The Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club was the big winner of the 2019 NSW/ACT State Sailing Awards, taking out the Club of the Year Award and members Jan Howard and Mary Holly winning the inaugural SheSails Award.

The awards, held at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, showcased the most outstanding achievements by New South Wales and ACT members across the nomination period. The top individual awards for the night went to Middle Harbour Yacht Club/Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron's Martin Hill (Male Sailor of the Year) and Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club's Annie Wilmot and Natasha Bryant (Female Sailors of the Year).

In handing out the Male Sailor of the Year Award, Vice-Commodore of the Middle Harbour Yacht Club Alister Copley highlighted that in October 2018 Hill won the Etchells World Championship in Brisbane ahead of a 90 plus boat field that included 7 past Etchells world champions, numerous champions from other classes and several Olympians.

Copley went on to also praise the work of Jan Howard and Mary Holly following their win of the inaugural SheSails Award.

"Jan and Mary have been instrumental to the NCYC womens sailing since 2010," he said. 

"Thanks to their work in promoting sailing to women by 2014, almost 50% of crew in NCYC Twilight races were women, 25% of Sunday point score race crew were female, and a NCYC all-female crew competed at Airlie Beach Race Week (ABRW).

"By 2019, over 200 women had graduated from a NCYC sailing program."

Michael Fletcher was a popular winner of the Coach of the Year Award, still giving to the sport through his efforts this year as the NSW YST 29er coach where his sailors achieved overall wins in the NSW Youths, Australian 29er Championships and Australian Youth Championships as well as 5th overall in the 29er World Championships.

Manly 16' Skiff Sailing Club's Niall Powers took out the Instructor of the Year Award for his work launching the Learn to Sail programme at the club. The program was highly succesful in converting new learn to sail students into a green fleet and racing program.

The awards ceremony also included a moving presentation of Barrenjoey Pins to a list of sailing legends by to two-time Olympian Sir James Hardy. The Barranjoey Pin is awarded to athletes who have achieved the Australian Sailing Team standard or similar, dating back to our Australia's first Olympic representatives at the 1948 Olympic Games.

The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club also had a great night, boasting four winners from amongst its' ranks. Richard Slater was recognised as Official of the Year Award, Tom Spithill won the Sports Professional Award, Daniel Links the Youth Sailor of the Year Award and Wilmot and Bryant taking out the aforementioned Female Sailor of the Year.

The host club's Matt Allen won the Offshore Sailor of the Year Award, Woollahra’s Gaye Rosen and Martin Gill won the Volunteer of the Year and Dobroyd Aquatic Club’s Sarah Plunkett won Sailor of the Year with a Disability.

See below for the full list of winners.

Finalists for the Coach of the Year Award were:

• Michael Fletcher -New South Wales Institute of Sport
• Tristan Brown -New South Wales State Coach
• Robert Brewer -New South Wales Optimist Association

Winner: Michael Fletcher - New South Wales Institute of Sport

Finalists for the Instructor of the Year Award were:

• Niall Powers - Manly 16’ Skiff Sailing Club
• Wayne Loder - Chipping Norton Lakes Sailing Club
• Orla Gray - YMCA Canberra Sailing Club
• Nina Long - Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club

Winner: Niall Powers - Manly 16’ Skiff Sailing Club

Finalists for the Official of the Year Award were:

• Richard Slater - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club
• Ted Anderson - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club
• Ian Humphries - Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club
• Ian Kingsford-Smith - Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron

Winner:  Richard Slater - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club

Finalists for the SheSails Award were:

•  Jan Howard and Mary Holly - Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club
• Bethany Sherry - Belmont 16ft Sailing Club
• Deborah Dalziel - Middle Harbour Yacht Club
• Clare Alexander - Double Bay Sailing Club

Winner: Jan Howard and Mary Holly - Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club

Finalists for the Sports Professional Award were:

• Tom Spithill - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club
• Pam Scrivenor - Cruising Yacht Club of Australia
• Carl Webster - Australian Sailing

Winner: Tom Spithill - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club

Finalists for the Sports Promotion Award were:

• Invictus Games Regatta Organisers - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Middle Harbour Yacht Club, RANSA and Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
• Mark Rothfield - Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club
• Nic Douglass - Jervis Bay Sailing Club
• Deborah Wallace - Cruising Yacht Club of Australia

Winner: Invictus Games Regatta

The Finalists for Volunteer of the Year were:

• Gaye Rosen & Martin Gill - Woollahra Sailing Club
• Alison Blatcher - Tweed Valley Sailing Club
• Trevor Hannah - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club
• Philip Clinton - Middle Harbour Yacht Club
• Mark Mayne - Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club
• Alistair Cross - Lake Jindabyne Sailing Club
• Douglas Murchison - RANSA
• Stan Bland - Woollahra Sailing Club
• Joyce Warn - Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron

Winner: Gaye Rosen and Martin Gill - Woollahra Sailing Club

Finalists for Youth Sailor of the Year were:

• Daniel Links - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club
• Archie Cropley & Max Paul - Middle Harbour Yacht Club
• Zoe Dransfield & Pearl Twomey - Manly 16’ Skiff Sailing Club
• Ryan Littlechild & Jack Ferguson - RSYS/Woollahra Sailing Club
• Brooke Wilson - Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
• Will Cooley & Bec Hancock - RSYS / Woollahra Sailing Club
• Grae Morris - Woollahra Sailing Club
• Capbell Patton - Double Bay Sailing Club
• Otto Henry - Woollahra Sailing Club

Winner: Daniel Links - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club

Finalists for Offshore Sailor of the Year were:

• Stacey Jackson - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Squadron
• Matthew Allen - Cruising Yacht Club of Australia
• Robert Cox - Middle Harbour Yacht Club
• Shane Gaddes - Canberra Yacht Club

Winner: Matthew Allen - Cruising Yacht Club of Australia

Finalists for Sailor of the Year with a Disability were:

• Sarah Plunkett - Dobroyd Aquatic Club
• David Pescud - Cruising Yacht Club of Australia
• Allister Peek - Canberra Yacht Club
• Jason Elwes - Sailability New South Wales

Winner: Sarah Plunkett - Dobroyd Aquatic Club

The finalists for Female Sailor of the Year were:

• Annie Wilmot & Natasha Bryant - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club
• Jessica Grimes - Cruising Yacht Club of Australia
• Clare Costanzo - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club
• Karyn Gojnich - Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron

Winner: Annie Wilmot and Natasha Bryant - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club

The finalists for Male Sailor of the Year were:

• Martin Hill - Middle Harbour Yacht Club/ Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
• Jason Waterhouse - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club
• David Chapman - Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
• Thomas Quick - Cruising Yacht Club of Australia

Winner: Martin Hill - Middle Harbour Yacht Club/ Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron

The finalists for NSW & ACT Club of the Year were:

• Lane Cove 12ft Skiff Sailing Club
• Cruising Yacht Club of Australia
• Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club
• Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club

Winner: Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club

Lifetime Achievement Award 

Winner: Timothy Cox

Winners from the Club of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Coach of the Year, Official of the Year and Instructor of the Year will now automatically be nominated for this year's Australian Sailing Awards, to be held at the Sofitel Sydney, Darling Harbour on Friday 18 October. Tickets will be on sale soon for the event.