Introducing Nick Pro

Nick Pro is a marine photographer to keep an eye on. At the age of 15, he has already been hired for some photography jobs and has collected a nice portfolio of images. Nick helped us cover the Red Grant Jr. Regatta in July, enjoying a first chance to try photographing while harnessed into the dinghy. He did a great job and his photos can be seen on our site, here.

Nick is a laser radial sailor from the Philadelphia area; he sails regularly on the Delaware River and also travels to Annapolis and other mid-atlantic sailing venues. He has also competed in some star regattas, including this year’s Bacardi Cup in Miami.

More of Nick’s photos can be seen on his Flickr site,

Keep an eye out for Nick Pro's work on PhotoBoat...he'll certainly be taking some more shots with us in the future.

Red Grant Regatta 2008: Fun, wind, and great photos

Raritan Yacht Club knows how to throw a party. Thanks to a great volunteer organizing committee, the forethought to hold a big annual event that includes many types of boats and sailors, a modern club, a good reggae band, and many other factors (including PhotoBoat slideshows, of course), the Red Grant Regatta is a good time.

The party was good, but the sailing was better! See the 2008 Red Grant Regatta photos here.

89 boats plus a bunch of Optis and other kids fleets, combined with good sea breezes and sunny skies, is enough to make you forget that the water isn't quite Key West green or BVI blue. Who cares? We had a lighthouse, the NJ and Staten Island coastlines, and a lot of commercial traffic to put in the background of our shots. When you take around 4,000 photos a week, little things like interesting backgrounds and this shot with the cormorant being startled by Project Mayhem on her way to the weather mark keep us interested.

The J80s called the Red Grant their ECCs and a 15-boat fleet added an exciting complement to the cruiser and PHRF divisions, which were also incredibly strong in numbers. Throw in some J105s and J109s and a couple of First 36.7s and you've got a diverse bunch of boats.

We thought the trophies were pretty cool, too.

Next stop, the Screwpile in Solomons Island, MD. We've never been, but it sounds like it will be another fun event.

Red Grant Results: http://www.redgrant.org/

2008 Red Grant Regatta photos: http://www.thephotoboat.com/Red_Grant_Regatta_Photos_2008.html

Law Trophy 2008: photo coverage

The Law Trophy 2008 was an event for photographing roll tacks and other close up action, just like many other events will be during the July doldrums that plague Long Island Sound Jr. regattas. But light wind sailing is a skill and these Law Trophy participants proved their prowess.

Competition was tight in the Laser, Laser Radial and 420 fleets, with some big names on LIS competing. The results can be found on IHYC's website, http://www.indianharboryc.com/.

Photos are sorted by last name and sail number and we have several of each boat. See them here.

The law trophy marks the first big event of the JSA season and we look forward to a month packed with regattas. For details, see http://www.jsalis.org/.

There's nothing like a PhotoBoat slideshow to kill time during a protest hearing...

Laser Midwinters - wrap-up

Racing conditions were up and down for the rest of Laser Midwinters East. Friday was a great day for racing and for photos. Competition was really tight. See more Laser Midwinters East photos on PhotoBoat.com .

2008 Laser Midwinters East - Thursday

Laser Midwinters East started off with good breeze this morning, but conditions diminished throughout the day on the Laser S/Radial/4.7 course in the Gulf of Mexico. There was a lot more breeze funneling down the inland waterway than there was just off the coast of Clearwater Beach where the racing took place. Clearwater Yacht Club will host three more days of sailing for the series and we look forward to some more tight racing in all three fleets.

See our photos at www.PhotoBoat.com .