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Story of Nation's First Black Yacht Club Wins Award for BoatU.S. Magazine

ALEXANDRIA, Va.,  - A six-page BoatU.S. Magazine feature that chronicles the challenges faced by the nation's first African-American boat club was one of two stories that recently won first place awards in the Boating Writers International (BWI) Annual Writing Contest.

In the March 2009 feature "It Was a Club of Their Own" <http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/boatus/200903/index.php#/70> , BoatU.S. Magazine Contributing Editor Ann Dermody shares the story of Seafarers Yacht Club, located on Washington, D.C.'s Anacostia River, and how it has thrived under the strong legacy of a visionary teacher and his industrious student.  The BWI judges singled out the story from several dozen entries, praising it as a well-researched, beautifully written and poignant story about a pair of passionate boat lovers and the barriers they had to break to found and maintain the nation's first black boat club.

The other first place win went to BoatU.S. Magazine freelance writer Tania Aebi for her story, "One Mom, Two Teens, No Exit" <http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/boatus/200903/index.php#/56> .  The March 2009 feature tells the story of a former around-the-world solo sailor and record holder, Aebi, hoping to give her two boys a worldview and a sense of responsibility by taking them on a year-long sail to the South Pacific.  Any parent who has ever wanted to give their children something other than video games will appreciate the challenges of such a journey.  Judges praised the feature as an inspiring story of family bonding.

Both Dermody and Aebi took home $500 each for their first-place wins. The annual contest covered 17 categories and drew 352 entries from 134 participants.  

BoatU.S. Magazine is the largest boating magazine in the nation with over half a million circulation and is published by Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatU.S.).  For more information on how to join BoatU.S. or get your own bi-monthly subscription, go to www.BoatUS.com/membership <http://www.BoatUS.com/membership> .

About BoatU.S.:
BoatU.S. - Boat Owners Association of The United States - is the nation's leading advocate for recreational boaters providing over half a million members with government representation, programs and money saving services.  For membership information visit www.BoatUS.com <http://www.BoatUS.com>  or call 800-395-2628.