FYI, after paying for an expensive dock space. We didn't even sail our boat once last summer.Click "play" above to watch the slideshow, or click here to see all of the Key West 2010 photos.
It was another dramatic week at Key West Race Week. Even though we only had one day of good breeze, it was enough time to get great shots of every boat crashing over waves. Our photos are online, sorted by boat name, here. If you weren't racing and just want to take a look, check out the highlights.
Key West Race Week started on Monday with a beautiful sunny day- it was everything everybody comes to Key West for, except the wind. But the 9 knots or so was enough for the race committees to run two races on each course. 
were a blessing, and though the clouds came in in the afternoon and the temperature dropped to the low 60s, a little bit more wind helped to feed the action. We have a bunch of great shots from both days, and look forward to today, Thurs, and Friday for some more great Key West Race Week Photos.
Key West Race Week is still three days from the first gun, but we're here, so why not start putting our cameras to work. Today's bright sunshine, 25-29 knots from the ESE and a bunch of boats out practicing combined for some great photo ops for PhotoBoat. Still, the Coast Guard d
id not think so, as they felt it necessary to remind us that there was a small craft advisory, and we are, in fact, a small craft. The warning was much appreciated, but not heeded.
J105 North Americans ended yesterday with another day of great racing. The concern that a regatta on Long Island Sound in early November would be cursed by bad weather was wiped away as the 29-boat fleet sailed 11 races over four great days with winds that spanned around 8-30 knots and temps that were suprisingly bearable. 
We haven't tried counting how many times Chris Gill has used our photos on the cover of WindCheck Magazine, but it's always nice. On the cover here are our friends Chris and Michelle who didn't realize what they were signing up for when they decided to sail in the Denmark Friendship race this summer. Check out http://windcheckmagazine.com/.
What a great event- you can tell these guys are having fun, and so did we. 40 college teams sailed aboard the same boats we're used to photographing all the time on LIS, but the college kids added some new flavor.
The weather couldn't have been better for photos at the Heineken HPDO this weekend. Saturday we saw winds reaching 30 knots as a front passed through and the sky changed from overcast to bright and sunny, with a lot of interesting clouds and light in between. 
The October 3-4 weekend was a tough one for sailing weather, not that it was windy and rough like it usually is in October, but the opposite extreme. The J30s were on the calendar for Friday through Sunday, and Friday's light breeze that peaked around 10 knots was the best we got all weekend. Still, it was enough to make this 14-boat J30 fleet look good as they sailed on Westport waters. See the photos here. Cedar Point Yacht Club has hosted a number of important regattas this year. Next at CPYC: the impressive Laser frostbiting fleet kicks off their season.
Stamford Yacht Club and Indian Harbor Yacht Club hosted 2009 Viper 640 North Americans and delivered two days of great wind for the sport boats- exactly what they need. 37 boats competed in the teaching regatta, which included after-racing chalk talks for the growing class that's rapidly recruiting new boat owners. As always, Vipers look great in big breeze, so take a look at the photos here and look for them in Sailing World in the spring.
Championship held at Cedar Point Yacht Club in Westport this September. Tuesday was a quintessential Long Island Sound Easterly, with gloomy skies and big seas on the body of water that opens to the East. Friday's Westerly was a familiar weather pattern as well, with
high pressure, bright sun, and strong winds. 50-something stars had 4 great days of racing- what a treat. Take a look at the photos here.
Around 100 Flying Dutchman sailors from around the world convened in Manhattan this month as part of the NY400 celebration of the 400th anniversary of Captain Henry Hudson's arrival in New York and establishment of New Amsterdam. For a full history lesson and information about the Holland on the Hudson celebration, visit NY400.org.
See all the photos here.
Two of Long Island Sound's biggest annual races have come and gone again: the Vineyard Race and the Denmark Race, both hosted by Stamford Yacht
Club. Labor Day Weekend's Vineyard Race was a drifter this year; the Denmark Race weather was much more interesting for photographs.
This photo speaks for itself...
We were thrilled to be involved with the 2009 Connecticut Leukemia Cup Regatta, hosted by Duck Island Yacht Club and North Cove Yacht Club in the Westbrook-Old Saybrook area. This is a very well-planned event for a good cause, and the regatta party was held in a big work shed at Brewer's Pilot's Point Marina. We were not quite as thrilled with the weather that we got, but that goes with the territory, and it certainly m
akes things interesting. The remnants of hurricane Danny didn't deliver any excessive wind, but did dump buckets of rain on us throughout the entire distance race. Everybody put their foul weather gear to the test during the 2-3 hour race and came in with a good attitude and eagerness to help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. See the photos here. Click the logo for more info about the event and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
We didn't get to cruise on our Gulfstar 37 this year (at least not yet), nor could we fit in 3 weeks, but at least we got an upgrade on the boat. We had a great time sailing with family aboard the X412 Expeditious- here's a Christmas card shot during a daysail off of Martha's Vineyard. We took care of the deliver
y home and despite threats from Hurricane Bill, the weather turned out the be quite calm. We just motored along, bobbing up and down with the big swells from the North Atlantic, like this one breaking on the Point Judith breakwater.
Thanks to Harry Katz, a photographer and videographer who worked with us this summer. Harry is a Sophomore Photojournalism major at the University of Missouri School of Journalism- one of the top Journalism schools in the country. Harry's comfort with his camera was obvious to us right away, and no wonder, since his father is a well-known commercial photographer. Harry also worked as a photojournalist this summer for the Baltimore Sun. He's built quite a portfolio and is a true professional photographer already.
It's back to school time and things have been busy. We've been covering a number of end-of-summer championships, particularly on the Jr. scene.
was not as epic, but there was consistent wind and nice sun, and for that we are grateful. Pequot and Southport Harbor were absolutely overflowing with Optis, but everything was very well orchestrated- nice job, organizers. 
What a week! More than 80 boatloads of Thistle
sailors converged on Cedar Point Yacht Club for five days of sailing and a remarkable number of other activities. We've observed a lot of regatta parties, and we have to say, these Thistle sailors made an impression on us. They had costume nights, talent shows, bands, bocce competitions, blender wars, volleyball, and more. Cedar Point was the perfect venue for such laid-back family fun and we were thrilled to be working less than two miles from home.
The 2009 Governor's Cup start was very dynamic this year, with a lot of weather changes on the heals of a day of thunderstorms. The skies cleared just in time for the start and 15 knots filled in from the North on the heels of the front. It didn't hold for long, but a steady breeze held long enough for us to chase 100 boats 11 miles and get 
some nice shots. The light was constantly changing, and we were lucky enough to have a few moments like this one, where we caught Age of Reason looking good in some nice light. When the last bit of useable light was gone, we took the 11-mile 
trip back to Annapolis, packed up our boats, and headed to our dorm room at St. Mary's college...always fun. The next day's conditions were light but pretty, and as always, Southern Maryland knows how to party. 
The overall winner of the Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge this year was Remedy; we're not sure where Still a Gorilla (last year's overall winner) was, but though they didn't sail this year it looks like they might have sent a representative...
know of that has a band named after it. The Screwpilers put on a good show again this year and so did the racers. The breeze was on the lighter side, but had it's moments- enough to get some great photos. See the photos here. Also see our photos and read about the event on the Screwpile event website and theBayNet.com.
The Red Grant Regatta delivered good breeze, good racing, and a great party again this year. The wind was so good on Saturday that the fleet stayed out late and got a fourth race in-- a wise decision given the light-breeze forecast for Sunday. Saturday's conditions were picture-perfect, and we can't believe this is the third year running that we've had great conditions for photography.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
