We really wanted to get onboard with this race, the minute we heard about it. Big boats, going to weather in the Santa Barbara Channel, before turning the corner and heading to San Diego: what a great setting and epic breeze! The 2015 race was amazing – but last year we were shut out by the fog. So I was pretty nervous about booking a helicopter this year.
Sure enough, the wind at the start was dismal. We took some shots on the water then rushed out to the airport, to get on the helicopter. It was a very slow and long slog across the channel; watching their progress on the tracker was torture. It took forever for the fleet to get out into the wind, and by then they were nearly at Santa Cruz Island so we had to book out there!
It was worth the wait! Between Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Island, the conditions were fresh to frightening! My favorite! Everyone was heeled over and the light was amazing.
It’s pretty hard to spot the boats in the choppy seas – white decks, white sails, whitecaps… The sun was almost down and we were still looking for my friends on Alicante. ‘Where are you guys?’ Pilot Taylor finally spotted them. I thought, ‘You look so lonely out there… ‘ But OMG, the photos we got were epic. Heading in from the potato patch, all I could think was, ‘I’m going to be up all night editing!’
This is one of my favorites of Alicante.
Alicante kept texting me throughout the race. Nine miles from the finish, they thought they would get there just in time for the prizegiving, and show up in their foulies.
I love it when we establish a rapport like that with the sailors. They feel like they’re all alone out there, but they’re not. We are watching them every minute, strategizing how to get great shots that will commemorate their passage.
Sharon Green captured these images during the SailGP Series in San Francisco Bay: a great amphitheater for these super-sonic boats. Between the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the hills of Marin and stunning city front, add 360-degrees of spectacular backdrop to the excitement of the event.
It’s October, when the world turns golden: the sky, the foliage, even our coffee turns an umber shade, as pumpkin spice abounds! And the October pages of the 2023 Ultimate Sailing Calendar highlight this rich and glowing time of day, when the sun is sinking low, while tenacious sailors eke every morsel out of the last whisper of dying breeze.
Who wants to guess how many images our awesome Ultimate Sailing team captured during this last Transpac? Looking at the September pages of the 2023 Ultimate Sailing Calendar, it’s easy to see how this thrilling race – a 2,225-mile dash from Los Angeles to Honolulu – could inspire us to get a little shutter happy!
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.
Sharon Green
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