John Winder represented Aurora at the awards dinner last night in Halifax,  collecting two  trophies on behalf of Gus and the team: a painted glass plate for coming in 1^stin ORR Class 1, and for placing second in the combined 2011 Annapolis-Newport and Marblehead-Halifax races we received a Chelsea Clock.  The trophies are really just icing on the cake for a program that is

about much more than winning or breaking records.  At every yacht racing event we enter Gus is mobbed by sailors and owners thanking Thomson Reuters for supporting the sport and wanting a tour of Aurora. “There is a significant positive buzz about her and Thomson Reuters wherever we go, no matter how we place,” he said.

Our distinctive orange TR-branded race logo caps are becoming a status symbol in the sailing world, at least on the U.S. East Coast, telegraphing that the people who wear them are serious offshore racers.  Aurora is now identified with two of the world’s most accomplished sailors. Having Gary Jobson and Steve Benjamin on board adds to the coolness of the program and the growing cache of the TR logo in yacht racing circles.  Gary placed cameramen/women on four boats in this race, including the top finishers. So the footage of four Grand Prix racing yachts surfing under spinnaker in the high teens and low 20s should be very exciting when ESPN Classic airs Gary’s sailing line up on Nov. 4,  at 1900 ET.  Meanwhile, as better photos from the race become available, I’ll add them to these blogs. So keep an eye out.

Photo by Alden Winder

“No matter how experienced and grizzled a sailor is, they are impressed when they step aboard a boat like Aurora, with her size and stature, her history and heritage, her star status on ESPN and the fact that she is in spectacular shape, even now in her middle age,” said Gus.

– Alden Bentley, Reuters