Waiting for the Light
Who’s ready for 2020 to be over?! Me, me, me! This has been such a challenging year, making it all the more exciting to announce: the 2021 Ultimate Sailing Calendar is hot-off-the-press and ready for shipment mid-October! I cannot wait to turn the page on 2020, and look forward to a brighter new year!
You’ll find plenty to dream on in the new Ultimate Sailing Calendar – my 38th edition! From powerful maxis to nimble skiffs, classics and other-worldly trimarans, this collection of thrilling images was designed to transport you to your happy place! And there are some spectacular happy places in this new calendar: Cascais, Capri, San Francisco, Saint-Tropez, Antigua, Enoshima and more.
I hope these images and the dreams they conjure will help inspire and carry you through the days ahead, as we await the light at the end of the tunnel. Order your new calendar now at www.ultimatesailing.com, where you’ll also find other goodies like my limited edition ‘Flying Colors’ puzzle, gear and more!
October 2020 49erFX
And now back to our previously scheduled program: October’s image in the 2020 Ultimate Sailing Calendar! This photo always makes me smile: the colorful 49erFXs clustered unfathomably tight as they round the mark, the sailors like lissome sprites darting across the hulls with complete confidence and poise.
This is one of the most thrilling newer Olympic classes: described as a ‘skiff-type highperformance sailing dinghy’ (that’s a mouthful). It’s a take-off on the 49er; adapted for a lighter weight, double-handed female crew: without losing any of its muscle! Designed for a maximum combined crew weight of 264-lbs, it is superbly balanced and sailplanned to be just as thrilling and competitive in 10 knots, as 25. And with a strict onedesign rule, the focal point is purely on the skill, athleticism and daring of the crew.
The 49erFX Class premiered in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio where Brazil’s Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze set the standard. My heart broke for the sailors pictured here, during the Hempel World Cup Series, who were campaigning for the 2020 Olympics which were canceled. It’s my hopes they can carry on their momentum and discipline until next summer’s Games in Enoshima, Japan.
The intensity and determination of these sailors inspired me and I wanted to illustrate the exhilaration of the sport, and how ballsy they are! But conditions were not very inspirational that week in Miami. Storm clouds threatened, rain cells rolled through, and winds remained fickle.
As exciting as it must be to sail in a hearty 25-knot breeze, I think it’s more challenging to sail when the air is light, packed in tight formation, deftly flinging from side to side as they tack and jibe, practically airborne as they traverse the nine-foot wide craft: only to lunge out on the wire again, hiking hard, their sturdy bodies paralleling the seas. The 49erFX demands them to be part acrobat, part technician, and tenacious and I struggled to figure out how, in these conditions, to capture the true essence of the sport and athletes involved.
Kat Mehler, a member of Coral Reef Yacht Club and terrific photo boat driver, was patient as we perused and tried different approaches and angles around the course throughout the day. An interminable haze clung in the sky as cumulonimbus built in the background. The water was choppy and steely gray, reflecting the absence of blue in the sky.
But eventually the glow of the shy afternoon sun dramatically silhouetted the sailors against their vivid spinnakers. It was magical, the lighting was just right, and I fired away with my Canon 1Dx and 100-400mm. I looked at my camera display and realized: I’d gotten my shot. Sometimes you just have to wait for the light.
2021 Ultimate Sailing Calendar
Order your 2021 Ultimate Sailing Calendar now and get a free mousepad (while supplies last) with EVERY calendar. And don’t forget there are super-savings when you buy more than one calendar! Two at $25 each or $20 when you buy five: get some for the whole crew!
Also in News
No- No- No-vember?
Color is back in the world of sailing
Everywhere there’s a pop of color – in the spinnakers, graphics and the depth of the sea – adding to sailing’s multi-sensory sport, art and passion. ‘Like the intense vermilion and marigold of Fast Exit II’s sail plan; the tones emblemizing the force and fury of the yacht as it plows through the azure waves of Hawaii.
The Opti-mal Angle
These dynamic images from Optimist regattas on opposite sides of the globe show just how far he (Matias Capizzano) will go to capture the sport – from any angle, in any place!
“Matias is an incredibly versatile photographer,” Sharon Green asserts. “He operates underwater with his housing, flies a drone, drives his own rib, and captures phenomenal stills and video!”
+About Ultimate Sailing
Sailing is a magnificent, colorful and dramatic sport. This unique sport has many variables with the constantly changing elements, sea conditions, boats, events, competitors and locations. The challenge is to capture on film electrifying moments that take your breath away. Those moments and opportunities are very few, but when they happen... it is ultimate sailing." ~ Sharon Green
Sharon Green has been capturing electrifying images of performance sailing for more than 40 years. Her annual Ultimate Sailing Calendar, featuring the highlights of competitive sailing, is eagerly anticipated by yachting and photography enthusiasts worldwide. Sharon has been published in major boating publications, both locally and internationally, since she first took up a camera while still in high school.
The pursuit of 'Ultimate Sailing' images never seems to grow old. Four decades and I still love the challenge of creating memorable images for my clients and the calendar."
Sharon is happiest when she is on the water or hanging from a helicopter in search of the elusive image that can be called 'Ultimate Sailing'. "My greatest satisfaction is when it all comes together: the anticipation, planning, organizing, traveling and epic conditions that combine to create a thrilling photograph.
The passage of time eludes our grasp: we can only look back in awe and look forward in anticipation. Never did I expect, 40 years ago, that my vision of creating the Ultimate Sailing Calendar would endure and provide such an extraordinary life experience. boundless advancements in sailing, and concurrently radical developments in camera and photographic technology, have kept me on my toes and the years have swept by! I find myself at this landmark anniversary: humbled by your patronage and inspired by your support. To my many friends, colleagues, clients, and subjects who have sustained and fueled this endless passion for capturing the ultimate Sailing image, I extend my deepest love and gratitude.
View the images by clicking the 40th button
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