2009 Newport Regatta: SB3 Sailing

Coastal Living Newport Regatta Action

What a great day on the water! Saturday's conditions in Newport were optimal, with sunny skies and a 15-20 knot sea breeze. Narragansett Bay was hopping with activity as racers and cruisers alike enjoyed another sunny Saturday.

The Coastal Living Newport Regatta- which concludes after one more day of racing today- has 250 entries. All four courses plus the around the island race enjoyed great conditions on Saturday and we were able to cover all of them. With so many boats looking so great, Allen may have set a personal record for number of photos taken in one day- yesterday's count came in at 3600. As usual, they're all great photos and will all go online.

Special thanks to Laser Performance for having me ride with them on their support RIB. I added 1000 photos to the count- all from the SB3/Viper/RSK6/F18/A-Cat/505 course- and had a nice chance to concentrate on the SB3s. We also got some good onboard-cam video footage from one of the LP-staffed SB3s...edited video coming soon...

Our Saturday highlights are up, and we'll have all the photos from the weekend sorted and online on Monday morning.

from LLP to Mr. and Mrs.

Unfortunately, we had to miss the Marblehead to Halifax start on Sunday, July 5th, but no regrets. We had something more important going on...and we were grateful to have what is normally perfect marine photography weather for our wedding weekend.

In fact, we actually got to sail on Friday night-- somewhat unusual these days, as we are always too busy photographing-- in a casual pre-wedding laser regatta that we hosted with JK at Longshore Sailing School. It was blowing 15-20 and we were out racing against all of our old co-instructor buddies- couldn't have been better.

We have this shot in an elegant silver frame on our dresser and it continues to make me laugh. Not quite the usual wedding photo.

The Law Trophy kicks off summer on LIS

The JSA of LIS 2009 season kicked off with the 2009 Law Trophy at Indian Harbor Yacht Club. These are Long Island Sound's best sailors and they know how to make their boats go in under 5 knots. Hence, we have many photos of roll tacks from the two-day Laser, Radial, and 420 event.
Of course, there was some play time, as with most JSA events. That's what sailing in the summer is all about. See the Law Trophy photos here and the results here.

Youth Champs ends with a bang

It only takes about an hour and a half of good breeze, a dinghy with a 20 hp engine, and a very active trigger finger to get the shots we had been waiting for all week at Youth Champs. After four days of very light wind, in the final hours of 2009 US Youth Sailing Championship, we got an unforecasted gift. The 15-20 knots from the east for an hour and a half were just enough to capture everybody looking good. See the photos at PhotoBoat.com and the results at ussailing.org.

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

Block Island Race 2009: a wide angle kind of day

Our day started out at Indian Harbor YC, taking photos for the club for some US Sailing Youth Champs promotional materials. We took some more traditional shots as well, but liked this one that we took with a fisheye lens.

With blue skies and a little bit of haze, it was a good day for shots with a wide-angle lens, and we took that mentality out on the water for the 2009 Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race shots. And despite light wind, the shots came out very nicely. See the photos here.

What a great night to sail around Block Island, and a great start to the summer season on Long Island Sound. 2009's going to be a busy summer on the Sound, with many big events to photograph, including US Sailing Youth Championships, Block Island Race Week (not quite LIS, but close enough) and many classes' North Americans and Nationals.

Click here to see the 2009 Block Island Race Photos.

Nordstar Photoshoot follow-up

Check out the write-up from our Nordstar Patrol 31 boat test photoshoot: click here to go to OceanLines. And stay tuned for the full review.

2009 Greenwich Cup Spring Photos

I was smart enough to bring a handheld GPS on this foggy Saturday morning on Long Island Sound (our dinghies don't exactly have console-mounted GPSs...or consoles), but I happened to grab the one without the local charts loaded, so finding the starting line for the Greenwich Cup was something I didn't take for granted. But just seeing my position relative to land was enough to get me there on time, and the fog lifted during the first race.

The Greenwich Cup is always a fun regatta for us to cover, and this was no exception. We even had some good breeze and competition was tight as usual.

We've got some great shots from the weekend, including this trademark Greenwich Cup shot, with Indian Harbor and Riverside - the two host yacht clubs in Greenwich - visible on the transoms.

See the 2009 Greenwich Cup shots here.

PhotoBoat On Fireboats

The Centennial New York Athletic Club - Yacht Club - Stratford Shoal Race kicked off this Saturday with a lot of pomp and circumstance, including a spray show from two fireboats. The distance race got off to a great start despite thick fog, but we take this opportunity to bring up the last time we saw a fireboat in action...on Tortola a few years ago. Allen took this photo while on staff at Yacht Shots BVI in 2006. A group of vacationers and their luggage were picked out of the water by a nearby sailboat after they had to abandon ship. The BVI salvage company did a nice job putting out the fire, and the shot made the cover of the BVI Beacon.

Anatomy of a Photoshoot

All the parts came together perfectly for Monday's photoshoot for OceanLines, a great passagemaking online magazine. I shot a Nordstar 31 Patrol on the Connecticut River outside of Essex. The weather was beautiful, the boat looked great, the background setting was interesting, and communication was seemless- all integral pieces of a photoshoot, some easier than others to control. I switched between wide-angle and zoom lenses, and even snuck in a slow shutter speed shot that came out nicely.

Keep an eye out for the boat test write-up on OceanLines.biz.

Volvo Ocean Race Boston Stopover

Boston was hopping with activity this weekend for the 2008-9 Volvo Ocean Race stopover. Saturday's In-Port Race was disappointing due light wind and grey skies, but mother nature made up for it on Sunday, with 25+ knots and bright sun. Sunday's racing was a pro-am, and the course was modified due to the high wind. Race committee had them doing a series of short match races with each boat rounding it's own marks- not as cool as seeing them jockey with each other, but it is understandable that they did not want to risk a collision during this promotional racing day, when their real mission is to set sail for Galway next week. Despite having to be reefed and not using a chute, the Open 70s looked great crashing through the chop and sending spray flying through the air all afternoon. Click Here to view our photos.

Reflections...

We have to point out this cool shot that Connor Fitzpatrick took during USODA team trials. Notice the opti reflection in the aviators of this focused sailor...

USODA Team Trials

It was a weekend for dry suits at the USODA Team Trials at Noroton Yacht Club. These Opti sailors proved their mettle with 4 long days of racing, sometimes in the rain, some days until after 5 pm. But we heard no complaints from competitors. Opti sailors rule. And they certainly came prepared.

See the 2009 USODA Team Trials photos, including daily highlights and folders sorted by sail number, here.

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.

Top 10 real myths about PhotoBoat.com discussed

1. We use small boats because we can’t afford bigger ones.

False. We use bigger boats sometimes- and we started with a bigger boat- but we chose the dinghies so we could get close without causing a wake or a wind-shadow.

2. We go out in separate boats because we argue too much to drive each other around.

True! We’re getting married in 2009, so it’s nothing personal, but we’re independent when it comes to putting ourselves in the right spot. It’s the right way to do it.

3. We use wide angle lenses because we can’t afford bigger ones.

False. Somebody actually made this claim on a certain popular sailing web forum, and they were so wrong. We have big lenses, but we rarely use them. Our throttle is our zoom, and as a result, our image quality is better!

4. PhotoBoat.com is one of those big internet companies, kind of like Amazon.com.

False. Sometimes we like to be funny and tell our customers they need to talk to our customer service department, but the truth is we’re a small company with a big name. We’re product development, fulfillment, packaging, shipping, marketing, bookkeeping, sales, and – most importantly – customer service, all in the hands of two- sometimes three- people.

5. We’re crazy.

False, of course. We prefer the term “adrenaline junkies.”

6. We’re photographers that decided to try getting involved in sailing because it looked cool.

False. Now that would be crazy. We attribute our success 75% to our skills and knowledge in sailing and boating. Without the eye, we’d be nowhere, but without the sailing skills, we’d be in the protest room.

7. We started this business expecting to photograph local Western Long Island Sound events.

True. We have to admit we didn’t realize we’d have to have a bigger reach to make it big, but it became apparent quickly. We love doing the local club events on LIS (except when there’s no wind), but it’s our willingness to travel that makes our business viable instead of just a reason to write off boat fuel.

8. Being a marine photographer means spending all of your time on the water.

False. It is nice being on the water, but we spend 5 hours on the computer for every hour spent on the water, and 1 hour working out boat logistics for every hour on the water. Many of the hours on the water are spent waiting for wind in an 11’ boat with no shade. But still, we know we have a cool job and we’re grateful.

9. We've never lost a camera overboard.

True. We know a few people who have, but we have managed to keep our investments safe so far.

10. Daniela’s tiller extension is a piece of a Laser upper mast.

True. Some observant people have noticed this and gotten a kick out of it. It's the top piece of an upper section, complete with the blue plastic piece stuck in the end. The truth is, both tillers would be made of mast pieces if we had two kicking around; Allen’s extension/throttle is made of PVC and it has broken before.

2009 Key West Race Week Animated Slideshow

This is a must see.

See our Thursday highlights and all the other photos here.

Key West at its best

We couldn't ask for anything more today, with sun and wind in our favor and another great day of racing action. Our focus was on Division 1- Farr 40s, IRC 1, IRC 2, Swan 42s, and F30 classes.

The photos are a must see.

There will be some interesting changes in positions after today's racing, but there are still two more days.
Considering that last
year's Key West Race Week only had three days of racing due to bad weather, we're appreciating the extra days this year.

See the photos from Key West Race Week 2009 here.