Yachting Tasmania awards to Matt Bugg and Amelia Catt

by Peter Campbell on 30 Jun 2015 Two of Tasmanian prominent international one-design sailors, Matt Bugg and Amelia Catt, have been named as winners of Yachting Tasmania’s 2015 Sailor of the Year awards following their successes on the national and international circuit.

Bugg, a member of the Australian Sailing Team, was named Male Sailor of the Year at a presentation on Sunday at the Derwent Sailing Squadron in Hobart.

Bugg is currently on course to again represent Australia at the Paralympics in Rio next year, sailing in the single-handed International 2.4mR class. He competed at the London 2012 Paralympics, finishing seventh overall.

Catt, a member of the Australian Sailing Squad, is crewing for Queenslander Sasha Ryan in the Olympic 470 class, the pair currently contesting the European 470 championship in their campaign towards the Olympics.

Matt Bugg’s father Ron, President of Yachting Tasmania and Commodore of the Derwent Sailing Squadron, presented the Male Sailor of the Year award to his son, while Amelia’s Catt accepted the Female Sailor of the Year award by video from Europe.

Matt Bugg has had an outstanding year, including wins at Sail Melbourne, the Australian National Championship and a second and a third respectively at the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) Worlds Cup rounds at Hyeres, France, and Medemblik, The Netherlands. He is currently ranked fourth in the world in the 2.4mR class.

Catt and Ryan have competed in ISAF World Cup rounds in Melbourne, Hyeres and Weymouth, winning the Melbourne round. They also won the 470 women’s class at Sail Sydney last December. The women are currently ranked 15th worldwide in ISAF rankings for the Olympic class.

The Outstanding Youth Achievement Award was presented to 17-year-old Jock Calvert who is expected to again represent Australia at the 2015 ISAF Youth Worlds.

Wynyard Yacht Club and two of its members were recognised at the Yachting Tasmania awards, with the club being named Club of the Year, Mike Darby a Volunteer of the Year and Chris Symonds being inducted into the Tasmanian Yachting Hall of Fame as well as being named Disabled Sailor of the Year.

Two other recipients of the Volunteer of the Year Award were Tom Bain from the Tamar Yacht Club and Michael Vincent of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania Off the Beach division.

Other Yachting Tasmania awards presented went to Greg Rowlings (Yachting Personality of the Year), Michael Denney (Administrator/Sporting Professional of the Year) and Phillip Turner and Duncan Hine, owner and skipper respectively of the ocean racing yacht Alive (Bennetto Medal for offshore sailing).

In addition to Chris Sydmonds, other wellknown yachtsman inducted into the Yachting Tasmania Hall of Fame were David Rees, Nick Connor, Stephen Boyes, Andrew Hunn and Julian Freeman.