Winners of the annual Southam Awards for excellence in sailing communication were announced Thursday, 14 February, by Sail America Marketing Committee Chairperson Sally Helme during the Miami International Boat Show Press Breakfast.

Winning and accepting the US$5,000 cash grand prize was Paul Lagasse of Silver Springs, Maryland, whose article, "Taking It To the Wind" beat out 89 additional entries in a variety of categories. His story was published in Recreation News.

Southam award criteria include "a welcoming and positive portrayal of sailing, reach to a non-sailing audience, encouraging participation in sailing, and taking a unique approach to the topic," said Sail America.

"Mr. Lagasse not only addressed several preconceived notions associated with sailing, but actually described the wealth of options for lessons and rentals in the mid-Atlantic region," said Helme, chief judge. "He provided a relaxed, straightforward and non-intimidating introduction for would-be sailors and covered costs, course details, time requirements for various commercial and community sailing schools in the region. Ultimately, he provided a sense of confidence for readers to try sailing for themselves."

The Southam Awards are named in honor of John Southam, former publisher of Cruising World and Sailing World magazines, who played a significant role in the growth of Sail America.

Category award winners


* Adventure Category - Won by "The Science of Sailing," a kick-off program to the National Geographic series on the 2001/2002 Volvo Ocean Race produced by National Geographic Channels International and hosted by Tracy Edwards. In addition, two honorable mentions were also included in this category: "Fast Forward," an article by Sarah Deem about the world's fastest sailboat that was featured in Popular Mechanics magazine; and "To Survive," written by Alvah Simon about exploration and sailing, which appeared on the Travel Channel.

* Magazine Category - Won by Michael Verdon, whose article, "The New Wave of Fast, Idiot-Proof Boats," was published by Men's Journal.

* Newspaper Under 100,00 Category - Won by Ann Chandonnet whose article, "Youths Learning on the Water," was published in the Juneau Empire with an 18,000 circulation.

* Newspapers Over 100,000 Category - Won by Kristin Dizon whose article in the 170,000 circulation newspaper, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, featured "Gone With the Wind - Learning to Sail Can Carry You Away."

"We were very pleased by this year's rich field of entries and the positive portrayal of sailing in many areas of coverage," said Helme. "The quality of submissions was simply outstanding and we are excited by the resulting sailing press we've enjoyed as both a sport and a lifestyle on the national level, as well as in important regional markets."