America's Cup winning skipper Glenn Ashby has won Australia's male sailor of the year award.
Victorian and multiple multihull world championship winner Ashby skippered Team New Zealand to victory in the 2017 America's Cup in Bermuda.
The month could get even better for Ashby next week, with him being one of the four nominees for the World Sailor of the Year award to be announced in Mexico.
Female Sailor of the Year in the Australian Sailing Awards presented in Sydney on Friday went to world 29er youth champions Natasha Bryant and Annie Wilmot, who are moving to the 49er class.
Rising star and Youth World Laser Radial Boys champion Finn Alexander took out the.youth sailor of the year award.
Rio Paralympic silver medallist and 2016 Tasmanian Athlete of the Year Matthew Bugg was named sailor of the Year with a disability.
Coach of the year went to Thomas Spithill, brother of dual America's Cup winning captain James Spithill.
Also announced on Friday were the initial inductees into the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame.
Among the group were the 1983 America's Cup winning crew of Australia II and Kay Cottee, the first female to sail unassisted, non-stop around the globe.
Paralympians Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch, who last year became the first Australian sailing team or crew to defend a gold medal at the Olympics or Paralympics, were also inducted.
Successful Olympians formed a significant part of the first group of inductees.
The contingent included Rolly Tasker, Australia's first sailing world champion and first Olympic medallist.
Also inducted were Bill Northam, Peter O'Donnell and James Sargeant, who teamed up to win the nation's first Olympic gold medal at the 1964 Games in Tokyo.
Jenny Armstrong and Belinda Stowell were the first Australian women to win an Olympic sailing gold medal.
Successful coach Victor Kovalenko was also inducted.
"It was very important for us to balance the inaugural inductees to make sure that we had a good cross section of different aspects of the sport." Australian Sailing president Matt Allen said.
"We've got Olympic sailing we've got offshore, we've round the world sailing represented, so we've got all the major facets of the sport represented and over a number of different eras.
"Also good gender balance of the inaugural inductees, which I think is terrific."
