The annual Miami International Boat Show in February is a sure way to thaw from the winter blues, with new yachts of every hull type and style on the docks, and products on display, like KVH’s line of TracVision and TracPhone products for television entertainment and connectivity afloat.
The 2017 event was no different, with the crowds, the warmth, the blue skies – and the annual Boating Writers International awards to journalists whose work appears in the leisure marine press. Though a mere slice of the overwhelming categories of niche media in existence today, the marine press is nothing if not lively.
This year, the contest’s 24th, saw cash prizes awarded in 17 writing and reporting categories to winners out of a pool of 151 participants who submitted 378 entries of work published in 2016. Among category sponsors is KVH, which honored top scribes of boating columns.
The winners are:
1st, “Between Fish” by Bill Sisson (Anglers Journal); 2nd, “Jody’s Log” by Jody Argo Schroath (Chesapeake Bay); 3rd, “Weather Eye” by Wendy Mitman Clarke (Chesapeake Bay). “You feel his work in your bones,” says judge John Wooldridge of the first place columns … “Highly descriptive and deeply immersive, they transport you to the moment that the experience takes place, making the reader a participant to the story.” Honorable Mentions: “On Watch” by Fatty Goodlander (Cruising World); “On the Wind” by Chris Caswell (Sailing).
Congratulations to all the writers in that category and the 16 others, from KVH. The boating lifestyle wouldn’t be the same without your perspective, humor, tenacity, and love of words!
For other category winners, click here .
