Winners announced for 2017 Favorite Bar

The winners of the ninth annual Wight Vodka Favorite Yachting Bar competition are St Thomas Yacht Club (St Thomas, ISV), selected as Best Caribbean Bar, and Pensacola Yacht Club Grill Room Bar (Pensacola, USA) earning the Best Elsewhere title.

Due to the hurricane storms that severely impacted the Caribbean, 2017 was the first year to offer two awards to better recognize the tremendous outposts that serve sailors in the island region.

From the submitted nominees, the esteemed judges of the competition selected a dozen submissions based on humour, drink recipes, nostalgia and sordid tales to put forth to public vote. Here was their list:

Best Caribbean Bar
Foxy’s – Jose Van Dyke, BVI
Soggy Dollar – Jost Van Dyke, BVI
St Maarten Yacht Club – St Maarten
St Thomas Yacht Club – St Thomas, ISV
Willy T’s – Norman Island, BVI
Windward Mark at Bitter End Yacht Club – Virgin Gorda, BVI

Best Elsewhere
Clarke Cooke House – Newport, USA
The King and Queen – Hamble, UK
Pensacola Yacht Club Grill Room Bar – Pensacola, USA
Peter’s Cafe Sport – Horta, Azores
Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Bar – Hamilton, BER
Salty Mike’s – Charleston, USA

Previous Winners:
2009 – Peter Cafe Sport in the Azores
2010 – Soggy Dollar on Jost Van Dyke in the BVI
2011 – IYAC in Newport, USA
2012 – Sint Maarten Yacht Club
2013 – One Bar Playa Blanca in Lanzarote, Spain
2014 – King & Queen Pub in Hamble, UK
2015 – Plas Heli in Wales, UK and Pier View in Cowes, UK
2016 – Pewaukee Yacht Club in Pewaukee, USA