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One of about 100 shots I took at my daughter's sailing race yesterday. From West End to Bulimba, along the Brisbane River, the race takes around 3 hours to complete. A couple of classes compete, this shot is two of our senior girls, Kerrie (out wide) and Bree (at the tiller) along the city reach in one of the school's 125s.

Although it doesn't look it, the river was pitching around a bit so it wasn't easy to get sharp shots. Happy to hear your opinions.
Click to enlarge

Nice Simon. If you were on the water yourself it is even more commendable.

Good action shot! IMO that's a superb angle too, shows the girls and boat to great effect. Much of a crop on that?

Thanks John. I was in a little 3m rubber duck rescue boat so I had to pick my moments between gusts.

Thanks Losfp - I cropped about 5% off the edges, mainly because, with the roll of the boat I was in, the horizon was just under 6deg out of kilter. After straightening, the shot needed a small crop to get rid of the blank space around the edges.

Nice photo Simon.

Off topic here, but may I critique your daughters sailing? Firstly, Kerrie needs to drop the line on her trapeze down a few inches - she's simply way too high to get effective leverage here.

Secondly, it looks like Bree is holding the main sheet. Working upwind, Kerrie should be working the main sheet as she has two hands free (it's a hard life at the sharp end of any dinghy ) and can work the main far more effectively.

Thirdly, they need to sail the boat much flatter than you're showing here. The aerodynamics (or more correctly, the hydrodynamics) of the boats foils (centreboard and rudder) are severely compromised with this much heel. The flatter you are, the faster you are.

I've got heaps of good books on sailing I'd be happy to lend your daughter if she's interested. They're all pretty old, but the fundamentals still hold true, apart from sailing downwind with an assymetric spinnaker. Sailing just happens to be another passion of mine [/b]

Tis a brave man that takes his D70 in a 3m rubber duckie. I fret taking mine out in 5m run-a-bout or 10m fixed keel crusier.

I also like using this same angle when taking shots of sailing boats as it gives a greater perspective of the angle of heal these boats operate at.

The other shots that I find work well are 7-8 o'clock and 10-11 o'clock with 12 o'clock being the bow and 6 oclock the stern. In other words slightly in front, or slightly behind to windward. With boats under spinnaker 2-3 o'clock can be impressive with the sun behind the boat illuminating the sail.

I'd agree with ABG sailing critique that the angle of heal here is excessive; they could also use a tad more vang to flatten out the boom, the top of the sail is twisting off in relation to the lower third would give more drive. The old Fireball's did not like sailing at much angle either, but being over 100kg with 20 knots blowing at Glenelg was damn good fun... It's also easy being an armchair sailor

Still a great shot under trying circumstances, hope to see some more shots of the 125's in action soon.

/M.

Hey thanks guys - some excellent tips on sailing techniques there from some experts by the sounds of it.

I mightn't have made myself very clear in the original post - this shot isn't actually my daughter - the 125 belongs to her school sailing club which has a great little fleet of 125s and Puffin Pacers. Emily, my youngest daughter, has only started in Year 8 at the school this year and has just begun sailing. She sails the Pacers as they're a much easier boat for the beginners to learn the basics. When this shot was taken, Emily and her crew were near the front of the pack, a fair way down river, in the leading school Pacer. They had a great start 15 minutes before the 125s and other faster classes but were well and truly overtaken by the finish!) I'll post a pic of her shortly.

Kerrie and Briana are in Year 12 and have each been sailing for a while but only together as a crew for the last 2. They have represented the school in local regattas and Titles events. They, and most of the older girls in the club, are off to to Hervey Bay at Easter for the Qld State 125 Titles are expected to be very competitive.

I think I caught them at a bad moment in this shot, when they hadn't quite got themselves set up properly. They had just entered a gust but it only lasted a few seconds and they were straight back down again for the port tack. I think Bree may well have been in the process of handing Kerrie the mainsheet as well. They love hanging out but the conditions that day didn't allow for extended running on trapeze.

We've got a club meeting tomorrow night so I'll be sure to pass on those excellent tips to the girls. I'm sure they'll appreciate the comments.

Thanks ABG for the offer about the books - I've just recently bought Emily some and she's studying furiously. The hard part is trying to match her up with a suitable partner so they can gel together as a crew and, hopefully, sail well together for the next 5 years, graduating from Pacers to 125s and beyond.

Oh, Psionic - I was extremely careful with the camera but would only ever try this in relatively calm, FRESHWATER, conditions!!

Here's one of my daughter, Emily, in a Pacer. Because of the number of girls who turned up for the race, some boats ended up with more bodies than they should have but Em doesn't add too much weight!

No trapeze on these but Em is trying to hang out using the footstraps. She's the little one in front and I don't think she's going to make a lot of difference with those two older girls on the leeward side!

Still, they were first across the line out of the five school Pacers, managed to get through the day without getting wet and had heaps of fun. That's what it's all about.

psionic wrote: It's also easy being an armchair sailor

lol...too true

Manta wrote:I mightn't have made myself very clear in the original post - this shot isn't actually my daughter - the 125 belongs to her school sailing club which has a great little fleet of 125s and Puffin Pacers. Emily, my youngest daughter, has only started in Year 8 at the school this year and has just begun sailing.

Sorry Simon. I think it was a combination of your explanation and the volume of alcohol I consumed last night...

Manta wrote:I think I caught them at a bad moment in this shot, when they hadn't quite got themselves set up properly. They had just entered a gust but it only lasted a few seconds and they were straight back down again for the port tack. I think Bree may well have been in the process of handing Kerrie the mainsheet as well. They love hanging out but the conditions that day didn't allow for extended running on trapeze.

As psionic said, it's easy to be an armchair critic... Looking at a photo that captures just one point in time can be very misleading, as was the case here obviously. I'll blame that on the beers as well

Manta wrote:Thanks ABG for the offer about the books - I've just recently bought Emily some and she's studying furiously. The hard part is trying to match her up with a suitable partner so they can gel together as a crew and, hopefully, sail well together for the next 5 years, graduating from Pacers to 125s or beyond.

No worries mate. Let me know if Emily's still interested after finishing the books she's reading at the moment.

Yep, finding a good crew combination is really hard and is crucial to success at any level. Be warned Simon, sailing is not an inexpensive pursuit, particularly when Emily starts wanting her own boat. On the positive side, it's an excellent sport for physical fitness and cerebral activity.

ABG wrote:Be warned Simon, sailing is not an inexpensive pursuit, particularly when Emily starts wanting her own boat. On the positive side, it's an excellent sport for physical fitness and cerebral activity.

We can say the same things with regard to Photography... It gets real expensive after you purchase the DSLR body and join this forum.... that's when the lens lust begins.

Says he with Dunky 23' sitting in the backyard in Oz feeling unloved

/M.

Nice pics Simon.

I must have been wrapped up in Commonwealth Games - I didn't notice the sailors yesterday.

I usually see anything that happens in the Bulimba reach of the river.

I would've liked to have seen you in the inflatable - I could have posted a pic here for our members.

Every Saturday morning, Trevor, our little group of Pacers and 125s is out there. Not often we get down as far as your place though. We're usually up in front of the Powerhouse and home base at Lourdes Hill College.