It was late afternoon in September when we took off. The helicopter crossed the old harbour of Saint-Tropez and headed out to sea, where Hanuman and Rainbow were racing.
What I remember first is the contrast. The sea was dark blue, the mainsails almost black, and in between the white spinnakers. I had never seen the J Class like this before.
It was also the first time I photographed them in high resolution medium format. You see everything in these files, down to the teak planks and the winches. From a helicopter this makes things harder.
Sharp from the masthead to the wave
From the helicopter I look straight down. The top of the mast is much closer to me than the deck, and the deck is closer than the waves around the hull. I wanted all of it sharp. That needs a lot of depth of field, DOF in photography language.
With medium format you get less of it at the same aperture. So I had to stop down a lot, and for that I needed light. I also needed a fast shutter, because the helicopter vibrates and the yachts were moving fast.
I was expecting more light up there. Clouds kept moving in between us, the yachts and the sun, and the light changed all the time. Sometimes I had sun on one frame and shade on the next, a few seconds later.
Back home I first had to get used to the files. So much dark, and then this white gennaker in the middle of it. It took me a while to appreciate how unique the deep blue and the white sail are.
I love this contrast. For me the white spinnaker is the light in these pictures, and a symbol of harvesting the natural energy of the wind.
A long history
Both yachts go back to the America's Cup of the 1930s. Hanuman, sailing as K6, was built in 2009 by Royal Huisman on the lines Charles E. Nicholson drew in 1937 for Endeavour II. Endeavour II challenged for the Cup that year and lost to Ranger.
Rainbow, sailing as H2, was built in 2012 by Holland Jachtbouw on the 1934 design by Starling Burgess. The original Rainbow was commissioned by Harold Vanderbilt, defended the Cup against Endeavour and was scrapped in 1940. Both new boats were drawn by Dykstra.
What fascinates me is how these boats are looked after. They are new boats, with aluminium hulls and carbon rigs, and Rainbow even has a hybrid drive. The crews keep them in perfect condition. The shape is still the one from the 1930s, and from above you see those lines very clearly.
The photographs are available as a limited edition, up to 3 metres wide. View the sailing collection.
Camera: Fujifilm GFX 100 with the GF 100 to 200 mm lens, medium format.
