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| Walter Cooper |
| The Open 5.70 (above) won Best One-Design in SW's 2007 Boat of the Year contest. |
The Esse 850 is the overall winner of our 2007 Boat of the Year contest, having beat out 18 other nominees for the top prize.
Judges also awarded honors for Best One-Design to the Open 5.70. Best Sportboat went to the Corsair Sprint 750, and the X-35 One Design earned the Best Racer/Cruiser title. The Best Cruiser/Racer was the Salona 37.
"The Esse 850 is one of the best sportboats I've ever sailed. It's quite simple, it'll be easy to singlehand, and it's easy on the eyes," remarked judge Chuck Allen, a professional sailor. Another of the many compliments this Swiss import received came from judge Alan Andrews, who said, "This is a polished package in which all the parts seem to work well."
The Corsair Sprint 750, produced by Corsair Marine, of Chula Vista, California, and winner of the Best Sportboat award, had judges searching for something not to like. They concluded that this swift 24-foot trimaran was an excellent boat for the money and by far the most fun to sail.
The winner for the Best One-Design, the Open 5.70, imported from France, was found to meet the three "S" requirements: simple, stable, and sensational to sail. The X-35 One Design, winner of the Racer/Cruiser award, had judges concurring that this 35-footer had all the attributes of a perfect weekend regatta racer.
High-quality construction scored big for the Best Cruiser/Racer winner, the Salona 37, built in Croatia. Also impressive was that the 37 is available with three different interiors and three keel types. Boat of the Year director Tony Bessinger said, "The Salona is a lot of boat for the money, and this, combined with its good workmanship and great performance, made it a natural as our top cruiser/racer."
An independent panel of experts picked the winners from the 19 nominated boats announced during the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, in October.
2007 Sailing World Boat of the Year Winners
Overall Winner
Esse 850: Boat ReviewEsse 850: Photo GalleryBest One-Design
Open 5.70: Boat ReviewOpen 5.70: Photo GalleryBest Sportboat
Corsair Sprint 750: Boat ReviewCorsair Sprint 750: Photo GalleryBest Racer/Cruiser
X-35 One Design: Boat ReviewX-35 One Design: Photo GalleryBest Cruiser/Racer
Salona 37: Boat ReviewSalona 37: Photo GalleryTo view photo galleries of all Boat of the Year nominees, click
here.
***Correction***
In our review of the Salona 37 in the January 2007 issue of
Sailing World, we published the wrong website address for Salona North America. The correct URL is
www.salonayachts.com.
