2001 boat of the year awards to be webcast

by Cynthia Goss on 8 Oct 2000 Tonight, in a festive ceremony to kick-off the 2001 Boat of the Year (BOTY) Awards,
organizers of this annual award series turned their own traditions around.

The custom of the Boat of the Year Awards - the Academy Awards of sailboat design and
construction created by Cruising World and Sailing World magazines - has been to hold
celebrations off until winners were announced at a wintertime gala. But this year, the revelry
started early.

Tonight's celebration, emceed by NBC Olympic sailing expert Gary Jobson and held during the
U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, was staged to honor all award nominees and the collective
excellence they represent with new designs for 2001. The celebration was also held to herald a
new chapter for these awards. Winners will no longer be announced at an invitation-only winter
gala; this December, boats.com will reveal BOTY winners in a webcast of the award
announcements that will make news of these accolades immediately available to an infinite
number of boating enthusiasts.

"This year, our sponsor CCP challenged us to raise the bar on the Boat of the Year Awards -
to find a way to bring not only winners, but all nominees into the limelight; and to find a way to
bring the news of these awards to a wider public," said Sally Helme, publisher of Cruising
World and Sailing World magazines. "Hosting this early celebration and partnering with
boats.com on a webcast of the award announcements will enable us to set this new standard."
Official sponsor Cook Composites and Polymers (CCP), the world's largest gel coat producer,
has saluted innovation and excellence in sailboat design and construction as the official BOTY
sponsor for three consecutive years.

Boating enthusiasts can log onto boats.com - an online marine information and e-commerce
marketplace - on December 7, at 9 P.M. (ET), to access the worldwide announcement of the
winners of the BOTY awards.

"By partnering with the 2001 Boat of the Year Awards, we are helping to increase awareness
of this prestigious event and, concurrently, to enhance the sailing community's knowledge of
great sailing boats - whether those sailors are off-the-beach beginner sailors or experienced
offshore racers and cruisers," said Stuart Johnstone, chief strategy officer and co-founder,
boats.com. "Through our technology and our webcast, boats.com is taking the awards to the
next level by delivering the ceremony 'live' over the Internet and into sailors' living rooms."

Award winners will also be featured in the December/January issue of Sailing World and the
January issue of Cruising World.

Judging for the 2001 BOTY Awards will be held at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis. An
independent panel of experts will conduct a rigorous round of sea-trials and dockside
inspections to select the standout designs launched for the coming year. A group of 44
nominees (new boats or substantially redesigned boats launched for 2001) are being
considered for this year's awards. (See the list of nominees, below.)

Sailing World judges will select the overall performance design of the year; Cruising World's
panel will select the top cruising Boat of the Year. Winners in multiple performance and
cruising categories will also be chosen. The 2000 Cruising World Overall Cruising Boat of the
Year was the Amel Super Maramu 2000, a 53-footer built by Chantiers Amel (La Rochelle,
France). The 2000 Sailing World Overall Performance Boat of the Year was the Inter 17-a
295-pound, 17-foot singlehanded catamaran built by Performance Catamarans (Santa Ana,
Calif.).

Cook Composites and Polymers (CCP) is the official sponsor of the BOTY Awards.
Headquartered in Kansas City (Missouri), CCP develops highly engineered resins for a variety
of applications. Marine applications include structural resins, gel coats, acrylic and urethane
coatings, as well as base for bottom paints. CCP, the only manufacturer in the United States
that produces both marine gel coats and resins, has devoted intensive efforts to offering
environmentally friendly, low-VOC products.

Presenting sponsor boats.com is the premier online marketplace for the boating community
and the marine industry exclusively endorsed by the National Marine Manufacturers
Association and Marine Retailers Association of America. The boats.com site enables boat
users and the marine industry to participate in a thriving online marketplace, opening up new
commercial opportunities for the industry while enhancing the consumer's boating experience.
Founded in 1999, boats.com is a private, venture capital-funded business located at Pier 38,
The Embarcadero, in San Francisco.

Cruising World and Sailing World, of Newport, Rhode Island, are principal titles of the Miller
Sports Group, along with Tennis. Other Miller properties include Vibe, an urban music and
culture magazine; Spin, a title specializing in alternative rock; and Where, a monthly visitors
guide published in major destination cities around the world. Miller Publishing LLC is
headquartered in Los Angeles (Calif.).

CRUISING WORLD NOMINEES
Atoll 50, Dufour Yachts
Bavaria 40 Ocean, Bavaria Yachts
Bavaria 50, Bavaria Yachts
Belize 43, Fountaine Pajot
Beneteau 473, Beneteau USA
Catalina 390, Catalina Yachts
Catana 472, Catana SA
Clipper Cat, Chesapeake Yachts LLC
Conser 47, Conser Catamarans
Dehler 39, Dehler USA
Dragonfly 1200, Quorning Boats APS
Etap 39, Etap Yachting NV
Fast Passage 40, Fast Passage
Gib'Sea 33, Dufour Yachts
Hans Christian Offshore Explorer 4750, Anderson Yachts USA
Hunter Helsen Signature 470, Hunter Marine
Hunter HC50, Hunter Marine
Hunter 320, Hunter Marine
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 43 DS, Jeanneau USA
Manta 42, Manta Enterprises Inc.
Moorings 433, Dufour Yachts
Morris 454, Morris Yachts Inc.
North Wind, NorthWind Yard S.L.
Royal Passport 43, Passport Yachts
Shearwater 45, Shearwater International
Sydney 38, Sydney Yachts International
Tartan 3500, Tartan Yachts
W 46, W-Class Yacht Company LLC
X-482, X-Yachts USA

SAILING WORLD NOMINEES
Catalina Capri 22, Catalina Yachts
Dewitt Competition, Dewitt Sailboats
Dias Dayboat "Small," Antonio Dias Design
Dragonfly 1200, Quorning Boats APS
Escape Playcat, Escape Sailboats
Hobie Fox, Hobie Cat
J/145, J/Boats
Morris 454, Morris Yachts Inc.
Pisces 21, Classic Boat Shop
Schock 40, W.D. Schock Corp.
SunGlider, Vanguard Sailboats
Sydney 38, Sydney Yachts
Taipan 4.9, Taipan America
Vanguard Vector, Vanguard Sailboats
W 46, W-Class Yacht Company LLC