12 Metre Mania!
And they’re off!
I’m not talking about just this robust herd of 12 Metres charging off the page of the 2022 Ultimate Sailing Calendar! Although the power and might of this commanding fleet is impressive.
I’m talking about me! The gates are open, yacht racing events are happening again around the globe, and I am off and running. So this month’s blog will be a little short but sweet: as I pack my gear bag for Les Voiles de St. Barth Richard Mille and dive back into the work I love.
The 12 Metres, shown here, have a fascinating history. First designed and built in the early 1900s as an Olympic Class boat, they reigned in the 1908, 1912 and 1920 Games. Three decades later these classic beauties were re-introduced to breathe new life into the America’s Cup, as racing had stopped due to World War II.
But first: did you know the original Deed of Gift for the America’s Cup stipulated the challenger’s boat had to sail to the site of the regatta on her own bottom? Clearly that couldn’t happen with the current generation of foiling AC75s! Nor the 12 Metres, for that matter.
So in 1956 that clause was canceled to allow swifter, more lively yachts and open the doors to wider and more thrilling competition. Bring on the 12 Metres! These spectacular thoroughbreds dominated America’s Cup racing in 10 events between 1958 and 1987.
Even so, they were never really intended to sail in such frisky waters, as seen here on our April 2022 pages, during the 1986 World Championships in Fremantle. I was there with my Dad, Don Green, who was the head of the Canadian syndicate challenging for the 1987 America’s Cup. His 12 Metre True North was competing and I was the official campaign photographer! It was such an exciting time, for so many reasons.
The wind and sea conditions were rough on both the boats and the crews: they weren’t cut out for the Fremantle Doctor. Even the Washington Post reported, “Afternoon winds ranged up to 30 knots and seas were heavy and unpredictable.”
Plus this was my first trip to Australia. There was a huge international fleet with teams and press from all over the world, and I loved meeting all the other photographers and journalists. The entire event was world class: they even had a 12 Metre World Ball which Dad and I went to together. We were seated at the head table with celebrities like John Bertrand and Dennis Conner and it was just exhilarating. ‘Such a blast and such a treasured, unforgettable memory with my Father.
As always, sailing is not only about what happens on the water. It’s the people and places and experiences that truly make it such a unique and phenomenal sport.
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Royal Blue
Oh, that water! That sparkling, rich royal blue that caresses the yachts as they hurtle toward Honolulu on the Transpacific Yacht Race, as depicted in the April 2025 pages of the Ultimate Sailing Calendar.
Maxed Out
We have excitedly shared Gilles’ exquisite work before in the Ultimate Sailing Calendar, and this month focus on the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo. Here an impressive fleet of more than 40 behemoth, majestic maxi yachts battled their rivals and the seas, off the blustery coast of Sardinia.
Make mine a double
The January pages of the 2025 Ultimate Sailing Calendar: in Luca Butto’s featured image the crew hikes hard, defying the explosion of spray buffeting the maxi yacht Cannonball, as it plows to weather at the Tre Golfi Sailing Week in Naples. In the inset image, at the bottom, Stefano Gattini captures the Club Swan 36 Farstar in hot pursuit at the Swan Croatia Challenge.
+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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Sharon Green
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