LYRA Boat of the Year

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The LYRA Boat of the Year Trophy was first awarded in 1996. Boat of the Year awards recognize outstanding and Corinthian performance on LYRA waters by a boat flying the burgee of a LYRA member club. The awards are based on quantitative analysis to identify deserving candidates and then a subjective review by the LYRA Executive Committee to identify the winners, taking into account subjective factors such as the level of competition at various events. When no outstanding candidate can be identified, that Boat of the Year award will not be given for that year.

The LYRA Boat of the Year qualification requires Handicap yachts to compete in at least 6 more events from the list of qualifying events and One Design yachts to compete in a minimum of 2 more One Design events.

Over the winter of 2014-2015, we reviewed our Boat of the Year criteria and concluded that they weren’t appropriate for many one-design classes that compete at the annual regatta. The classes have their own schedule of competitive events, many of which are not on our list of counters. We concluded that adding a long list of new counter events wouldn’t work; at the end of the day we would still be subjectively comparing apples and oranges. Instead, we decided to add a new Boat of the Year award for One-Design Racing.

To qualify for the new LYRA One-Design Racing Boat of the Year Award, a boat must compete in the LYRA day racing series in a one-design class, plus a minimum of two other one-design events. Results in additional one-design events on LYRA waters will be considered where results are available. We will count distance races if at least five boats in the same class compete head-to-head. For both awards, club races are excluded. Counters are reviewed after each racing season.

LYRA thanks RCR Yachts for its generous donation of a new trophy to recognize to recognize the One-Design Boat of the Year. Don Finkle wrote the following:

“The new perpetual trophy for the LYRA One-Design Boat of the Year is named after E.J. “Skip” Doyle Jr. Skip is a past president of LYRA and was a competitor in LYRA events for at least five decades. Most of Skip’s LYRA sailing was done in one-design boats and his favorite type of competition was in one-designs.He was known not only for his keen competitive spirit and superb skill- as evidenced by his countless regatta wins – but also for his good sportsmanship. There is no more fit namesake for this award than Skip Doyle.”

The Boat of the Year winners since its first offering are:

For 2015, LYRA recognized two Boats of the Year: one for Handicap Racing, and one for One-Design Racing. The Handicap Racing Boat of the Year is Five-Fifteen, and the One-Design Racing Boat of the Year is Nautical Symphony.

Five-Fifteen, an IMX-38 skippered by Jim McGuinness from Highland Yacht Club, continued her winning ways. Competing in IRC, she took first place at the Ashbridge’s Bay YC Open Regatta, the Royal Canadian YC Open Regatta, the Port Credit YC Open Regatta, the Queen City YC Regatta and the Susan Hood Trophy Race. Five-Fifteen finished in second place at the Etobicoke YC Open & Level Regatta, the RCYC Royals Regatta and at the Donald Summerville Race. She also participated in the LYRA day races and took third place in both the Centennial and Freeman Cup long distance races.

In the One Design category in 2015, two boats emerged as truly superior. Gefion, skippered by Richard Self from Royal Canadian Yacht Club, and Nautical Symphony, skippered by Bart Smit from Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club had wonderful performances, finishing first and second in overall scoring. However, Nautical Symphony showed a slight advantage and sailed in more races. The Lake Yacht Racing Association is proud to offer its congratulations to Bart Smit and the crew of Nautical Symphony.

The list of 2015 Counter Events for the Handicap Racing Boat of the Year award is  HERE. For 2015 we removed the distinction between Tier 1 and Tier 2 events.

Boat of the Year 2014

The results of the 2014 season provided part of the motivation for this change. In 2014, two boats emerged as truly superior, one racing one-design and one racing IRC.  Mandate, a J/105 skippered by Terry McLaughlin and Rod Wilmer from the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, and Five-Fifteen, an IMX-38 skippered by Jim McGuinness from Highland Yacht Club both had outstanding seasons.

Mandate was first of 27 boats in the J 105 North Americans, first at the ABYC Open Regatta and RCYC Royals Weekend, second in the LYRA day races and in the J 105 Canadians and the PCYC Open Regatta. Racing in IRC, Five Fifteen was first in her division in the LYRA day races, the Freeman Cup, the Founders Race, the Susan Hood Trophy Race, the ABYC Open Regatta, the Donald Summerville Memorial Race, the RCYC Open Regatta and the RCYC Royals Weekend. She was second in the Etobicoke Yacht Club Level and Open Regatta and third in the PCYC Open Regatta.

The LYRA Executive Committee decided to recognize Mandate as the 2014 One Design Boat of the Year and Five-Fifteen as the 2014 Handicap Racing Boat of the Year. Further analysis over the winter convinced us to try making two awards on a ongoing basis.

Crime Scene, a J-35 skippered by Stephen Trevitt from Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club, was the 2013 LYRA Boat of the Year.

In 2013, two boats emerged as truly superior. Both Crime Scene and Five-Fifteen, skippered by Jim McGuinness and under the burgee of the Highland Yacht Club had wonderful performances, scoring in the top four of the Tier I and II events and finishing first and second in overall scoring. However, Crime Scene showed a slight advantage and sailed more races. Crime Scene won her division of LYRA’s Freeman Cup and the Susan Hood Long Distance races and also won her division of the Levels Regatta. Crime Scene also won her division of the Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club, Port Credit Yacht Club and Queen City Yacht Club events of the LORC Regatta series. The Lake Yacht Racing Association is proud to offer its congratulations to Stephen Trevitt and the Crime Scene crew.

Boat of the Year 2012

The LYRA Boats of the Year for 2012 were Blaze, a J/30 skippered by Brendan Benson from Oswego Yacht Club, and  Panther, an Olson 30 skippered by Bryan Sims from Bronte Harbour Yacht Club.

This was the first time that the Boat of the Year award has been shared. The LYRA Executive Committee decided that it would be unfair to choose only one of Blaze and Panther as Boat of the Year, given their outstanding performance and the very different environments in which they competed.

Panther made the journey from BHYC to compete in the LYRA Annual Regatta, where she placed first in division in the Freeman Cup and the Centennial Cup feeder race from Rochester to Oswego. In competition at the west end of the lake, Panther placed first at Royal Canadian YC, Port Credit YC, Etobicoke YC, Bronte Rocks, and Oakville YS.
Blaze was first in the Founder’s Cup feeder race from Henderson Harbour to Oswego, the site of this year’s LYRA Annual Regatta, as well as in the round-the-buoys racing at the Regatta. In other events at the eastern end of the lake, Blaze took firsts at the Eastern Yachting Circuit Annual Regatta held at Collins Bay, Sail Oswego, the Sodus Bay YC Challenge Cup, and Henderson Harbour. (All results are within division.)