Photoessay: Swiss Surprise Championship

Swiss Surprise Championship

I know nothing about sailing, except that if the air flows along a curved path (sailing close-hauled), there will be a pressure gradient perpendicular to the flow direction, which together with the keel resisting the lateral forces, causes the boat to sail upwind. But there is theory and practice; in a once and never again attempt I drifted to the other side of a small lake and had to walk back.

Though it helps to know something of your subject (and the rules of a regatta) before taking up a photographic assignment, it can be fun to get out of your comfort zone. There is no such concept as slowing down, to which I normally adhere to, when you stand on an unstable zodiac, the subjects are moving, and you must compose and focus hoping not to be washed overboard with the equipment around your neck.

The images of this post were taken on the occasion of the Swiss Surprise Championship 2018, organized by the Yachting Club of CERN in collaboration with the Club Nautique de Versoix on Lake Geneva. More than twenty teams competed in twelve races spread over four days. It’s perhaps worth mentioning that “surprise” denotes a boat class, designed by M. Joubert in 1976, with a 7.65-meter length over all, main and headsails of 16.5 and 11 m², for a team of six but versatile enough to be piloted by the skipper alone. The boat was originally designed as a family yacht (with four berths) but turned out, by surprise, more sportive than intended.

The photoshoot as well, turned out to be more sportive than expected. SR

The images were taken with the Olympus OM-D Mk II with the 12-40 f/2.8 Pro, and the D810 with the 70-200 f/2.8 FL.