European Yacht of the Year Awards 2014 - the nominations are out!

by A. Manuela Preinbergs/Sail-World on 6 Aug 2013 Every year every well-known and not-so-well-known boat builder enters new yachts in the biggest awards of them all, the 'European Yacht of the Year'. This award can make an enormous difference to the regard in which a yacht is held, and provide a vast amount of free publicity. However, even getting nominated for the great awards are an achievement in itself and the nominations have just been announced.

During the autumn the nominated boats will extensively tested by an independent international jury consisting mostly of yachting journalists from the leading sailing magazines of Europe.

Every year too, the awards kick off the opening weekend of one of the most famous of all boat shows, Boot, in Dusseldorf. It will be the same at the next Boot, being held in January 2014. The boats are considered on a range of criteria: Sailing performance, comfort, build quality, value for money, design and technical unique selling points.

The categories are: Family cruiser, Luxury Cruiser, Performance Cruiser Yachts and Special. Five yachts are nominated in each category and then have the chance to be selected at the boot Dusseldorf in late January 2014 as the Best Sailing Yacht in Europe.

For now, here are the nominations, with many of them - as noted below - showing in Boot, Dusseldorf:

In the category of Family Cruiser:

Allures 39.9 (In boat show)
Bavaria Cruiser 37 (In boat show)
Beneteau Oceanis 38 (In boat show)
Dufour 410 Grand'Large (In boat show)
9.00 Winner (In boat show)

In the category of Luxury Cruiser:

Contest 42 CS (In boat show)
Gunfleet 58 (In boat show)
Hallberg-Rassy 55 (In boat show)
ICE 62
Mylius 18E35

In the category of Performance Cruiser:

Dehler 38 (In boat show)
Elan 400 (In boat show)
Pogo 30 (In boat show)
Premier 45 (In boat show)
XP-33 (In boat show)

In the category of Special Yachts:

Django 6.70
Essence 33
Malango 8.88
Sailart 22 (In boat show)
27 sapphires (In boat show)