Breaking: Hanse Yachts and Vision Yachts Land Coveted 2024 Boat of the Year Nominations

From: Cruising World - Saturday Oct 07,2023 02:00 pm

Your Passport to Adventure at Sea

10/07/2023

Hanse 510 Will Challenge for “Best Full-Size Cruiser” Boat of the Year

The Berret-Racoupeau-designed Hanse 460 turned heads as a 2022 Boat of the Year nominee with a fresh take on comfort and volume but with an eye better sailing performance. The second model in the new range designed by the Berret-Racoupeau team, the Hanse 510 is set to make its US premiere at the 2023 Annapolis Sailboat Show, and as a top Boat of the Year contender in the Full-Size Cruiser category. From what our editors saw at the model’s recent showing in Cannes, the 510 is expected to be a formidable opponent in its category during CW’s Boat of the Year judging.

Vision 444 Vying for Boat of the Year’s “Best Cruising Multihull”

The state-of-the-art technologies that go into each Vision 444 run a lot deeper than their stately, head-turning, modern styling. Extensive research and testing combined with the latest composite engineering make the Vision 444 catamarans safe, modern, mobile, technologically advanced and as cutting edge as you can get. The result is a bluewater sailing catamaran that’s incredibly strong, sails efficiently, is spacious and forgiving—one which seems poised to give the rest of the catamarans in its class a run for their money at CW’s 2024 Boat of the Year competition in Annapolis.

Inside CW's Boat of the Year Competition: How It Works

For nearly 25 years, Cruising World’s annual Boat of the Year program has been the recognized leader in inspecting, testing and rewarding the best sailboats introduced into the US market by boatbuilders the world over. Judging and testing for this year’s awards will take place during and after the Annapolis Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, which begins October 12.

Over the course of nearly two weeks around the Annapolis Sail Show, sailboats receiving official nominations will be thoroughly adjudicated by an independent panel of marine experts who, as a team, evaluate each nominated vessel in two stages: dockside during the show, and then in dedicated sea trials. The judges measure every spec, inspect every inch of rigging, unscrew every electrical panel to examine the wiring behind it, scrutinize every element of construction, and question every layout option. And then they sail it.

No other program puts boats through such rigorous trials. It’s a testament to the legitimacy of Cruising World’s Boat of the Year competition and the reason why you see our trademark blue triangle Boat of the Year logos proudly displayed on banners at boat-show booths worldwide.