Spithill and Shreeve win Australian Yachting Awards

Allison was unable to attend the black tie dinner held in Sydney due to sailing commitments in Europe but her proud parents Colin and Glenda were in attendance, with her mother accepting the award from Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, on her daughter's behalf.

Fortunately, James was able to steal a couple of days away from his busy schedule in Valencia, where the Luna Rossa syndicate has been based for the past couple of years to accept the Male Sailor of the Year Award.

James' parents Arthur and Jenny, along with younger brother and up-and-coming match racer Tommy, also attended the Awards. Younger sister Katie was away contesting a match racing event having recently been the first Australian female to win an ISAF Grade 1 event.

All winners were presented with their awards by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, in her capacity as Patron of the Gipsy Moth Global Project and Patron of the United Kingdom Sailing Academy, other winners were:

Youth Sailor of the Year - Kyle Langford and Evan Walker (NSW)
Sailor of the Year with a Disability - Paul Borg (VIC) and Don Scott (NSW)
Services to Yachting - Lou Abrahams (VIC), Bill Joselin (NSW) and John Kirkjian (NSW)Media - Graeme Adam (NSW).

Perhaps the best speech of the night came from blind sailor, Paul Borg after accepting his award from the Princess.

"I would have liked to invite Royalty out on a blind-date, but you're not allowed to do that sort of thing these days," he quipped.

On a more series note, he said, "Make the best of your life, you never know what's around the corner - you may be disabled yourself some day. Don't take life for granted."

Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir, Governor of New South Wales and Concetta Fierravanti - Wells (Senator for New South Wales) shared the duty of announcing the winners.

Other dignitaries attending the evening were Sir Nicholas Shehadie, Rt Hon Helen Liddell (British High Commissioner) and Dr Alistair Liddell, Concetta Fierravanti - Wells (Senator for New South Wales) and Sandra Nori (NSW Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation), Yachting Australia President, Andrew Plympton, ISAF Vice President David Kellett and his wife Kendi, Sir James Hardy and his wife Lady Joan and David Green representing the Gipsy Moth project.

Channel 7's Mark Beretta was master of ceremonies for the event which was a joint venture between Yachting Australia and the United Kingdom Sailing Academy.

During the evening, attendees dug deep during the auctions held to raise funds for the Gipsy Moth project. The project is re-enacting Sir Francis Chichester's remarkable solo circumnavigation from 40 years ago and is giving young people the opportunity to be involved in recreating history. Sir Francis Chichester's ground breaking yacht returned to Sydney Harbour last Sunday crewed by youth from all over the world and was greeted by a huge flotilla.

Speaking on her involvement with Gipsy Moth, Scottish girl Elaine Caldwell stole the night. Elaine captivated her audience, telling how she came to be aboard the yacht. "I was homeless and got involved in this project - it's the best thing to happen to me," she said. She went on to explain she had never before been aboard a boat, describing what it meant to her to get off the streets. Her speech was both poignant and powerful.

Full details on the criteria and previous winners are available from the Yachting Australia website www.yachting.org.au

Photo: James Spithill winning the Grade 1 Brasil Sailing Cup earlier this year. Courtesy of Event Media