The Richard S. Nye trophy is a CCA member lifetime achievement award for meritorious service and seamanship in long-distance cruising.
2011 Richard S. Nye Trophy to Gary Jobson
2011 Richard S. Nye Trophy Press Release
New York, N.Y., USA (January 26, 2012) – The Cruising Club of America (CCA) has selected Gary Jobson (Annapolis, Md.) to receive its Richard S. Nye Trophy for sharing with the club his meritorious service, racing, and statesmanship in the affairs of international yachting. The trophy was awarded by Commodore Daniel P. Dyer, III at the annual Awards Dinner on March 2, 2012 at New York Yacht Club in Manhattan.
Jobson, who graduated from SUNY Maritime (Throgs Neck, N.Y.) in 1973 as an Inter-Collegiate Sailing All-American and two-time College Sailor of the Year, started his career as a sailing coach for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy. Dating back to 1967, Jobson has competed in 5,400 sailboat races, including the 1977 America's Cup, where he served as tactician for Ted Turner aboard the winning 12 Metre Courageous; eight Bermuda Races; six transatlantic races and five Fastnet races. Jobson also has completed 17 cruises with his wife Janice and three daughters Brooke, Ashleigh and Kristi. Currently, Jobson is President of US Sailing, the National Governing Body of Sailing, and acts as Editor at Large of Sailing World and Cruising World magazines.
With so much background in racing and cruising, Jobson's transition into other areas of the sailing industry was inevitable. In 2003, while sick with Lymphoma, Jobson began penning a memoir about the sport of sailing being a determining factor in his recovery. It was later published as Gary Jobson: An American Sailing Story and added yet another book to the 17 he has written. And if that would not be enough on anyone's resume, since 1973, Jobson has given 2,400 lectures, and in 2011 he broke his lectures-given-per-year record by completing 124 presentations at yacht clubs and sailing organizations around the country. He also has produced or narrated roughly 800 television shows; has covered the America's Cup eight times; and will count 2012 as his sixth Olympic Games, where in 1988 he won an Emmy for his production of the sailing event coverage for NBC.
Over the years, Jobson has won numerous awards for his generous work in promoting the sport of sailing, including the 1999 Nathaniel G. Herreshoff Trophy, US Sailing's most prestigious award, given for an outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing in the United States. One of his finest achievements has been as National Chairman of the Leukemia Cup and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's sailing program, which has raised approximately $40 million within the sailing communities.