At the Awards Ceremony in Helsinki, 19 year old RAILEY and 35 year old SANDERSON were honoured for their outstanding sailing achievements during the twelve months to 31 August 2006. Despite her young years, RAILEY has proven herself the class act in the Laser Radial women's fleet, crowning her 2006 season with a gold medal at the Olympic Test Event in Qingdao, China. SANDERSON skippered the 70 foot race yacht ABN AMRO ONE to an overwhelming victory in the Volvo Ocean Race that concluded in June this year.

RAILEY won the award ahead of an impressive list of other female nominees, including the Spanish team who won the Yngling World Championships and British sailor Dee CAFFARI (GBR) who became the first woman to circumnavigate the world single-handed, sailing the 'wrong way round' - i.e. in a westerly direction against the prevailing winds. 'To be included on this list of esteemed sailors is an incredible addition to my sailing accomplishments,' said RAILEY. 'I would like to thank all the Rolex nominees for the dedication to the sport, and to congratulate them for each of their successes. I'm proud to be associated with such an elite group.'

The Laser Radial sailor from Florida described her passion for the sport. 'I compete in sailing because it's what I love to do. I believe it is a gift I have been granted, and I feel it is my obligation to take my gift to as high a level as I can. Sometimes when my body is hurting after sailing, and I ask myself, is it all worth it? It's on nights like tonight that I realise that it is all worth it. The great football coach Vince LOMBARDI once said winning is work harder, go longer, and give more than anyone else.'

Those are sentiments that SANDERSON could relate to, having emerged victorious from one of the toughest round-the-world races on the sailing calendar. 'It is a fantastic honour to receive the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award. The ABN AMRO ONE story in the Volvo Ocean Race is a childhood dream come true, not just for me but for the whole crew. It's something which my whole career has been focused on achieving.' SANDERSON was keen to emphasize the teamwork involved, from the sailing crew, the shore crew, the management and the sponsors of Team ABN AMRO. He singled out a few names for mention. 'One is the fantastic interaction between the team and the design office of Juan KOUYOUMDJIAN, the young Argentinean designer who came up with two fantastic boats, and my guys on board - to Justin, Jan, Rob, Dave, Sidney, Tony, Mark, Brad and Stan the navigator. I truly am up here representing the team.'

Paige RAILEY © Carlo Borlenghi/ISAF/ Getty Images

Mike SANDERSON © Carlo Borlenghi/ISAF/ Getty Images

America's Cup sailor and TV broadcaster Gary JOBSON hosted the Awards. 'It's a great honour to be named ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year, even just to be nominated, particularly when you look back through the list. What this does is inspire more sailors to go forward and strive for greater things. Please use this honour to inspire others, to promote our sport. Sailing really is the best sport in the world, it gets us outdoors, it suits both genders, all sizes, and it's a sport you can continue for your whole life.'

ISAF President of Honour HM King Constantine, an Olympic gold medallist from the 1960 Games in Rome, picked up JOBSON's theme of a lifetime’s sport in mentioning Sir Robin KNOX-JOHNSTON (GBR) who at the age of 67 is currently out on the ocean racing around the world in the VELUX 5 OCEANS Race. 'He's 67 years old, I'm 66, and I think he's crazy,' quipped the King.

JOBSON interviewed a number of other Rolex nominees who were present at the ceremony. Peter GILMOUR (AUS) continues to dominate match racing regattas 25 years after he first stepped on to the world match racing stage. The Australian said he loved the sport as much now as he did then. 'The great thing is you never stop learning, you're always discovering something new,' he said. Yves PARLIER (FRA) was nominated for his death-defying record-breaking feats on the radical twin-masted catamaran Médiatis Région Aquitaine. Asked where the French obsession with speed and record-breaking stemmed from, PARLIER said that every French offshore sailor is walking in the footsteps of Eric TABARLY (FRA). 'The French like being alone on the sea, they are very interested by new solutions and new concepts of sailing,' he said.

Olympic bronze medallist from Athens 2004, Dorte JENSEN (DEN) had not done much sailing since becoming a mother and yet she was a worthy nominee after returning to the sport to win the Dexia Private Banking ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship. 'It was so nice to be nominated this year, but Paige was an excellent winner, she really deserves this award.'

More than 400 guests from 45 nations attended the Awards Ceremony held in an historic warehouse, the Wanha Satama on the Helsinki waterfront. Attendees included international sailors and prominent personalities from the sailing world. Presenting the Awards were HM King Constantine and Arnaud BOETSCH of Rolex.

The winners were each presented with a Rolex Yacht-Master timepiece and the marble and silver World Sailor Trophy - a solid marble sphere depicting the world and crowned by five silver spinnakers representing the continents.

The ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards took place during the ISAF Annual Conference.

World Sailor Podcast

Sailing fans can relive the tension as the winners are announced and watch all the best action from the Awards Ceremony in a Podcast of the event.

In order to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes you need to:

• In iTunes go to the toolbar menu, pull down Advanced > Subscribe to podcast
• Enter the URL - http://www.appftp.com/apppodcast/worldsailor06.xml
• Go to the Podcast section of your iTunes and you should see the new entry, with titles etc.
• Once it is downloaded you can watch in iTunes, and sync with iPod

For other MP3 and MP4 music and video players, consult instructions on how to subscribe to podcasts and downloads.

Browser Download

For wishing to download directly rather than through an MP4 video player, open a browser and insert the following link - http://www.appftp.com/apppodcast/worldsailor06.mp4.  

About The Awards

The ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards Dinner and Presentation takes place on 7 November 2006 at the Wanha Satama, an historic warehouse in the heart of Helsinki, Finland.

Each winner will be presented with the coveted ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award Trophy and a Rolex timepiece at a ceremony that will honour the achievements of all of the nominees. This gala occasion will be attended by the nominees and eminent guests from the sailing world, and the renowned sailor, yachting journalist and Rolex Ambassador Gary JOBSON (USA) will act as Master of Ceremonies for the evening.

For more information on the eleven nominees and their achievements CLICK HERE.

To view the World Sailor Photo Gallery of the nominees in action CLICK HERE.

The ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards is taking place during the ISAF Annual Conference.