2009 Youth Champs gets underway...aboard Rambler

The most important youth sailing event in the country kicked off on Thursday; high school and college kids from around the country arrived by car and plane for this week-long event hosted by US Sailing. But in addition to the usual registration and setting up event boats, the Indian Harbor Yacht Club event organizers arranged a special treat for the kids: sailing aboard the 90-foot Rambler.

The US Youth Sailing Championships is packed with racing and other seminars and activities for these top sailors in the United States. See the photos, updated daily, here. At the end of the week they'll be sorted by sail number.

Block Island Race Week 2009

Monday at Block Island Race Week 2009 was a day to remember. Even leaving the harbor was an adventure, as can be seen from this shot of Loki 3 popping over a wave. After Monday's 30 knot winds for the around the island race, the excitement slowly declined throughout the rest of the week. Imagine being out in an 11' dinghy in these conditions. Needless to say, it was a tiring day, but the shots were well worth it! Be sure to check out these great photos here. See you at Block Island Race Week 2011 (and 2010).

Graves Marine Art and PhotoBoat

We're proud to announce our partnership with marine artist Tom Graves. Tom is a member of the American Society of Marine Artists and has been capturing the essence of the sea for over 40 years. Even better, he is an avid sailboat racer himself, currently calling Long Island Sound his home turf.

Tom created this beautiful piece from one of our photos, and he can do the same with our photo of your boat, whether it's a Farr 40 or an Optimist, a 12meter or a Laser. A commissioned paiting is now an item on our product list for each photo on PhotoBoat.com. Tom offers two different sizes of framed paitings: 24x36 or 18x24.

For more information and to see examples, visit Tom's website.

"What goes up must come down": see our shots on Sailing Anarchy

This photo demonstrates the statement too, but check out the sequence on Sailing Anarchy today.

Block Island Day 1 was one to remember. Check out our photos here.

We'll be taking photos all week at Block Island Race Week 2009.

BIRW here we come!

What's better than photographing Block Island Race Week? Sailing there.

We're in the anchorage and ready to hit the ground running tomorrow. Forecast is for big wind, and that means great photos. Be sure to check our 2009 Block Island Race Week photos page throughout the week.

SailFast: capturing the spirit

Conditions couldn't have been better for our SailFast apparel photo shoot this week. It's been such a rainy June, we couldn't believe it when the clouds cleared out and 15 knots of breeze filled in from the East. I don't know who was more upset that they weren't out sailing- the models, the company president, or us. We all kept sneaking jealous glances at the boats pushing through the chop of a strong Easterly on Long Island Sound.

That's the thing about SailFast- it's more than just an apparel company, and we felt the spirit as we set up these shots. SailFast is about on-the-water fun, families, summer, sailing, boating, surfing, kiteboarding, or whatever aquatic fun you can dream up. Right up our alley. For me, it's about that moment when you're going so fast in a Laser, you're basically drinking salt water, or it's even about bouncing around in the dinghy, waterskiing, cliff jumping, or snorkeling in the Caribbean. For all of us waterbugs out there, it's anything that involves water, sun, and a little bit of extra adrenaline.

It's also about giving back- SailFast has a 10% For a Cure policy and has been recognized for the resulting contributions to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. We wear SailFast wristbands to support the cause- if you don't have one, get one! They're made of spinnaker material and all proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.

Check out the gear - and our shots - at isailfast.com .

Marion to Bermuda Race start photos

And they're off...another Bermuda Race got underway this afternoon in foggy conditions on Buzzards Bay. See the photos here.

About 45 boats crossed the start line four miles off of Marion, Massachusetts today on the heels of quite a weather system. Rain and fog lingered; it was by no means a pleasant morning, as it had been in Westport, CT when we left at 7 am. On the way out of the harbor, two powerboats took a look at Allen in the dinghy and told him he'd best turn around. That would have been a waste of a 3-hour drive. Presumably, it was the chop in 15-20 knots and opposing current that they were warning against, but that's exactly what we were hoping for.

The photos are exciting. Check them out at the PhotoBoat Regatta Gallery

New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta photos

Rambler sheds her water ballast as she sails around Conanicut Island in Friday's Around the Island Race. Along with the other faster boats, including winner Titan XV, Rambler made a quick trip around the Island and was headed back to the dock by 2:30 pm. Most people had a much longer day and didn't finish until 5 pm, or didn't finish at all. Two reasons: wind and fog. The wind died throughout the day, and many classes started late due to fog. Race committee kept having to reset the line because they couldn't see the pin.

Our take on the weekend: not windy enough. But we can make something out of nothing, and we still got some nice shots. See them here.


It was great to be in Newport again and we're looking forward to photographing many of these same boats at Block Island Race Week 2009!

Virtual Dinghy Ride

CPYC One Design Regatta: Video fun

With a lack of strong breeze at the one design regatta this year we had some time to play with some video equipment. Thanks to Harry Katz for putting the video together. Click Here to see the photos.

CPYC One Design Regatta 2009

The CPYC One Design Regatta has gone through some changes from year to year since we began photographing and providing awards prints in 2006. This year there was no level 72 class or Mumm 30 fleet, but a strong showing of J30s, J105s and Melges 24s (in their inaugural year at the One Design) made the competition better than ever. The on-shore activities, race committee, and awards were first class as always.

See the photos here.

Unfortunately this weekend's weather was consistent with the first weekend of June from recent years: very light wind. Going into the weekend, the forecast looked worse than ever: Saturday: NW around 5 knots becoming SW in the afternoon; Sunday: N around 5 knots. That's about as bad as it gets for sailboat racers, or people whose income varies directly proportionately with wind speed, at least to an extent.

But we were very pleasantly surprised on Saturday; the fleet got 4-5 races in and wind speeds reached 12 knots or so- a good thing, because Sunday's weather was unfortunately true to the forecast. After hours of waiting in the hot sun, only one race was attempted...and abandoned.

Saturday was a beautiful day for photos: see the shots here.

Southern Bay Race Week 2009

Southern Bay Race Week, a.k.a. the Black Seal Cup, finished yesterday with an unexpectedly beautiful sailing day. After a weekend of very unpredictable conditions, which primarily resulted in light breeze, the wind filled in nicely on Sunday and the skies cleared at the perfect time.

See the photos here.

The roughly 70 boats spread across two race courses in the Southern Chesapeake had three days of racing and four nights of shoreside parties. As usual, the Chesapeake sailors proved that they know how to have fun.

We had a great time and were thrilled with the hospitality at the Hampton Yacht Club. We stayed aboard a 37' Pearson that acted as our waterfront condo for the weekend. It was great to be staying on a boat again.

See the 2009 Southern Bay Race Week photos here and the results at www.blacksealcup.com