When Rose heard that Francis Chichester intended to sail single-handedly around the world, he was keen to compete. He attempted to start his journey at the same time as Chichester in 1966, but a collision off Ushant meant he had to postpone the departure of Lively Lady.

Who was Alec Rose

The circumnavigation began on 16 July 1967. On 17 December, after 155 days and 14,500 miles, he arrived in Melbourne where he met his son who lived there. Among the people who came to watch Rose’s arrival was Prime Minister Harold Holt, who disappeared later the same day after going for a swim. Rose stopped once more in New Zealand to repair a damaged mast.

The voyage was closely followed by the international press and Rose’s landfall at 12.33pm in Southsea, Portsmouth on 4 July 1968, 354 days later, was met by cheering crowds of hundreds of thousands. It was 10 days before his 60th birthday. The following day he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1973 Rose was given the honour of firing the starting gun for the first Whitbread Round the World Race. On 17 May 1975, he opened 5th Littlehampton Sea Scouts’ HQ Gordon Hall in Lineside Way, Littlehampton, West Sussex.

Rose’s voyages are detailed in his book My Lively Lady. He wrote a children’s version, Around the world with Lively Lady (1968) and another book My favourite tales of the sea (1969).

The post The life of Alec Rose, the sailor who wanted to defeat Chichester appeared first on Sail Universe.

“ClubSwan Racing emerged from a desire to bring the passion, excitement and camaraderie of racing to the whole Swan family,” said Nautor Group President Leonardo Ferragamo, “and we believe we have succeeded in that mission.

“Every year we have aimed to improve the experience for Swan owners and their crews, and I am sure 2023 will deliver more unforgettable memories, incredible adventures and many more shared stories.”

2023 ClubSwan Racing season: double circuit

Both the Rating and One Design fleets will have their own dedicated circuits. The season starts in February in the Caribbean with the Swan Maxi Series, which includes seven events contested by Maxi Swans around the globe.

The 2023 ClubSwan Racing season also includes four regional series which will be held in the Mediterranean, Baltic, The Solent and North America, while the icing on the ClubSwan Racing cake is The Nations League 2023 which will be contested by the four ClubSwan Racing One Design classes throughout the season.

The One Design action begins with the ClubSwan 36 class returning to Split – after its debut there in 2022 at the season ending European Championship – for the Swan Croatia Challenge from April 25-29 hosted by ACI Sail which has already attracted 15 entries. The event marks the first of the seven regattas which make up The Nations League.

The following month will see the whole ClubSwan Racing One Design family (over 40 expected entries) gather for the Swan Sardinia Challenge, with Marina di Villasimius of Marinedi Group again the venue following its own successful debut last year.

June sees the fourth edition of the highly competitive The Nations Trophy event in Porto Cervo, organised by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, followed by the S&S Swan Rendezvous on Elba Island, organised by the S&S Swan Association and hosted by Marciana Marina. July brings the highlight of the Rating Swan season, the Swan European Regatta in Turku, Finland.  

In August, as per tradition, the Swan One Design fleet will race the Copa del Rey MAPFRE, 41st edition, organised by the Real Club Nautico de Palma. While in September, the ClubSwan 36 and ClubSwan 50 classes will contest their own European championships, with the former hosted by Marina di Puntaldia, Italy, and the Menorca ClubSwan 50 Europeans held at Club Maritimo Mahon, Spain, both first-time venues for ClubSwan Racing. 

The 2023 ClubSwan Racing season comes to a fitting conclusion in October with all four One Design classes gathering again for the Swan One Design Worlds in Marina di Scarlino, Italy, a finale which will also determine the destination of The Nations League title as well as the world titles in each fleet.

The Swan Med Regatta-Tuscany Challenge

During the Swan One Design Worlds, Marina di Scarlino and the Yacht Club Isole di Toscana will also play host to the inaugural Swan Med Regatta-Tuscany Challenge, a new event that aims to gather all Swan owners based in the Mediterranean for a spectacular end of season regatta against the stunning backdrop of the Tuscan archipelago.

“Great venues with fantastic sailing conditions and excellent race management has always been the goal for our team,” said Federico Michetti, Head of Sports Activities at ClubSwan Racing.

“For 2023 we are pleased to be able to add Mahon and Puntaldia to the roster, and we look forward to returning to Split and Villasimius as well as our long-standing partners in Porto Cervo, Palma and Scarlino.

“Every season the level of competition – passionate but friendly – goes up another notch as the teams gain more experience, and 2023 is showing all the signs that it will be the best year yet!“

The post Why 2023 ClubSwan Racing Season has Something for Everyone appeared first on Sail Universe.

The SW96 Nyumba was conceived for a passionate sailor on his fourth sailing yacht. The owner approached Southern Wind looking for a high-performance, innovative yacht for sailing shorthanded around the world with his family, in full compliance with the stringent IMO Tier 3 regulations.

After initially considering a custom project, the owner opted for a 96-foot yacht embracing Southern Wind’s “Smart Custom” philosophy.

The Hybrid system of SW96 Nyumba

SW96 Nyumba power and propulsion system was developed in collaboration with BAE Systems, a global company that designs and manufactures leading technology solutions. Marco Alberti, Southern Wind CEO, explains, “The main point that triggered the owner’s interest and enthusiasm was the innovation of the HybriGen® propulsion system that we offered when he approached us. Effectively this boat will be the very first to brandish a hybrid-gen system in a superyacht of this size range. Southern Wind and BAE Systems partnered to push the boundaries into a new phase of sustainable superyacht construction, making the owner the first move in this direction.“

“BAE HybriGen® propulsion system and Hundested Controllable Pitch Propeller, enhance propulsion power and hydrogeneration capability. Advanced 650 Volt energy storage system and electrical efficiency, allow zero-emission propulsion, extensive steaming range, and long silent nights in hotel mode. The system’s utmost reliability is granted by full redundancy of its key elements and by their undisputed quality. HybriGen® system uses proven technology developed for the rugged transit duty cycle on land and takes it to the water with the contribution of Southern Wind,” adds Andrea Micheli, Southern Wind CCO.

SW96 Nyumba, the design

With hull lines penned by Farr Yacht Design, this high-performance yacht has full carbon hull, deck and bulkheads. A lifting keel (3,4m -5,5m), twin rudder configuration, carbon rigging and a fixed bowsprit are just a few of the performance elements aboard the SW96 Nyumba. Deck fittings are all titanium for weight saving and easier maintenance.

The aft garage fits a 4.5m tender and the custom extra-large swimming platform creates a private beach club of more than 8,5 sqm directly on the water.

SW96 Nyumba has the sleek and elegant lines of the GT deck configuration, specially designed to meet the client’s requests. Massimo Gino of Nauta Design, responsible for the yacht’s exterior and interior, explains, “Nyumba’s deck design is the evolution of the successful GT deck concept that was applied the first time on the award-winning SW105 GT Taniwha but with several new details that have been designed specifically to meet the owner’s requests. Clear, uncluttered positioning of the deck equipment allows for easy circulation on deck with the mainsheet traveller track pushed aft as far as possible to reduce loads and the steering positions placed more forward and outboard for better visibility and control of the sails.”

Comfortable and cozy, Nyumba’s interiors feature the Southern Wind owner’s cabin forward layout with two guest cabins amidships, while crew quarters and galley are positioned aft. Her main saloon is a light, bright and open space customized to meet the needs of the clients’ live-aboard use of the yacht, as Marco Alberti confirms: “All of the owner’s previous boats have been called Nyumba, a Swahili word meaning “house” or “home”. I believe Southern Wind succeeded in giving Nyumba a real feeling of a home away from home by working closely with the owner’s wife and allowing for a very high level of customization in the design and decoration of the interior.”

The post First Hybrid Southern Wind SW96 Nyumba Launched appeared first on Sail Universe.

Two fifty-footers presenting distinctly different formats for personalized family-and-friends performance bluewater sailing. The Contest 49CS is the first twin aft cabin Contest at this length and both the 49CS and 50CS are Contest’s first yachts with the option of all-electric propulsion, engineered with a completely new Torqeedo and BMW-based system delivering true bluewater range.

After the two-year break owing to the pandemic, Contest Yachts CEO Arjen Conijn says, “It’s so great to have this show running again and to be back exhibiting two such exciting new models. As well as the variations in deck layout, these brand-new Contests 49CS and 50CS introduce two very different approaches to interior and exterior configuration, all within a really perfected judel/vrolijk drawn hull. The result is clear: optimal performance and uncompromising comfort at rest and underway and exquisite engineering and outfitting. And the space, particularly in the 49CS twin aft cabins, just unimaginable before now and certainly never outfitted at this level of craftsmanship. We’re looking forward to welcoming visitors aboard.”

In the Contest 49CS, the yard developed something new, different and yet reassuringly consistent with Contest credentials. A natural twin-aft-cabin step up they’ve not had from the aft-cockpit Contest 42CS before, it’s equally a new step into the Contest range for sailors preferring their master suite forward and family or guest cabins in the back. And what aft cabins these are. With full headroom running almost throughout they’re on a scale never seen at this end of the 50ft sailing sector. 

Yet still, they have a very impressive tender garage, spacious aft deck, and loads of storage throughout the cabins which enjoy the latest design-styling and detailing from the Wetzels Brown Partners studio. The introductions are many and include new ergonomic luxury furnishings from the clever sofa and recliner arrangement to joinery detailing including optional ribbed timber bulkheads. 

Contest 50CS

The all-new centre-cockpit Contest 50CS shares this approach, too, presenting not just beautifully but practically, replacing as it does the original, very successful model of the same 50CS name. Ease of handling for couples and excellent storage have always been key to the previous model’s many world-sailing adventures and now in the new 50CS full advantage is made of the many advances in design and technology. The owner chooses how far to go, and with the option of bowsprit-integrated Code 0 furler, the nautical miles roll by in even the lightest winds.

For both the Contest 49CS and the Contest 50CS, judel/vrolijk & co’s balancing of modern topside height and max beam carried well aft, the exceptional space includes extra tall standing headroom throughout and the new extra-width saloon brings a whole new freshness and sea-practical sophistication. Natural and mood lighting is meantime cleverly integrated into the Lloyds Register-certified structure and outfitting. And this even includes for the 50CS’s aft master cabin a smart wide window set into the transom which externally features an integral moulded stairway for bathing and boarding the tender. Ingenious!

So, two approaches in two new models with a significant opportunity for long-range, all-electric propulsion, making a personal choice the first choice.

The post Contest Yachts ready for a Double Debut at Boot 2023 appeared first on Sail Universe.

For anyone who has spent any time around boats, sailing might stand out as one of the most interesting and rewarding pastimes there is. Sailing is a historic activity, rooted in the past of humanity, and yet still very prevalent in the present, and is widespread across the globe, with cultural variations making it special wherever you go. Discover why we love sailing!

1) History

Perhaps the most important and precious thing about sailing is its history. Man’s bravery and ingenuity in finding ways to cross vast stretches of water which would otherwise have proved a great obstacle is something we perhaps forget with modern technology, but sailing has been part of our past for uncountable years.

2) Escape

Sailboats truly offer an escape from the rest of the world, from the hustle of everyday life. Living in a sailboat is one way in which you can truly be alone, undisturbed by surrounding noise, by people coming to the door, by the phone ringing, and the computer filling up with emails. While technology is making it increasingly possible to keep in touch with the sea if you choose to, sailing still provides a buffer between you and the rest of the world, giving you time to retreat and escape when you need to, so you can clear your mind and revitalize yourself for upcoming challenges.

3) Family

Time with family and friends aboard a sailboat is unique. Everyone is working together to keep the boat running smoothly, and it’s a surprisingly unifying process in which one common goal gets everyone talking and communicating. The isolation from the rest of the world also gives people a chance to be in the moment and appreciate each other fully, without day-to-day cares causing tension.

Video: Why do you love sailing?

4) Freedom

The freedom of seeing the world without traffic jams, airport queues, and unreliable public transport is amazing. Sailing around lets you avoid all the rush and chaos of our very full cities, and take in the world at a relaxed pace without the pressure of someone driving too close behind.

5) Passion

A chance to get to know others who love sailing; there’s a close-knit community in which advice and help are abundant, so sailing is a great way to make new friends. It’s an opportunity to learn skills, enjoy a hands-on activity, and become part of a welcoming group.

6) Nature

Sailing is an amazing way to get more in touch with nature; it puts you into contact with wildlife and fantastic scenery and is in itself eco-friendly, not polluting the sea at the same time as enjoying it. Depending on where you sail, you might see some incredible animals, and even get up close to them.

7) Co-Working

It’s an inclusive activity that anyone can take part in and enjoy, whether they are young, old, physically fit, or disabled. You can engage anyone, giving them simple tasks if they’re beginners, or more complicated ones if they’re experienced, so everyone onboard can feel like they’re contributing and working together as a unified group to make an amazing day out.

And you? Let us know why you love sailing!

The post 7 Words to Explain Why We Love Sailing appeared first on Sail Universe.

Jana Germani and Giorgia Bertuzzi are two young athletes with similar sailing backgrounds and few years of experience in the 49er FX class. And they have a dream: to take part in the Paris Olympic Games 2024. We met them!

Your team is very young, but you have the same common goal: the pass for the Paris Olympics Games 2024. Please let us know something more about your dream!  

Our journey began one year ago, even if we had really small time our ideas and goals were really clear. The Covid pandemics gave us an opportunity, because of it we gained time to train and be ready. We used the summer in the best way possible to train a lot, improve and be prepared for the few regattas of the calendar. At the Italian Championships in Follonica, then at Kieler Woche in Kiel and at the European Championship in Attersee we earned anzi g results, which was a demonstration of the amazing work done previously. We got 1st place at the Italian Championship, 1st place U23 in both the international events, and 6th overall in Kiel and 9th overall in Attersee. From that moment we knew that qualifying for Tokyo 2021 was a concrete dream. We never gave up, and we are still working hard for this goal, which is always coming closer and closer. We hope there will be an event to allow us to qualify, since the regatta in Palma which was valid for the qualification was post po ed due to covid. We also hope that they will be able to host the Games this year anyway, with or without us. We are young team, and we will for sure be at Paris 2024.

How is your typical training day?

Our typical training day consists in a good and nice breakfast in the morning. Then we go to the sailing club to do some small works on the boat, maintenance and improving systems. Once the boat is ready, we change and we go out for 2-3 hours of training. The time on the boat is for sure the most exciting part of the day. After that we go to the gym, which is important and helpful to make the boat work easier. Once we are home we analyze the day, we watch videos,  we talk about our sensations and impressions. Another key moment of our routine is the rest, it is very important to charge our batteries to be always ready for training days.

The 49er FX is a fast and very technical boat: what are your strengths?

The 49er FX is super fast and technical boat. Our strengths are for sure the ability to adapt our sailing to all conditions, and the fast response that we have from each situation we face. It is always us controlling the boat and never viceversa, this is really important and it allows us to sail always at the best. Both of us are direct and aggressive type of person, and that reflects also on our sailing. In string situation we find ourself in the sweet spot, it is our favorite condition, but we are also sharping our skills in the light wind without loosing our aggressiveness when needed.

How important are the sponsors in this Paris Olympic Games 2024 Campaign?

During the Olympic Campaign sponsors are really important. Good sponsorships permits you to make a bit more compared to the others which will be the new of success in the regattas. The technical sponsors help a lot with the equipment, and the economic sponsors help with the expenses, which in this class are really high. Luckily we have good sponsors, and we are always looking forward to find new ones. We have a manager who is taking care of them, and it is always searching people interested in supporting our project. If you are interested in us, or you want to know more check out our Instagram page: @janagiorgiasaling. If you want get in contact you will find all the info on Instagram. 
We are thankful to Armare Ropes for all the ropes, Allen Sailing for the pulleys, Murphy’s for the sticks, Motomarine for all the materials to fix the boat, Oakley, and Speck Stube Malcesine and our Clubs for the support.

Last but not least, our classic question: what does it mean “sailing” for you?

Sailing for us is something normal, natural and easy, which is part of us since we were young. Sailing give us a type of freedom that a lot of people can’t even imagine, air and water are our elements, and we take care of them and the nature because we need them to keep enjoying our passion. Sailing is what we do, what makes us happy, and what we love. In other words sailing is life for us.

The post Jana and Giorgia: “Sailing is What We Do and Makes Us Happy” appeared first on Sail Universe.

#IStayAtHome is the hashtag representing this difficult time when we all have to stay at home and cannot go out. This now applies to everyone in the world, not just people like me who live in Milan, in northern Italy, the region where the epidemic has hit hardest in the past few weeks. COVID-19 is everyone’s problem.

And yet this forced seclusion reminds me of something. I love sailing, and when I was younger, I had the good fortune to go on a lot of long sailing trips and transoceanic voyages. This forced immobility reminds me of those experiences. I don’t mean I can see the ocean waves around me: I’m not crazy. But…

When I lived on board a boat for days on end, that 12 or 13 metre hull was all my living space, my whole world. And it didn’t matter if there were three of us or seven of us on board. Spaces that might have seemed claustrophobic to many people were perfect for me. I was, no doubt, lucky to feel this way. 

Today, I feel the same. The living room is my mess cabin, the bedroom my bunk, my balcony is my cockpit. This allows me to get through these difficult weeks with a tranquillity not everyone can find. Of course the fact that I can continue to work from home helps pass the time; I don’t have to keep coming up with ways of keeping myself busy.

My wife has always viewed sailing as a short vacation, anchoring and going ashore to visit the towns along the coast. I tried to explain to her how I feel. She looked at me as if I were crazy, shaking her head in resignation, just as she did when I told her of my nights spent at the helm, wrapped up in raingear.

No, you can’t understand, unless you’re a sailor like me. But if you are, perhaps you can understand how I feel. So let’s keep using the hashtag #IStayAtHome

Because it’s only right to stay at home now. This is what we can do to help, and to make sure we will soon get back to scrutinising the waves in search of the breeze.

The post #IStayAtHome as if I’m Living on a Sailboat appeared first on Sail Universe.

Greta and Michael are two travel addicts who decided that travel, not work should be at the center of their life. The idea became reality as they bought For.Tuna, our 39ft sailboat. We met them.

Please, tell us a little about yourself. 

We are an Italian couple who loves to travel without impacting the nature we want to discover. We both worked for the same company before we decided to go.

How it started your adventure?

We were living in Finland when we decided to make travel a significant focus in our lives. Moreover, we decided that we would like to impact as little as possible the world we want to discover. After looking at different possibilities, we decided to turn our passion for the sea and sailing to our lifestyle.

Which kind of boat is for.tuna?

Fortuna is a beautiful blue sailing vessel of 39feet. We love her because she is the perfect mix between sailing performance and comfortable living. She is a Beneteau Oceanis 393 build in 2003 featuring one mainsail and one Genoa. Currently, we are thinking about buying a new sail but can not decide if we should go for a gennaker or a spinnaker.

A lot of people dream of living like you, but they are afraid. What advice can you give them?

Take it step by step. No one ever did anything in a day or a week, but we all can accomplish amazing things in the right time frame. Start by getting acquainted with sailing, try to live on a boat for some weeks, and see if its really for you. If you are still convinced its the way you want to live figure out the financials and jump in. The rest will fall into place.

You’re sailing around the Mediterranean Sea. And in the future?

2020 will be the year we cross the Atlantic ocean. We are already super excited and spent most of our time preparing us and the boat for it. Currently, we are in Israel, so before crossing the Atlantic, we still have to cross the whole Mediterranean Sea to reach the Canaries.

Our classic question: what does it mean “sailing” for you?

Quietness. There is no better feeling then when you can turn off the motor and just sail. The calmness you experience at that moment is “louder” than anything we ever experienced. 

Follow the adventures of When Sailing crew!

The post “There’s No Better Feeling Then When You Turn Off The Motor and Just Sail” appeared first on Sail Universe.

Sailing alone

It may seem daunting at first but many say this is one of the most rewarding experiences they’ve had. Giving people time to be themselves, doing exactly what they want without a care in the world while they sail off into the sunset.

1. Confidence

Sailing alone will undoubtedly leave you will a sense of satisfaction and confidence. It’s become a highly competitive sport in recent years, so if you’re good enough, why not try your hand?

2. Rules

One of the major things to remember if you decide to go it alone is that you’ll have to be strict on yourself. Making sure you stick to the rules and the routines of the sail is one of the key safety factors in sailing, and one slip up could see you in serious trouble.

3. Complete competence

If you’re sailing alone it means you know everything there is to know about your boat, and sailing in general. And so you can then take great pride in the fact that you’ve not only conquered the sea and successfully completed your journey, but you are master-at-sea.

4. Speed

Fewer people means less weight, simple as that. If you only have yourself on board then you’ll be free to go as fast as you like (or the wind will take you). More people can add complications along with extra weight which means you won’t be getting anywhere fast.

5. Self-sufficiency

If you’re a lone sailor then you are one of the few people who can really claim to be self-sufficient. You have everything you need to survive on board and you only have yourself to be responsible for… what could be better?

Taking a crew

Having a few people around you can mean you’ll be sure to have a great time while out at sea, with jokes and conversation your days won’t seem half as long.

We totally love sailing. And you?

1. Company

This is the main reason why people chose to pick a crew before they head out to sea. You have to think about your mental state, especially if it’s a long sailing trip that you’re embarking on. Having people to bounce ideas off is invaluable when you find yourself in a highly pressured situation or even when you’re going through a long quiet stretch of sea.

2. Time

All the jobs that need doing on board will take half the time, and if you find which jobs you each like doing you may find that there’s no need for you to spend your time doing the things that you don’t enjoy.

3. Improvement

With other people on board, you’ll find that you naturally pick up more tips and tricks to sailing. Meaning you’ll dock with a few more handy skills than you set off with.

4. Teamwork

With a crew you’ll find that a unique bonding will occur, that can only be formed when you’ve been there for each other in difficult or hectic times.

5. Fun

Finally, having more people on the boat means you’ll tend to have more fun times rather than quiet contemplation. With the beautiful scenery and the feeling of freedom, how could it go wrong?

Love sailing? Why? Why do you love to sail? What is it about being on a boat that drives you to keep coming back?

The post 5 Reasons Why I Love Sailing Singlehanded And 5 Reasons Why I Need A Crew appeared first on Sail Universe.

Onne van der Wal is one of the most talented marine photographers in the sailing world. He was born in Holland on February 24, 1956 and raised in Hout Bay, South Africa. He learned to sail aboard his grandfather’s boat before he could walk. After he progressed through youth sailing training programs, he discovered his passion: ocean racing.

As the bowman and engineer aboard the Dutch maxi-boat Flyer, van der Wal won all four legs of the 1981-82 Whitbread Round the World Race. Along the way, he took his camera with him everywhere he went, even to the top of the mast and the end of the spinnaker pole. We met him.

Please tell us something about your younger days, to help us understand how your passion for sailing began.

I was born in the Netherlands; this was where my grandfather sailed, and where my father learned to sail as well. My mother’s father was very keen to spend time on the water and liked to sail and fish, always on the lakes and the canals in Holland. When my father joined the family, he learned to sail – and then, of course, at a very young age they took me along. Almost before I could even walk, I was already sailing on those typical Dutch boats.

In 1959 when I was two years’ old, we took an immigrant ship from Amsterdam to Cape Town, where we started our new life in South Africa. We had a lot of sailing opportunities there; later on my youngest brother also sailed often, and we raced Lasers againt each other. I then got involved with keelboats in South Africa, which were more appealing for me than the dinghy boats. Sailing dinghys was always very cold and wet for me…

You participated (and won all four legs…) on the 1981-82 Whitbread Round the World Race onboard Flyer. How has this experience been important for your work?

I started sailing in Cape Town on the keelboats at the Royal Cape Yacht Club. We were at the Yacht Club: some of those boats raced, and some of them were used for cruising. A guy next door saw me always working on the cruising boat, and he said ‘you should come and race with us’. I told him ‘yes, but I don’t know how to race’, to which he replied ‘I’ll show you’. I raced, and I loved it.

Someone that sailed with him took me on a bigger boat, a 72 feet ketch, so I went on and raced on that. At the point I received the offer for a spot to do the Cape to Uruguay race in 1979: I went along as a watch captain and the starting helmsman. I did three transatlantic passages on that boat. I did a lot of miles, and I love being offshore, but I was always very keen because when the second Whitbread came through Cape Town in 1977, I was down at the RCYC and I saw them coming in to Cape Town, and it made a huge impression on me. And I went sailing on Great Britain 2 for a day sail, a 77 footer, that really made a big impression on me. And so I thought ‘well I’m going to do more racing’. So I went to England, and I raced in 1979 in Cowes week and Fastnet race, I sailed on Sleuth, an American boat 54 ft Frers sloop.

At one point, I decided to write to Conny van Rietschoten, who was the owner of Flyer a note. As you may know he won the race in 1977 with the first Flyer, and I said to him I would love to be part of his new boat. And so he wrote me a letter in 1980: ‘I’m coming to the United States that summer, why don’t we get together?’.

He was looking for crew with extensive offshore experiencebut was also looking for guys with a specialty: a rigger, a sailmaker, a doctor, an engineer, a navigator… I studied as a machinist in South Africa and he loved the idea that I could fix and make things, take them apart and put them back together, so he said ‘I should take you along as my engineer’. In any case, before the end of the dinner, he stuck his hand out. He said ‘I’ll see you at Huisman Shipyard in Holland in February’to help us complete the boat: that’s how I got on to Flyer.

Okay. And so during the Whitbread, you were also the photographer. It could be said your career started there, right?

Correct. There is a nice little story that goes with that, as we were in Marblehead on Flyer II, so I joined the boat in Holland. We sailed to Portugal and then across the Atlantic and on to Marblehead. We were at anchor in the harbor, and there were three guys on a little rowboat that came out to take a look at the boat. They were the publishers and the editor of Sail magazine. I showed them the whole boat, and at the end of the tour, I said ‘oh will you look at some of my work’, and I had colorful strips of slide film. Keith Taylor, the editor, had a look and held them up to the light; he asked ‘this is really interesting stuff, can I take it with me?’ He got back to me the next day, and he said ‘we’d like to ask you to shoot for Sail Magazine during the round-the-world race on Flyer. So on board Flyer I was the first OBR… the bowman and also the engineer. I did a lot on board!

You are an ambassador for Canon which is called A Canon Explorer of Light. How did the digital cameras change the way to take a picture?

I don’t think that the way to take a picture has changed at all between the way I took a picture on film and the way I took the picture now in digital. Except maybe that I don’t take quite as many actuations or actual clicks, I actually push the button less now with digital, as it’s easier to see what you’re actually capturing and if you’re getting the right exposure. Then when I’m on the computer, it’s easy to make a few little adjustments to make it perfect.

With film, you didn’t know what you were doing in the way of the exposure. You had a good idea in depth of field and camera shake and all that stuff, but with a digital now, you can really see what you’re doing, and it enables you to work a lot more accurately. The camera that I’m using today looks exactly the same on the front to the camera that I was using 25 years ago, the Canon EOS 1. But when you look at the back, obviously now we have a little window and before we had a little door for film, but the camera is still exactly the same.

The big change came in the digital darkroom where one spends hours on the computer, and that was sometimes a little hard and tiring and not much fun. But a big advantage of the digital now is when I send images to a client or a magazine or a boat builder, and they lose them, I can just send them another copy. Or if I have one really great shot I can send it to six people at the same time: I could never do that with slide film, and if somebody’s lost a slide it was gone forever, whereas now with digital you always have a copy, so that’s a big advantage.

What is an advice that would you would give to a boy who dreams to start a career as a photographer?

Obviously, today, it’s a lot harder to start a career as a photographer because there are so many people out there shooting. And you know it’s easier to shoot a picture today with a digital camera than it was with a film camera. So there are many more people out there on the water shooting sailboat racing. But if a kid has a good eye, and they’re prepared to work hard at it and put aside at least five years to sort of just live on pizza and drink cheap beer, then maybe you can make a go at it. But I see a lot of people out there who are doing it, and I know some very good younger photographers who have not really given up but are having a very hard time to try.

So, to have a good eye remains the most important thing?

Absolutely yes: without that, you’re lost. No matter how good your gear is, if you don’t know where to point it, then it’s useless.

You sailed and shot more or less all around the world, can you mention as few of your favorite places to sail?

I think the Bahamas is one of the my favorite places, and I love the high latitudes of the Arctic and Sub Antarctic southern latitudes. I just spent time these past two summers in Greenland, one with a client and one leading a photo workshop. I going back to Greenland again in August of 2020 to lead another workshop. It’s just very clean up there, you know it’s a little cooler, but it’s not super cold and the photography up there is so dramatic.

So going up to Greenland or Iceland, or the Arctic regions of Russia and Alaska. And then also going down South to Antarctica and to South Georgia, the South Antarctica islands and Patagonia. I think the high latitudes stuff is really my favorite. And then secondly, I will say the more remote regions of the South Pacific.

And could you tell me which is one of your images that you love the most and why?

One shot that comes to mind is a shot that I took from the third set of spreaders on a boat called Shaman, during my first trip to Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic in 1998. I was looking down at the deck, and we had positioned the boat in front of an iceberg. You can see my sailing boots in the picture, just my toes, and then you can see the deck, and you can see the iceberg. Remember, you can see the horizon from up there, and it just really captures the spirit of that area.

Now, our classical final question:  what does sailing mean for you?

When I think of sailing, I think of sailing on my own boat: I have a 36-foot sailboat, and it just means getting away from everybody and the noise. No engine, just sailing along and healing over and just enjoying the fresh breeze and smelling the air, and enjoying the peace and quiet of nature.

Do you need to know more about Onne van der Wal? His official website is here!

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