Day 3: Soaked Cameras, Dying Batteries and Some Rather Good Photographs

By Andrea Azzopardi

There are days when everything just comes together.

The light, the wind, the waves, the boats. Everything.

And then there are days when all of that comes together while you’re being absolutely drenched in saltwater, holding several thousand euros’ worth of camera equipment, and wondering whether you’ve made some questionable decisions.

Today was both.

It was the Yachting Malta Coastal Race, the traditional warm-up before the Rolex Middle Sea Race, and quite possibly one of the best days I’ve ever had behind a camera.

The original plan was fairly straightforward. Head out on a RIB, photograph the starts, follow the fleet north towards Comino, and hopefully come home with some lovely shots.

Naturally, plans changed.

Given the conditions, we decided to photograph the starts from the water, head back to the Royal Malta Yacht Club, jump in the car, and drive north to photograph the fleet from the air as they made their way through the Comino Channel.

A rather ambitious plan, admittedly. But we had a good team.

I was working alongside Alice Callow, who handles the video side of things while I concentrate on photography. We’ve developed a rather good system. She films, I shoot, we help each other wherever possible, and occasionally one of us has a slightly ridiculous idea that the other somehow agrees to.

Today, that system worked brilliantly.

From the moment we got out on the water, I knew we were in for something special.

The conditions were magnificent. Proper breeze, beautiful waves, gorgeous light, and some of the most spectacular racing yachts in the world charging through it all.

For a photographer, it was Christmas.

For the cameras, considerably less so.

We followed the starting groups out towards the Fairway Mark, positioning ourselves to catch the boats as they powered through the waves.

And my God, did we get some photographs.

Spray flying everywhere, bows punching through the water, crews working flat out. It was everything I love about photographing sailing.

There was, however, one minor inconvenience.

The sea.

More specifically, the considerable amount of it that ended up on me and on my kit.

By the time we headed back, I was absolutely soaking wet. My camera was dripping, my clothes were drenched, and I had enough salt on me to season a respectable quantity of chips.

What made the morning even more special was that I was the only photographer out on the water. Which meant those particular moments, those angles, and those conditions were mine to capture.

No pressure, then.

And then came the drone.

After returning to the Club, we jumped in the car and headed north to catch the fleet approaching the Comino Channel.

Now, I’ve photographed plenty of boats with a drone. But today was something else.

With the conditions, the light, and the zoom capabilities of the Mavic 4 Pro, it genuinely felt like I was hanging out of a helicopter.

Only without the helicopter.

Or its rather frightening operating costs.

The perspective was extraordinary. Seeing these yachts slicing through the water from above, with their hulls carving through the waves, was something I could have watched for hours.

And then came Balthasar.

I managed to capture what I think is one of my favourite photographs of the entire event, possibly even of the year. A beautiful bow-on shot, with the boat charging through the water and the bowman out on the bowsprit.

Everything just lined up.

The angle, the action, the waves. One of those moments where you see the image forming on the screen and immediately know you’ve got something special.

Unfortunately, I was enjoying myself a little too much.

Because while I was concentrating on getting that perfect shot, I had completely forgotten about one rather important detail.

The battery.

My drone was approximately 1.5 kilometres away, downwind, with about 20% remaining.

And between us was 20–25 knots of breeze.

Wonderful.

What followed was a rather tense flight back, watching the battery percentage drop while the drone battled its way upwind.

I landed with approximately 4–5% remaining.

Not my finest display of battery management.

Certainly not something I’d recommend repeating.

But the photographs?

Absolutely worth the effort. Although perhaps next time with a little more battery remaining.

From saltwater to sandstone.

After all that excitement, it was back to the Royal Malta Yacht Club, where the next challenge was getting the photographs selected, edited, and delivered to the social media team as quickly as possible.

And then, just as I was beginning to think about sitting down, it was time for another shoot.

The owners’ reception and Coastal Race prize-giving in Mdina.

Quite the change of scenery.

One minute I was being assaulted by waves on a RIB, and the next I was standing in the beautiful surroundings of the Cathedral Museum, surrounded by historic architecture, paintings, and artefacts.

Now, as some of you may know, I’m also an architect.

So naturally, I got a little distracted.

The rooms, the details, the craftsmanship. Absolutely beautiful. I could quite happily have spent the evening wandering around looking at the building rather than photographing the event I was actually there to cover.

But something happened that made the evening particularly special.

My photographs from earlier in the day were on the screens.

People were stopping to look at them.

And then the compliments started.

“Who took those photographs?”

“Did you take these?”

“These are incredible!”

Now, I won’t pretend that didn’t feel good.

Because it really, really did.

There’s something rather surreal about spending your morning getting absolutely battered by the sea, desperately trying to keep your camera dry, and then, just a few hours later, watching people admire the results.

You spend so much time concentrating on getting the photograph that you sometimes forget what happens after you press the shutter.

Seeing people enjoy the images, and hearing their reactions, genuinely meant a lot.

It’s moments like those that remind me how fortunate I am to do what I do.

I’ve grown up around this race. I’ve followed it, sailed it, and now I have the opportunity to document it from perspectives I once could only have dreamed of.

And today, I got to capture some moments that nobody else could quite see from where I was.

That’s something I’m incredibly grateful for.

Anyway, it’s now midnight.

I’m finally heading home after what feels like several days compressed into one.

I’ve still got photographs to edit, including tonight’s reception, which I deliberately photographed without flash because I didn’t want to destroy the beautiful atmosphere of the venue.

A lovely artistic decision.

One that my rather ancient laptop will undoubtedly punish me for when I try running everything through noise reduction.

If you want to see the results of today’s adventures, head over to the Rolex Middle Sea Race socials. The photographs are there, and I think they tell the story far better than I ever could.

I’m exhausted, I’m probably still slightly salty, and I have absolutely no idea when I’ll get to bed.

But I’d do it all again tomorrow.

Well, I probably will. Let’s see.