Boat of the Year

Boat Of The Year is a prestigious sailing award presented annually by the Duluth Yacht Club, and represents a boat’s exceptional overall performance by its crew during the racing season. The competition is open for all members of the Duluth Yacht Club whose membership dues and fees are paid in full prior to the commencement of competition in all Qualifying Events and whose boat meets the criteria set forth in this document.

Please direct any comments or questions concerning this “Boat Of The Year” competition to the Race Chair of the Duluth Yacht Club.

Eligibility:

In order to be eligible for Boat of the Year consideration, during all races in a Qualifying Event a boat must carry aboard a crew member who holds a full membership with the Duluth Yacht Club. This may be the owner, skipper, or any other crew member whose membership dues and race fees are paid in full at the time of competition. The boat is also required to compete in and finish more than two-thirds (2/3) of the aggregate of all races sailed in the Qualifying Events listed below.

Scoring:

Scoring for BOTY eligible boats will be based on a high point scoring system. Results will be graded with regard to quantity and based upon the number of boats within a class, with points being awarded with high point scoring. (see explination below)

Selection:

The Boat of the Year will be selected by scoring the highest point tally from the best results in races sailed in any combination of the following Qualifying Events:

  • DYC Wednesday Night Class Races – Spring Series

  • DYC Wednesday Night Class Races – Summer Series

  • DYC Wednesday Night Class Races – Fall Series

  • DYC Near Shore Series

  • DKC Offshore Series

High Point Scoring:

High point scoring is the simplest of the series methods. Instead of getting a score based on your finishing position, your score is the total number of boats in the race plus 1 minus the number of positions out of first you finished. For example, in a race of 6 boats, first place would receive 7 points, second place 6 points, etc. If you received a DNF, you would receive 1 point. If a boat did not race, they would receive 0 points. Ties are handled in the same manner as low-point, the scores are just reversed.

There are two big advantages to this system. Because it’s simple, competitors can do the mental gymnastics in their head and don’t need a calculator to figure out how they need to perform in order to move ahead in the fleet. This system also sets a “weight” for each race so that a first place in a fleet of 15 is worth more than a first place in a fleet of 4