2016 Vilas Award to Nat Benjamin

2016 Vilas Award to Nat Benjamin

CCA has selected Nathaniel Benjamin (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) to receive the Club’s 2016 Vilas Award for his article “A Christmas Passage to Haiti.” The award was presented at the CCA’s annual Awards Dinner at the New York Yacht Club in New York on March 3, 2017. It is given “to a member for an outstanding contribution to the CCA Voyages annual magazine.”

Nat and JimNat is a masterful storyteller who captures many of the thoughts and feelings about passage making that many of us feel and think but are less skillful at articulating. Benjamin’s photos of his gorgeous wooden schooner, Charlotte, shown amid the rugged beauty of the island of Haiti are compelling, as are his photos of the people of Haiti and their very primitive lifestyle.

Benjamin lives in Vineyard Haven where he is a partner in Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway.

Award
Vilas Prize
Year
2016
Recipient
Nathaniel Benjamin
Recipient Name
Nat Benjamin

Prior Recipients

Charles H. Vilas Literary Prize

In memory of Charles H. Vilas, member for 50 years, assistant editor and editor of the Cruising Club News for 20 years, club historian for 10 years and winner of the Nye Trophy, the Governing Board established in 1991 the Charles H. Vilas Literary Prize.

A commemorative plaque is to be awarded by the Governing Board to a member who makes an outstanding contribution to Voyages (formerly the Cruising Club News) in the form of an article or articles, photographs or chronicle. The prize may be awarded as often as annually, but need not be made each year.