A busy week for Dee Caffari. After presenting the Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year and RYA Regional Winners Awards at The Cockpit Theatre in the South Hall of the Boat Show, she has to wait three days to hear if she’s won the Yachtsman of the Year award.

Raymarine/YJA Yachtsman of the Year will be announced at an awards ceremony at midday on Tuesday 9 January 2007 at The Painted Hall, the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich.

Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year will be will be announced at 4.15pm, Saturday 6 January at the Collins Stewart London Boat Show in the Cockpit Theatre. RYA Regional Winners will also be presented with their awards at this ceremony.

Young sailor finalists
Finalists in the young sailor category include Dylan Fletcher, the 18 year old who claimed the 2006 Under-19 29er World Championship and has now jumped into the Skandia Team GBR Olympic Development Programme; 18 year old Katie Miller for her single handed circumnavigation of the UK; 17 year old Tom Phipps, double gold medallist at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship and one of the most successful British youth sailors; and young watersports instructor 16 year old Dan Simpson.

Yachtsman of the Year
Raymarine/YJA Yachtsman of the Year finalists include 470 World Champions Nic Asher & Elliot Willis, the first British team to win the 470 World Championship in nearly 20 years; Dee Caffari, who earlier this year set a new world record as the first woman to sail single handed, non stop around the world against prevailing winds and currents; and Steve Curtis, who has won an unbelievable eight Class 1 World Championships and is considered the best international powerboat racer of all time.

RYA Regional Winners include:
? Hamish Stone & Aaron Woolf East
? Dylan Fletcher East Midlands
? Thomas Holland NE
? Andrew Brown NW
? Tiffany Brien Northern Ireland
? Anna Burnet Scottish
? Katrina & Chris Brewer South
? Elliot Carney SE
? Izzy Hamilton SW
? Hannah Mills & Peggy Webster Welsh
? Richard Hamilton Yorkshire & Humberside
? Dan Simpson Thames Valley

Dame Ellen MacArthur is the outgoing Raymarine/YJA Yachtsman of the Year title holder. Craig Paul, Sam Coombs and James Hopson are the outgoing Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year.

The winners of both awards are nominated by the public and voted on by members of the Yachting Journalist’s Association (YJA).