It's not summer yet...

Don't let the 80-degree day we had this week trick you...the water is still cold, and so is the air. These opti sailors came prepared for a chilly day one at the 2009 USODA Team Trials.

The regatta got off to a great start with over 200 boats competing in around 8 knots of breeze off of Noroton Yacht Club on Long Island Sound. We've got some great photos and we'll be showing them at the club all week.

See the 2009 USODA Team Trials photos here.

2009 Charleston Race Week Photos

Charleston Saturday: a good day for a tow

Towing the SB3s out to the course was the height of PhotoBoat.com excitement today. The wind picked up enough for racing, but conditions were the polar opposite of yesterday's wet and wild display. It is fair to say that everybody needed a rest.

Loving life in Charleston

Loving life is only part of the story; going 7 miles upwind in a dinghy in 5' seas definitely involves some "hating life," but the photos were worth it. Both on the inside and outside courses, the wind reached over 20 knots.

Obviously, the sailors were tired after yesterday's racing as well. They all had war stories to tell from a fair amount of carnage. 2009 Charleston Race Week is going to be a regatta to remember.

Today's 2000+ Charleston Race Week photos come from a frantic attempt to cover as many boats as possible in ultimate photo conditions. Check out the highlights. All the photos will be posted, sorted by boat, after the event.

A Beautiful Day, a Wide Angle, and a Polarizing Filter

The stars were aligned for some beautiful photography yesterday as many crews practiced in 15 knots of breeze in Charleston Harbor.

In this photo, Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina, the event host, is shown in the background on the right, and the infamous bridge stands to the left.

See more practice day photos here.

Today's forecast is looking good, with 15-20 knots expected. It should be a great "Day 1" for all 170+ boats at Charleston Race Week, probably the best-weather day they'll get.

Throughout the weekend, our daily highlights of Charleston Race Week photos will be posted at www.PhotoBoat.com.

Arrival in Charleston

It's nice to see this bridge again. So nice, we have a cell phone photo taken at approximately 65 mph to show

it off.

We'll show some better shots of this bridge- taken with our more professional cameras, and with boats racing in front of it- on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It provides a great background for Charleston Race Week photos on the inside course.

On the road again...destination: Charleston Race Week

He's almost there: this snapshot of our Spot tracking shows Allen's progress today in the PhotoBoat truck with a dinghy in tow. He's on track for a total of 14 hours elapsed between CT and Charleston. Here's a link to his live track, updated every hour or so, and generally more meant for use out on the water as a safety device: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Aoq1CE7cpz3ZlcQIXmVX0qs8CCSV4lR1

Next on the agenda is Charleston Race Week, and we're ready to hit the ground running when racing begins on Friday. The event has had record entries this year, and the one design course in particular is going to be full of action. The Viper fleet is strong in numbers and some Laser Performance SB3s will be joining the event for the first time this year. The action should be good as usual in the Melges 24, J 24, and J 80 classes, as well as the offshore courses.

PhotoBoat is your source for Charleston Race Week photos, so check the site for daily highlights and galleries sorted by boat name, as always.

The PhotoBoat Lifestyle...

It's more office time than most people think, but we still love it. Except maybe for the "equipment fixing" part, which, by the way, refers more to boats than to cameras. Actually, it refers mostly to preventative maintenance on our boats and fixing trailer lights.

We made this silly little graph for two reasons: (1) Daniela wanted to prove to herself that she still remembered some of the material from her Georgetown econ major days, and (2) we did a presentation at Saugatuck Harbor Yacht Club's Pub Night last year. Yes, PhotoBoat does presentations. Not only are there a lot of aspiring photographers out there, but even for people who aren't, our business is - inarguably- interesting.

PhotoBoat shooter completes Antarctic Expedition

"The Antarctic wants you dead. It is that simple. In order to survive for even a single night in the extreme environment, you must dig your tent, and yourself into the ice. If you do not build sufficiently tall walls and dig yourself in deep enough, the catabatic winds that roll off of the glaciers and the ice may very well blow you and your tent away." -Connor Fitzpatrick (words and photos)

Connor, a Brunswick School senior who shoots for PhotoBoat, was selected to join Sir Robert Swan's 2041 project for a two-week Antarctic Expedition.

He saw humpback whales, penguins, and an Antarctic base station that will run on renewable energy, among many other amazing things, all of which he captured wonderfully. See more of his photos and read more about the mission at http://www.cbfphotos.com/ .

Look for Connor on the water representing PhotoBoat this summer.