Rolex Yachtsman of the Year – Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) has been named US SAILING’s 2009 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, earning the coveted award with his very first appearance on the shortlist of nominees.  Gulari had tough competition for the honor:  all but one of the 10 male nominees, Gulari included, had won a world championship title.  

Ultimately, 10 of the 14 panel members gave Gulari their first-place vote, acknowledging his growth from square one in the Moth class two years ago to winner of the CST Composites International Moth World Championship in 2009 as nothing short of remarkable.  Although many sailors compete for years in a class before making it to the elite level, 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.  One of the panel members witnessed the first two days of competition at the worlds and attested to the high level of talent in the Moth class, while another panelist felt that the sport was witnessing a watershed moment in terms of the class taking off in the U.S.   

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.,” said Gulari.  “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.”