Best4Boats Editorial Director Wins Award
Norris Comer wins category first place in Boat Writers International contest
The annual Boat Writers International (BWI) writing contest winners were announced at a special event at the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show on February 12. Best4Boats editorial director Norris Comer took first place in the category Women in Boating for his article Sails Like a Girl Lives Like a Wolf, published in SAIL magazine last year.
The BWI awards have been presented for 32 years now, with 78 participants submitting 275 entries across 16 categories this year. Four active journalists judge each category. Boating and fishing journalists, along with videographers and photographers, are recognized for their “Excellence in creating compelling content about boating through entertaining, educational, and inspiring journalism.” All eligible pieces were published during the preceding year—2024.
Comer’s award-winning article profiled Bainbridge Island-based Jeanne Goussev. She is a two-time Race to Alaska (R2AK) winner and Sail Like a Girl founder who is navigating multiple sclerosis.
“Jeanne kicked my team’s butt to win the 2018 R2AK, and we’ve been friends ever since,” said Comer. “I’m as honored that she opened up about the highs and lows of her life story as I am about winning the award.”
Comer has won over a dozen BWI awards across various categories. Last year, his Passagemaker magazine piece Immortal Words, Historic Boat, which was about restoring the Western Flyer of John Steinbeck fame, won first place in the Boat Projects & Restoration category. The year before, Comer won first place in the category of Boating Issues, News & Analysis for his POWER & MOTORYACHT article High Seas about cannabis law and boating and second place in the Boating Adventure category for SAIL magazine article originally titled Creed of the North about his 2022, fourth place R2AK run with the half Aussie team Vegemite Vigilantes.
“I’m excited to bring these kinds of out-of-the-box, high-level stories to Best4Boats in the months and years ahead,” said Comer. “Stay tuned!”
