A Different Kind of Island Hopping
There's island hopping, and then there's the RORC Caribbean 600!
Turquoise water, tropical breezes, spectacular scenery. Sounds like a lovely Caribbean getaway, doesn't it? Well, perhaps not when you're racing 600 nautical miles, day and night, with little time to admire the view!
Starting and finishing in Antigua, the Caribbean 600 winds around 11 islands, including Barbuda, St. Maarten, St. Kitts and Guadeloupe. It's a rather unconventional offshore race. Instead of heading out across a long stretch of open ocean, crews navigate a twisting course of island passages, headlands and open-water legs. Trade winds can provide some exhilarating sailing, but the islands also create wind shadows and unpredictable conditions. Add strong currents, changing seas and the demands of racing around the clock, and there's certainly no shortage of challenges.
For photographer Tim Wright, it's also a remarkable place to work.
A little horsepower, a little strategy
Our October Ultimate Sailing Calendar features two of Tim's photographs that capture very different sides of the Caribbean 600.
The horizontal image is pure horsepower. Crew stacked, sails loaded, and a powerful hull slicing through sapphire water. You can almost feel the acceleration. It's the kind of high-energy sailing action that first catches your eye—and keeps you looking.
Ultimate Sailing Calendar - October 2026 - RORC Caribbean 600 2025, Antigua ©Tim Wright
The vertical brings another dimension to the race. Boats hugging a rugged coastline, rocky headlands rising above the surf, and crews jockeying for position. It's a beautiful scene, but there's serious business going on. A good decision around an island can gain precious miles; a bad one can leave you watching the competition sail away.
After all, what good is all that horsepower if you're headed in the wrong direction?
One of the fun things about putting the calendar together is seeing how the finished layout changes the way we look at a photograph. The full-frame vertical image offers a broader view of the boats and coastline. In the calendar, Sharon's crop concentrates that action into a smaller space, giving it a different emphasis while complementing the power of the horizontal image.
It's a little glimpse of what goes into choosing photographs that work not only individually, but together on the page.
Behind Tim's lens
Tim has been photographing Caribbean sailing since the early 1990s and has covered the Caribbean 600 since its inaugural race in 2009. Over the years, he's become a familiar presence on the water, photographing everything from grand prix racing yachts to classic boats sailing among the islands.
And getting those photographs isn't always as comfortable as the Caribbean setting might suggest.
Tim has worked from helicopters, larger boats and a small inflatable that puts him remarkably close to the action. Each offers a different perspective—and its own challenges. From sea level, there's the spray, the movement and the sheer size of a boat powering past. From above, the sails, wakes and patterns of the race take on an entirely different appearance.
Then there's the scenery itself. Towering cliffs, secluded bays, brilliant blue water and the changing Caribbean light. Sometimes the boats dominate the photograph. Other times, they're just one part of a much bigger picture.
[SUPPORTING PHOTOGRAPHS: Tim's 2025 Caribbean 600 images, including the aerial view, crew action, fleet and coastline, and additional sailing perspectives]
That's part of the appeal of sailing in the Caribbean, whether you're aboard, behind the camera or admiring the photographs from considerably drier surroundings. There's the thrill of competition, the skill of the crews, the personalities of the boats and a setting that can steal the show all by itself.
For the Ultimate Sailing Calendar, we get to bring a little of all that home.
Two perspectives on one extraordinary race—and a little Caribbean sunshine thrown in for good measure!
