Peter Gibbons-Neff Jr. of Villanova, Pennsylvania, is the recipient of the Cruising Club of America’s 2025 Charles H. Vilas Literary Prize for “4,050 Miles Alone Across the Atlantic — Reflections on the 2023 Mini Transat and the Next Mission Ahead,” published in the 2026 edition ofVoyages, the CCA magazine.
The article earned top marks from the Voyages editorial committee, which annually makes the award to the CCA member who has made an outstanding contribution to Voyages, the Club magazine formerly called the Cruising Club News and edited by Vilas for 20 years.
The committee cited Gibbons-Neff Jr. for the article detailing his inspiration to race singlehanded 4,050 nautical miles in the Mini Transat — from Les Sables d’Olonne, France, to the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe via the Canary Islands — to raise awareness of the nonprofit U.S. Patriot Sailing. U.S. Patriot Sailing is an all-volunteer veteran and active-duty nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting veterans through competitive sailboat racing. Gibbons-Neff Jr.’s piece presents the challenges of getting to the starting line aboard the 21-foot Classe Mini 6.50Terminal Leave, losing his rudder, sailing alone for 19 days, and eventually finishing the race.
Gibbons-Neff Jr. is a resident of Annapolis, Maryland. He has been a CCA member since 2020; he is also a member of the Storm Trysail Club and the Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, a veteran of multiple Newport-Bermuda races, a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve officer, and is pursuing racing in the Mini Transat in 2027. His website is PGN Ocean Racing (https://www.pgnoceanracing.com).
