Bayview Yacht Club Member Named 'Yachtsman of the Year' by Rolex and Frequent BYC Sailor Anna Tunnicliffe Named 'Yachtswoman of the Year' for 2009

DETROIT, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Bayview Yacht Club is pleased to announce that member Bora Gulari has been named US Sailing's 2009 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and frequent Bayview racer Anna Tunnicliffe was named the Yachtswoman of the Year.

"Bayview Yacht Club is well known as a premier racing sailing club and this coveted award for one of our own is great news that validates our world-class sailing tradition and is a distinct honor earned by Bora Gulari," said Bayview Commodore Bruce J. Burton. "All of us at Bayview salute Bora and Anna on this milestone achievement."

Gulari, who also won the Moth World Championship in 2009, has been a Bayview member since 1998. A City of Detroit resident, Gulari also was a sailing crewmember aboard the Natalie J yacht that won in its class the 2009 Chicago to Mackinac Race, The Bayview Mackinac Race and the "SuperMac" race for 2009.

Tunnicliffe, who won the Detroit Cup Match Race at Bayview in 2009, earned a gold medal in sailing at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Tunnicliffe has been a frequent competitor at Bayview and has held racing clinics for women at the club in recent years.

Bayview is planning an awards reception and news conference in February. Both Gulari and Tunnicliffe will be honored and presented with specially engraved Rolex timepieces during a luncheon on February 26, 2010, at the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan.

"It's absolutely overwhelming," said Gulari about winning the award. "None of my accomplishments in 2009 would be even remotely possible without an amazing level of support from a huge group of people. My family, friends, boat owners, Bayview Yacht Club, my fellow Mothies all over the world, the sailing media, and a forward-looking Awards Panel -- this award recognizes all of you. So thank you!"

Gulari won his first Moth world championship his second time out and became the first American in 33 years to claim the class' world title. In existence since 1929, the Moth is a development class with a design rule that has remained basically unchanged, while the craft has gone from a home-built, flat-bottomed skiff to the current version incorporating hydrofoils on which the craft flies across the water.

"I just do this because I love it, and I think this year was the start of great things to come for dinghy sailing in the U.S.," Gulari told US Sailing. "With the addition of the foils, the Moths became easier to sail and a lot more rewarding . . . generating a level of excitement for sailing in some of the top sailors in the country that I have not seen before. I don't think it will take people away from traditional dinghy classes, but the Moth is so fun that it's attracting people that have never had any interest in dinghies, and its bringing people back to dinghies who thought they were done getting wet."

Bayview Yacht Club, recognized as the premier sailing club in Michigan and one of the most storied and historical clubs in the world, has promoted racing sailing since its inception in 1915. Bayview has also taken a leadership role in supporting and encouraging women and junior sailing for many years.

For more information on Bayview Yacht Club, please visit www.byc.com. For media inquiries please contact Bruce Babiarz, BAB Associates, LLC, (248) 890-5030. [email protected]

SOURCE Bayview Yacht Club