Around 200 leading marine industry personnel gathered to hear the result of the largest marine equipment competition immediately prior to the opening of the METS trade show at the Amsterdam RAI exhibition centre.

Over 90 entries were considered for the prize but the Jury, chaired by yacht designer Tony Castro, finally selected Henri-Lloyd’s TP3 Reflex Jacket and Hi-Fit Trousers because “their design incorporates all of the features and important attention to detail that such garments should have” and because of the company’s “relentless pursuit of perfection.” The suit incorporates a new lightweight ‘dry yarn’ fabric with embedded ceramic particles that prevents the material soaking up rain and spray and yet allows body moisture to wick away to the atmosphere.

In its summary report on the whole competition, the Jury noted that, “although there was a reduction in the number of submissions, the overall standard appeared to be good except for one or two disappointing deviations – lack of a lanyard, or provision for one, on several different handheld devices being an example.”

“In comparison to previous DAME events two new trends were to become obvious as the day unfolded: an increase in sophisticated use of corrosion proof and environment-friendly materials and significant progress in the design quality of American products.”

Of the DAME awards’ eight separate categories, the Jury decided to name eight Honourable Mentions (category winners) in six of them:

* Tacktick Micro Compass (Marine Electronics)
* C-Map C-Forecast (Marine Electronics)
* Golden Arrow Marine’s Flexiteek Decking (Marina, Boatyard and Boat Construction Equipment)
* Musto Carbon HPX Gore-Tex Smock (Clothing)
* McMurdo FastFind Plus 406MHz Personal Location Beacon (Life Saving Equipment & Safety)
* NKE’s Radio Control Remote control for Autopilot (Life Saving Equipment & Safety)
* Amartech AWM-CPP Propeller Driveline Controllable Pitch Propeller (Propulsion, Machinery & Systems)
* Kudos Marine Dealer System (Software related to Marine Industries).

A further 17 products were named for runners-up Special Mentions.