographer Robert Beringer also won a certificate of merit for his photo “Dawn on the Santa Maria” in his story about sailing the replica ship down the Florida coast.
SAIL Charter Editor Zuzana Prochazka won second place in the Columns category for her monthly column called Charter Life. SAIL Technical Editor
Adam Cove won second place in the Environmental Awareness and Education category, sponsored by Torqueedo, for his in-depth piece on sustainable boatbuilding, “Facing Future.” And SAIL Contributing Editor Christopher Birch won third place in the Seamanship, Rescue & Safety category, sponsored by Sea Tow Services International, for his piece on life vest electronics, “What’s In Your Life Vest?” Tor Johnson also won a merit award in the Boating Travel and Destinations category, sponsored by Dometic, for his story about sailing to the Cape Verde islands, “Beauty in the Rough.”
BWI is a nonprofit professional organization of writers, editors, broadcasters, publishers, photographers, public relations specialists and others in the communications profession associated with the boating industry. Members are active marine journalists across the U.S., Canada, and around the world. For more information, visit bwi.org.