Stan Honey of Palo Alto, California, winner of the Trophée Jules Verne, and Anna Tunnicliffe of Plantation, Florida, the reigning Snipe women’s world champion, have been named US Sailing’s 2010 Rolex Yachtsman and Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, respectively.
Honey, who was previously nominated for the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Award in 2006 after navigating ABN Amro One to victory in the Volvo Ocean Race, earned this recognition for serving as navigator aboard the trimaran Groupama 3 during its record-setting nonstop circumnavigation. He becomes only the second American to receive the award for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe, a feat that required extraordinary weather judgement and technical skill.
Cam Lewis was the first American to receive the award for a Jules Verne victory, in 1993, when Commodore Explorer completed the round-the-world challenge in 79 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes and 56 seconds. That record has been lowered several times since, culminating in Groupama 3’s benchmark passage of 48 days, 7 hours and 45 minutes, during which Honey’s navigation and timing of the critical weather window were essential. Members of the selection panel emphasized that the successful restart and ultimate record would not have been possible without Honey’s precise calls and steady leadership.
“He did an extraordinary job getting the boat around the planet. This was the crowning achievement for a hell of a career,” said one panel member, underscoring both the technical mastery and accumulated experience that made the effort succeed.
Honey’s background blends rigorous academic training and technological innovation. He holds an undergraduate degree in engineering and applied science from Yale University and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. In 1998 he co-founded Sportvision Inc., which became a leading developer of live-tracking and graphical enhancements for sports television. Under his direction, Sportvision created the yellow first-down line for televised football, tracking and highlighting systems for NASCAR broadcasts, and the baseball K-Zone system that displays pitch location relative to the strike zone. Honey holds eight patents in navigational system design and 21 patents related to television special effects. He serves on the board of directors of KVH, a manufacturer of satellite communications and navigation sensors, and is involved with TV technology for the America’s Cup Event Authority. He is married to Sally Lindsay Honey, herself a two-time Yachtswoman of the Year (1972 and 1973).
Anna Tunnicliffe, who had been shortlisted for the Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Award for the sixth consecutive year, made history by becoming the first woman to win the honor three years in a row. This milestone places her alongside Jane Pegel and Jan O’Malley as three-time recipients, while JJ Fetter Isler and Betsy Alison remain the only women with more Rolex Yachtswoman titles—Isler with four and Alison with five. Tunnicliffe’s consistent excellence has made her one of the most versatile and dominant figures in contemporary women’s sailing.
The selection panel praised Tunnicliffe not only for her results but for the breadth of classes in which she competes successfully. Despite little recent training in the Laser Radial, she continues to win when she sails that class, a testament to her natural feel and racecraft. One panelist described her as “our modern-day Betsy Alison — doing it all.”
Tunnicliffe’s competitive focus shifted in 2009 from the Laser Radial, where she was previously world No. 1 and the 2008 Olympic gold medalist, to match racing in the Elliott 6 Metre with an eye toward the 2012 Olympic campaign. In a short period she climbed the match-race rankings from 36th to fourth, demonstrating adaptability and rapid improvement in fleet and match-racing formats alike.
During 2010 Tunnicliffe collected an impressive array of results across multiple boats and events: she won US Sailing’s Miami OCR in the Elliott 6 Metre, finished second at the Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères, France, and took third at Skandia Sail For Gold in Weymouth, England, the venue selected for the 2012 Olympic regatta. She won the XII International Women’s Match Race Criterium in Calpe, Spain, sailing Tom 28s; was second at the Toyota International Match Race in Detroit in Ultimate 20s; earned a bronze medal in match racing at Kieler Woche in Germany; and placed third in the BoatU.S. Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, Maryland, sailing J/22s. These results reflect a season of high-level performance across both match and fleet racing disciplines.
This article originally appeared in the Home Waters section of the March 2011 issue.