APPEAL UPHELD: Heineken loses Rolex Award

US Sailing announced that it has removed Johnny Heineken as 2012 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. This action was a result of a complaint filed by nominees Jason Carroll, Bill Hardesty, John Kilroy, and John Mollicone which alleged that Heineken did not fulfill the requirements of the award.

“I am not sure what bandwagon US Sailing was riding when they included Heineken,” noted Kilroy, “but somebody failed to read what the award is called. It is called the ‘Yachtsman of the Year’. You go look up ‘yacht’ in the Wikipedia and you aren’t going to see a picture of a kiteboard. In my construction business, words matter, and it was time they mattered in the sport too.”

With Heineken removed, US Sailing presented the award to Mollicone. “After finishing second in the 2012 J/24 Worlds, John has experience being a bridesmaid,” explained Jack Gierhart, US Sailing Executive Director. “Since Johnny had already scratched the watch (thanks Billy), John gets kind of screwed, but we figured that’s all part of being the bridesmaid.”