505 Class American Section - 2025 Cahn and Surtees Awards

[Blaine Pedlow]

505 Friends and Competitors,

One of the great traditions of the American Section of the 505 Class are the two awards we grant annually for exceptional sportsmanship and service to our class. I am pleased to share the 2025 winners of the Dave Cahn Sportsmanship Trophy and the Dennis Surtees Service Award.

Dave Cahn Sportsmanship Trophy

The Dave Cahn Sportsmanship Trophy is named in honor of Dave Cahn, whose special brand of sportsmanship made him a favorite to race against and to share a beer with after a day on the water. This award is given annually to the sailor(s) who embody the spirit of the 505 Class - pushing themselves and each of us while on the water, bringing people together off the water, and sharing their passion for our class and the sport.

For 2025, the Dave Cahn Sportsmanship Trophy is awarded to Chris Pittack and Anne Fitzpatrick.

To quote some of the nominations:

"Chris and Annie prioritize making people feel welcome. Whether it be through their engaging personality or offering to help advise on any problem, they made things feel more inclusive."

"Chris and Anne are the best! They compete hard on the water to push themselves up the learning curve, and they are the sort of people you hope you are next to in the boat park."

"Penn Cove YC (at their beautiful home in Coupeville, WA) now serves as the unofficial headquarters of the 505 class in the PNW. They are so generous to open their doors to all of us 505 sailors and to help us all bring new friends into the class!"

Thank you, Chris and Anne, for the impact you make with your friends and competitors, and congratulations to you both on this well-deserved honor!

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Dennis Surtees Service Award

The Dennis Surtees Service Award was created in 2002 as an annual award to honor 505 sailors who have distinguished themselves by providing outstanding service to the 505 American Section.

For 2025, the Dennis Surtees Service Award is presented to a Canadian duo who have done so much to support the American Section and the North American class since the late 80s. Congratulations to Jeff and Flo Boyd for being our 2025 Surtees award winners.

To quote one nomination:

"For 36 years Jeff and Flo have been the cornerstone of Kingston and the North Eastern corner of North American 505 sailing. Jeff and Flo have helped run and organize 7 NA’s in that time - '89, '96, '01, '05, '13, '19 and once again this year in 2025!. They do it all - organize the event, house sailors and families, and plan the social events. The Kingston NA’s have always been the most fun, well attended events that we have had. In that time Jeff has been a fierce and fair competitor, coming close to winning on several occasions but always more concerned that everyone else is having a great time and are taken care of. Meanwhile, Flo is feeding, housing and generally taking care of pretty much everyone who is there!

They are really the people who make sailing and racing 505’s so much fun!"

Thank you, Jeff and Flo, for all that you have done for the 505 Class and the hundreds of teams who have enjoyed racing at the events you champion in Kingston!