Darrell Nicholson was honored by Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatU.S.) today with the 2005 Moulton H. “Monk” Farnham Award for Excellence in Editorial Commentary.

Established in 1996 by BoatU.S. in memory of Monk Farnham, the former chairman of the BoatU.S. National Advisory Council, outspoken editor and world record-holding sailor, the award recognizes editors of boating and fishing magazines who have a passion for boating, a crusading spirit and a willingness to use their editorial page to lead the debate on issues facing the recreational boating community and marine industry.

During an awards ceremony held at the annual meeting of Boating Writers International during the Miami Boat Show, Nicholson was recognized by BoatU.S. Senior Vice President Michael Sciulla for his editorial column, “From the Helm,” in Offshore magazine. Nicholson is currently the editor of Practical Sailor.

Now in its tenth year, the Monk Farnham award includes a hand-crafted trophy depicting a quill pen drawing inspirational “ink” from a series of rolling waves as well as a check for $1,000.

Nicholson joins a short list of editorial luminaries including Skip Allen of Southern Boating, Bill Sisson of Soundings, Bill Schanen of Sailing magazine, Matt Trulio of Powerboat magazine, Chris Landry of Powerboat Reports, Herb McCormick of Cruising World magazine, Wendy Mitman Clarke of Chesapeake Bay magazine, Jim Hendricks of Trailer Boats magazine and Peter Nielsen of Sail magazine.

The judges for this year’s award included Dean Clarke, executive editor of Sport Fishing magazine; Wolcott “Tony” Gibbs, a former editor of Yachting, Islands and The New Yorker; Chuck Husick, an Ocean Navigator contributing editor and former president of Chris Craft Boats, and Michael Sciulla, editor of BoatU.S. Magazine.