The late Peter Blake of New Zealand and Briton Robin Knox-Johnson, along with double Olympic gold medallist Theresa Zabell of Spain were the first recipients of the award in 1994, which is given to sailors by sailors in recognition of outstanding achievements in sailing.

Sailors from across all classes and disciplines are eligible for the awards, which sees one male sailor/crew and one female sailor/crew recognised every year for their achievements.

Other past winners include four-time Olympic champion Ben Ainslie (pictured top) from Britain, who has picked up the award on four occasions, while compatriot Ellen MacArthur has received the award twice, the last time in 2005 following her world record breaking fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe.


Greek duo Sofia Bekatorou and Emilia Tsoulfa have won the award on two occasions in 2002 and 2004 while London 2012 laser radial gold medallist Xu Lijia of China became only the second recipient of the award to come from Asia following Hong Kong's Lai Shan Lee in 1996.

The awards are due to be presented at the annual ISAF Annual Conference which takes place this year on November 12 in Muscat, Oman.


Sailors can be nominated by national governing bodies for the sport of sailing, class associations, ISAF Committee members, sailors and any other interested parties, before a shortlist is drawn up.

The 138 ISAF national federations then vote for one male and one female sailor who they believe is deserving of the award, which has been sponsored by Rolex since 2001.

This year's nominations cover the period of September 1 2012 to August 31 2013, and the closing date for all nominations is September 4.

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