ISAF Rolex Sailors of the Year Announced

November 8, 2006 by Bermuda Sailing Association | 0 comments

AND THE WINNERS ARE . . .
The International Sailing Federation and Rolex have announced Laser
Radial Champion Paige Railey (USA) and Mike Sanderson (NZL), winning
skipper of the Volvo Ocean Race, as winners of the ISAF Rolex World
Sailor of the Year Awards 2006. At an Awards Ceremony in Helsinki,
Railey and Sanderson were honoured for their outstanding sailing
achievements between 1 September 2005 and 31 August 2006, when Railey
won a number of major international regattas in the Laser Radial, and
Sanderson led Team ABN Amro to a dominant victory in the Volvo Ocean
Race.

This is the second consecutive year that Paige Railey from Florida has
been nominated for the female ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year
Award.
Last year Ellen Macarthur (GBR) pipped her to the title, but still only
aged 19, it would be no surprise to see Railey nominated again in the
coming years. Since the Laser Radial was selected two years ago as the
new equipment for the Women’s One Person Dinghy Olympic event, Railey
has proven herself as the sailor to beat.

With no prior experience of Olympic level sailing, the teenager’s
meteoric rise to the top of the sport has shocked Railey more than
anyone. But her lack of experience has proven no barrier to success as
she has moved seamlessly from the top of the youth sailing world to the
top of the sport at senior level. Towards the end of the 2005 season
Railey won the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Korea and
then a few weeks later went on to win the Laser Radial World
Championships in Brazil.

Railey opened the 2006 season with victories at the French Olympic
Sailing Week and the ISAF World Sailing Games in Austria, although she
struggled during the summer at the European and World Championships
with
some below par performances. However in August she bounced back in fine
style, to win a challenging Olympic Test Regatta in Qingdao, the venue
for the Olympic Sailing Competition in 2008.

Few teams have dominated a round-the-world race quite like Mike
Sanderson’s team on ABN Amro One in the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06.
Sanderson brought an understated yet authoritative leadership to the
campaign, as the team spent the best part of a year learning how to
tame
and master the frighteningly quick Volvo Open 70 design that was
introduced for this race. Sanderson’s team not only came up with the
fastest boat, but they knew how to sail the Volvo Open 70 better than
anyone. Over eight months and 31,500 hard miles around the planet, ABN
AMRO ONE won all but three of the nine offshore legs and all but two of
seven In Port races.