Chasing the shots: Yacht racing from the eyes of a creative
Little is known about the role of photographers in the sailing world, what they have to go through to capture the breathtaking moments, that most view from the comfort of their computers and phones.
Having been a photographer for the past 4 years, I must say that sailing is one of the most demanding, yet rewarding things for me to shoot, being especially demanding on the gear that we take out there, which brings me to this story.
Back in November 2016, the exhilarating RC44 had come to its final leg in Malta. The winds were perfect, the sea was slightly choppy, and I was very happy being battered on the press rib for 4 hours, chasing these wonderful yachts. Towards the end of that day, I captured what to many is one of my best pieces of work, Katusha Racing past the scene of Valletta, with her red spinnaker glowing in the afternoon light. The day had been very successful, I could have called it for the RC44, but the love for the rush of sailing pulled me back the next day.
The sea was rougher, the winds were stronger, but I was ready to go. Being new to shooting on the press ribs at the time, I was naive of the potential risks they posed. I soon paid the ultimate price. The rib had stopped between races, slowly swaying in the swells, thus I thought that this would be the time to change lenses on my two cameras. My bag laid open on the bow cushion, my cameras by its side, then out of no where, the sea joined the party. A wave hit the bow, soaking myself, and all the gear that was there. My heart sank, I knew what salt did to electronics. I snapped back to my senses and pulled my memory cards out of the camera, hoping that those survived, and then I checked my gear, and it wasn’t good news. One camera was completely ruined, the other only functioning at 1 setting, which made shooting very difficult. A lens was also filled with water, as was my flash. However, I wasn’t going to ruin the shooting for the other photographers on the rib, and make them go back to shore to drop me off, so I kept shooting and improvising with what I had left. It took a while to get back into the rhythm but I sure did. The RC44’s dancing 7km offshore easily put me back into a good mood.
Yes, I had ruined over a thousand euros worth of gear, and being a student I wasn’t insured, so I lost a big deal of money that day. However I don’t regret going out there. The love for sailing and capturing the moment brings me back, these days with much more rugged gear, but none the less, I know that the sea is always the master, and that it may decide to destroy my gear once again in the future. Thus what I think makes me love shooting these moments at sea, is the passion that takes me beyond the risk.
