2006 ISAF Sailors of the Year

ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards are announced today

7 November 2006 – The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) will present Paige Railey and Mike Sanderson each with an ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award in Helsinki, Finland tonight. The Rolex Sailor of the Year Award is presented for outstanding sailing achievement for the period of 1 September 2005 to 31 August 2006.

Paige Railey of the United States is a previous nominee for the award. Paige specializes in the Olympic One Person Dinghy event using the new Laser Radial sailboat. During 2006, Paige won among other events, the French Olympic Sailing Week and ISAF World Sailing Games in Austria.

Mike Sanderson of New Zealand is a well-known winning skipper involved with the Volvo Ocean Race. Sanderson's team on the ABN Amro One dominated the 2005-2006 Ocean Race season. Sailing for eight months, Sanderson's vessel won six of the nine offshore legs and five of the seven in port competitions.

Each winner received a Rolex timepiece and the World Sailor Trophy. King Constantine and Arnaud Boestsch of Rolex made the award presentations.