Brotherhood of International Mark Boat Operators

2022 SAYRA BIMBO Award

The SAYRA Race Management Chair consults closely with the BIMBO Selection Committee and is extremely proud to present the Annual SAYRA – Brotherhood of International Mark Boat Operators Award for excellence in volunteering for Race Committee.  This award was first presented to Grady Foster in 2011 and is being presented again to some very well deserving recipients.

Interestingly, the Brotherhood was formed at one of our Sister Cities - Savannah, GA in preparation for the 1996 Sailing Olympic Games.  According to official documents, after a very difficult day in very big seas, a group of mark boat operators banded together and issued a set of demands to the Olympic Race Officials.  It is unclear whether their demands were met but in any event this banding together formed the nidus for the Brotherhood affectionately known as BIMBO’s.

Currently there are members and chapters all over the world making sure the racecourse looks good.  The organization is complete with a website headquartered in the Netherlands and even has a Facebook page.  After nominations are made, the Selection Committee sends the award winner’s name by carrier pigeon prior to SAYRA Annual General Meeting.

We are all glad to have made it through the worst times of the pandemic as we are spending more days out on the water and are running more events.  As such the recipient of this year’s award is no stranger to being out on the racecourse.

This year’s recipient has played a major role in nearly every sailing event at one of our local SAYRA clubs throughout 2022.  The recipient served as the PRO for the club’s Spring Dinghy Series (21 boats), the Summer Dinghy Series (25 boats), the Fall Series (23 boats), the Southeastern Lightning District Championship (20 boats) and the 2nd Annual Melges 15 / VX One Design Invitational Regatta (31 boats).

In addition to his PRO volunteer work, it was no surprise to see him out on the water running a mark boat for the clubs 63rd Annual Midlands Regatta.  When this year’s recipient is not out on the water leading a race committee or running a mark boat, you can find him racing his S2 on Lake Murray in his PHRF Fleet.  His commitment to the sport of sailing and to ensuring a great racecourse is second to none.

As a small token of our appreciation, the recipient of this year’s award will be receiving a gift certificate to West Marine as we thank him for his dedication to our sport.

Please join me in congratulating Matt O’Connor from the Columbia Sailing Club in Columbia, SC as the recipient of the 2022 SAYRA BIMBO Award.

We thank you for your continued support of SAYRA and our great sport of sailing!

Chip Till

SAYRA Race Management Chair

Past recipients of the SAYRA B.I.M.B.O Award:

2011 - Grady Foster

2015 - Johnny Doterer

2017 - Grayson Carter

2018 - Ned Stender

2019 - Van Kinnett

2020 - Team LLSC (Jeff Lehman, Pat Finnick, Cathy Freeman)

2021 - Steve McCarthy (Savannah YC) & David Nance (Carolina YC-NC)

2022 - Matt O'Connor (Columbia Sailing Club - Columbia, SC)