Set to be held on November 10 in Sanya, China, the Awards ceremony will celebrate the world's finest sailors' achievements during the qualifying period from the end of September 2014 through to August 31, 2015.

A run of 20 consecutive 49er regattas spearheads the nomination of New Zealand duo Peter Burling and Blair Tuke in the male category, including victories at this year’s Aquece Rio Olympic test event, the ISAF Sailing World Cups in Hyeres, and Weymouth and Portland, as well as Trofeo Princesa Sofia.

Alongside their Olympic campaign, the pair have become the leading lights of Emirates Team New Zealand in the America's Cup World Series.

A second-place finish at the first leg in Portsmouth, England turned into victory a few weeks later in Gothenburg, Sweden to give them the overall advantage.

Also in contention for the male gong is France’s Loick Peyron, who finally won the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe last year after six attempts at victory, and Great Britain’s Giles Scott, who has dominated racing in the Finn class for the past two years and remains undefeated since October 2013.

Scott’s fellow Britons Ian Walker and Ian Williams complete the male list, with the former captaining the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing crew to a resounding win at the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race, and the latter writing his name in the history books this year when he took the ISAF Match Racing World Championship for a record fifth time.

As the only female crew member in the Extreme Sailing Series fleet, the strong presence of the two-time Olympic gold medallist has been felt. 

Another Briton, Sam Davies, has also been nominated after steering Team SCA to victory on leg eight of the Volvo Ocean Race from Lisbon to Lorient in June of this year.

As the first all-female team to enter the race in over a decade, the win marked a historic achievement.

Russia’s Elena Kalinina is one of three other female sailors also in the mix having gone undefeated in every major kiteboard racing championship since finishing second at the Formula Kite World Championship in August 2014.

Rounding off the nominees is Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen, who was part of Denmark’s winning team at the 2015 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championships on home water in Middelfart, and France’s Charline Picon, who beat a strong fleet of windsurfers to win the RS:X class at last year's ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander, Spain and secure her place at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The winners will be selected by the ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs), the national governing bodies for sailing around the world, by a process of voting prior to the event and on the night of the awards.

The MNAs have been invited to vote for a male and female nominee, which will contribute to 50 per cent of the overall result.

The remaining 50 per cent of the vote will be decided by those in attendance on the night. 

Each winner will be presented with a trophy and a distinctive timepiece from ISAF partner Rolex, which is the title sponsor of the World Sailor of the Year Awards. 



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