J Boats and Paul Heys recognised at British Yachting Awards

The UK, Ireland and Channel Islands distributor for J Boats, Key Yachting, received two awards on Monday night at the second edition of the British Yachting Awards. The awards, run by Chelsea Magazines, were held in London at the Royal Thames Yacht Club, the oldest continuously operating yacht club in the UK.

The new J/99 was crowned winner in the competitive Racing Yacht/Sportsboat of the year category. Voted for by readers of Sailing Today and Yachts & Yachting, presenter and Group Editor Rob Peake stated that upon her launch the winner had proved an instant hit in a string of successes for the shipyard. The award was accepted by Key Yachting’s Marie-Claude Heys and J Boats President Jeff Johnstone who described how the boat was inspired by the growth of the double handed racing scene, particularly in the UK. He continued by saying that the late Paul Heys, co-founder of Key Yachting, was instrumental in driving the yard to fill a growing need.

This is the first award for the J/99, which is currently nominated for four international awards, including the European Yacht of the Year.

The final award of the evening was a new category, Lifetime Achievement. This was awarded to Paul Heys, and accepted by his widow Marie-Claude. Before the presentation Jeff Johnstone delivered an emotive speech, detailing the success of this “consummate salesperson”, who unlike other yacht brokers, relished gatherings of owners to compare notes and stories, because this was how the J family in the UK was established and flourished. Jeff himself stated: “The boat has little to do with it, it’s all about people. Energy breeds energy, and Paul was the energiser.”