International Superyacht Society praises 2010 winners

by ISS on 5 Dec 2010 ISS has announced the comprehensive details regarding the 2010 Winners of its Design and Leadership Awards.

Feted during the Society’s 20th Annual International Awards Gala which celebrated both industry and owner alike with a Hollywood Goes Yachting tribute on 28 October 2010, the opening night of the 51st Annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, recipients represent design dexterity and leadership qualities that set an international tone for an ever-expanding global superyacht community.

A total of six yacht design awards, including two sail (24-20m and 40m+), three power (24-40m, 40-65m and 65m+) as well as Best Interior (for which all 25 finalist yachts in five categories were eligible), and four Awards of Distinction—ISS Leadership, Distinguished Crew, Business of the Year and Excellence in Innovation—were presented.

Newly incorporated in 2009, ISS announced winners of the Business of the Year and Innovation Awards at its Annual Meeting of the Associations in Monaco in September 2010, presenting them with their trophies at the Gala.

A glamorous affaire to be sure, attendees had been cued to consider donning black ties or celebrity attire in keeping with the Hollywood theme, a critical decision as immediately upon entrance to the event, revellers were met by paparazzi, cameras poised, flash bulbs crackling. More than 425 guests then wined and dined al fresco.

Within a theatre setting, while likenesses of Humphrey Bogart, Liz Taylor and more Hollywood idols gazed upon the proceedings, the entire ensemble was treated to an ISS created and produced Hollywood Goes Yachting video which was met with gasps for thrill seekers, nostalgia for old time movie yachts like the African Queen and peals of laughter for Some Like it Hot and Caddy Shack clips.

The awards presentation—led by Master of Ceremonies, Bob Saxon—followed with its own thrills and emotion and was followed by Robb Report’s now iconoclastic Cigar Bar on the Ocean View Terrace accompanied by after dinner drinks, beer, wine, coffee and a grand dessert bar.

With an overwhelmingly positive response to its fanfare evening, the continuing success of ISS’s annual awards event rests squarely on the shoulders of the unwavering support of ISS sponsors.

The gala sponsors are the Robb Report as Leadership Award Title Sponsor, Show Management as Design Awards Title Sponsor, Yachts International as Gala Program Title Support and The Yacht Report as Design and Leadership Awards Gala Title Sponsor. Burger Boat Company, Westrec Marinas and Wright Maritime Group were again invaluable Silver Sponsors of the event, presenting wine, the Distinguished Crew Award and the cocktail hour, respectively. All supporters who commit to ISS events are rewarded with some of the most visible sponsorship opportunities available in the large yacht industry.

With regard to how the winning yachts are selected, each year ISS honours those yacht builders, designers, interior designers, naval architects and stylists chosen from a list of five finalists in each of five length categories as selected by ISS’s membership. In addition to awards given to three power yachts and two sailing vessels, a best interior award is also given for one yacht selected from either the power or sail finalists.

Finalists are the result of an annual worldwide membership voting process; being nominated and then selected as a finalist is a source of pride as the voting system is the direct result of input from one's peers.

Due to the prestigious nature of the Design Awards Gala, ISS also presents its Awards of Distinction—including the illustrious Leadership Award which is bestowed to an outstanding industry leader during the celebratory evening. For 2010, the ISS Leadership Award has been presented to Bill Langan of Langan Design Associates.

ISS also commemorated the success of Captain David Hill by presenting him, posthumously, the 2010 Distinguished Crew Award.

The ISS Business of the Year was presented to Corporation of Trinity House for its Professional Yachtsman Bursary Scheme. The ISS Excellence in Innovation went to sailing yacht, Soliloquy, Callender Designs.

More at www.superyachtsociety.com