Flight Risk Sailing

⛵️🚁 TASSIE SAILORS — YOU’RE CALLING THE SHOTS! 🚁⛵️

FLIGHT RISK SAILING IS BACK… and now we want to know what YOU want to see from the air this coming season! 🔥

We’re putting together our plans for the season and want to make sure we’re getting to the races you actually want covered.

📸 Epic aerial race photography
🎥 High-quality race video & highlights
💨 Spinnakers flying
🔥 Close battles & mark roundings
🌊 Big fleets ripping around the Derwent
🏆 And those moments you never get to see from the deck!

👇 SO TELL US — WHAT RACES SHOULD WE COVER?

Drop the race name, series or event in the comments! ⬇️

Whether it’s a big fleet race, twilight series, offshore event, club racing, championship or a particular race you absolutely DON’T want us to miss…

WE WANT TO HEAR IT.

And tag the crew who need to see their boat from above! 😎⛵️

❤️ LIKE if you’re excited to see Flight Risk Sailing back in the sky
💬 COMMENT your must-cover races
👥 TAG your crew
🔄 SHARE this with your sailing mates

YOU ASKED US TO COME BACK…

NOW HELP US DECIDE WHERE WE FLY FIRST. 🚁🔥

Flight Risk Sailing — The racing. The action. The big picture. From a perspective you can’t get from the water.

🔥 TASSIE… WE’RE BACK! 🔥🚁⛵️
YOU DID IT. 100 LIKES. 💯
I put the challenge out there… and Tasmania answered.
So I can officially say:
🚁 FLIGHT RISK SAILING IS COMING BACK! 🚁
It’s been a while since you’ve seen Tasmanian sailing from above — the fleets, the battles, the mark roundings, the spinnakers, the chaos, the beauty… and YOUR boats absolutely sending it.
Now it’s time to bring it back. 📸🎥
But this time, I want to take it up another level.
🔥 Aerial race photography
🎥 High-quality race video & highlights
⛵️ Training & tempo sessions
Twilights, long races, over night races
🌊 Big fleets from above
💨 Tassie conditions captured properly
🏆 Your boat. Your crew. Your moment.
And I want YOU to help decide where we go first.
👇 COMMENT YOUR BOAT NAME!
👇 TAG YOUR CREW!
👇 TELL US WHICH RACES YOU WANT TO SEE FROM THE AIR!
If you’re stoked that Flight Risk Sailing is coming back…
❤️ HIT THAT LIKE BUTTON!
Then SHARE THIS WITH YOUR CREW because I want every sailor in Tasmania to know…
THE DRONE IS GOING BACK UP. 🚁

100 likes got us started.
Now let’s make Flight Risk Sailing bigger than it’s ever been.

THE RACING. THE ACTION. THE BIG PICTURE.
FROM A PERSPECTIVE YOU CAN’T GET FROM THE WATER.

TASMANIAN SAILORS — LET’S MAKE THIS HAPPEN! 🚨⛵️📸🎥

A few of you have already said you’d LOVE to see Flight Risk Sailing back in the air, capturing Tasmanian racing and training days from a perspective you simply can’t get from the water.

So here’s the deal…

100 LIKES = I’LL DO IT! 🔥

If this post hits 100 likes, I’ll take that as a sign that Tasmania wants Flight Risk Sailing back, and I’ll invest in another drone and the equipment needed to get back out there capturing:

📸 Epic aerial race photography
🎥 High-quality race video & highlights
⛵️ Training days & tempo sessions
🌊 Big fleets, close racing & those crazy Tassie conditions
🏆 And hopefully plenty of boats seeing themselves from above again!

I’m not going to invest the money unless I know there’s enough interest — so this is entirely up to you guys.

👉 LIKE THIS POST if you want Flight Risk Sailing back in the sky.
👉 COMMENT with your boat name.
👉 TAG your crew and sailing mates.
👉 And SHARE it into your sailing groups!

100 LIKES… AND WE FLY AGAIN. 🚁⛵️🔥

Let’s see if Tasmania is ready for Flight Risk Sailing 2.0.

The races. The action. The big picture.
From a perspective you can’t get from the water.

TASMANIA… HAVE YOU MISSED THIS?🎥📷🚁⛵️

For those of you who’ve been around the Tasmanian sailing scene for a while, you might remember Flight Risk Sailing bringing you something a little different…

📸 Sailing races from the air.
🎥 The action you don’t see from the deck.
🌊 Tasmania’s best racing captured from above.
⛵️ Close battles. Big boats. Tight mark roundings. Wild conditions. And those moments that make sailing absolutely addictive.

But it’s been a while…

So I want to ask the sailors, crews, families, supporters and sailing tragics of Tasmania:

DO YOU MISS SEEING TASMANIAN RACING FROM THE AIR?
👀

Would you like to see Flight Risk Sailing back in the sky, capturing local races again in high-quality aerial photos AND video?
Imagine scrolling through your feed after race day and seeing:
🔥 Your boat absolutely pinned
🔥 Two boats battling inches apart at the mark
🔥 The fleet charging up the Derwent
🔥 Spinnakers flying in a proper Tassie breeze
🔥 Those epic tactical moments from a perspective you simply can’t get from the water
And yes… your boat could be in the spotlight. 😎⛵️📸

I’m seriously thinking about bringing Flight Risk Sailing back — bigger, better and with VIDEO as well as the aerial photography.
But before I put the wheels in motion, I want to know…

👇 WHO WANTS IT BACK?
If you’d love to see Tasmanian sailing races photographed and filmed from the air again, hit ❤️, drop a comment or tag your crew below.

And tell me what you’d rather see:
Aerial race photography
Race video & highlights
Both!

Let’s see if Tasmania is ready to FLY AGAIN.

Flight Risk Sailing — Racing from a perspective you can’t get from the water.

A few snaps from Dark M**o

The Heartbeat of the Derwent
There’s a silence that happens in the middle of a long race.

It’s not a lack of noise—the wind is howling and the hull is thrumming—but a silence of the mind.

You stop thinking and start feeling.

As a sailor, my world is defined by the tension of a line.

As a photographer, it’s defined by the tension of a frame. In this shot, those two worlds finally shook hands.

Why I let the colors fade
I chose to strip away the blues and greens of the Tasmanian coast because, in the heat of a race, the scenery is just a ghost.

• The Weight of the Water: By removing the color, the Derwent reveals its true character. It’s no longer "pretty" water; it’s a living, breathing sculpture of power and friction. You can feel the cold in the greyscale.

• The Pulse of the Sail: I kept the red because it represents the life of the moment. It’s the adrenaline. It’s the "engine" that’s pulling us toward the finish line. Everything else is secondary to that curve of nylon catching the light.

• The Truth of the Chase: In a long haul, you get tunnel vision. The hills of Hobart become a silhouette and the sky becomes a canvas. I wanted to show you exactly what I see when I’m behind the lens: a world that is vast and grey, punctuated by the vibrant, defiant spirit of a boat at full tilt.

This isn't just a photo of a boat. It’s a photo of what it feels like to be alive on the water.

Salt in the Lens, Heart in the Helm

They say you can’t stand in the same river twice, and on the Derwent, that truth is a physical force.

One moment, the water is an eerie, silver mirror—so still you can hear a sail tacking from a mile away.

Then, with a sudden shift of the shadows over the hills, the mirror shatters. The "glass" turns to "teeth," and the river begins to bite.

This is where my two greatest loves find their common ground.

As a sailor, I’m feeling for the vibration in the tiller, anticipating the lean of the boat as we hit the chop.

But as a photographer, I’m watching for the architecture of the ocean. I’m looking for that fleeting, fractured second where the Derwent decides to throw a crown of saltwater over the bow.

During the Prince Philip Cup, I caught this moment of pure, unscripted friction.

It’s the point where liquid becomes light. I love this perspective because it’s impossible to capture from the shore; you have to be in the trenches, vibrating with the boat, soaked to the bone and breathless.

It’s a raw, visceral ballet between the crew's grit and the river's whims.

I don't just take pictures of boats.
I’m trying to bottle the adrenaline of the transition—from the calm to the chaos, and the beauty found right in the middle of the spray.

🚁📸Flight Risk Sailing

The Art of Chasing the Wind: Life on the Derwent

There is a special moment of magic that happens when the roar of the city fades and is replaced by the rhythmic slap of the River Derwent against a fiberglass hull.

In this frame, you’re looking at the International Dragon Class—the thoroughbreds of the sailing world.

They are lean, elegant, and unapologetic. But more than just boats, they are a testament to the dance between human ambition and the raw elements of Tasmania.

More Than Just a Race

As a photographer, I don’t just look for the "action shot." I look for the tension in the sheets, the tilt of the mast, and that split second where a crew finds perfect harmony with a gust of wind.

See that iconic octagonal silhouette of Wrest Point in the background? It’s been a silent witness to decades of these battles.

To some, it’s a landmark. To a sailor, it’s a transit point, a wind-shadow creator, and a sign that you’re home.

Why We Do It

Sailing isn’t just for the salt-crusted veterans or the elite; it’s for anyone who has ever wanted to feel truly small and truly powerful at the exact same time.

It’s about:
• The Silence: The moment the engine cuts and the wind takes over.
• The Physics: Watching a heavy boat lift and surge forward on nothing but invisible air.
• The Community: The "apres-sail" stories told at the club that get slightly more dramatic with every round of drinks.

Capturing the Soul of the South

My mission is to bridge the gap between the deck and the shore.

I want to show you what it feels like to have the spray hit your face and the adrenaline spike as you round the buoy.

Through my lens, I hope you see that the Tasmanian sailing scene isn't just a sport—it's our heritage, written in white foam and blue water.

Whether you’ve spent your life on a keelboat or you’ve never stepped foot on a pier, there is a seat for you in this story.

Do you have a favorite memory of the Hobart waterfront? Drop it in the comments—I’d love to hear what the river means to you!

🚁📸 Flight Risk Sailing

Perfect, Silent, Symmetry."

There is a specific kind of magic that happens when the Dragons take to the water.

These boats don’t just sail; they converse with the elements. In this frame, four white spinnakers bloom like winter lilies against the slate-grey Tasmanian sky.

It’s a moment of high-stakes grace—the tension of the race masked by the effortless curve of nylon and the steady slice of hulls through cold southern water.

Through the Lens and Over the Gunwale
As both a sailor and a photographer, my perspective is split between two worlds:

• The Competitor: I feel the vibration of the rigging and the tactical chess match of maintaining clear air in a tight reach.

• The Artist: I see the rhythm of the repetition—the way the AUS sail numbers march across the horizon, creating a visual cadence that feels almost orchestral.

The Derwent is a notoriously demanding mistress.

She tests your technical skill with every unpredictable gust and rewards your persistence with light that you simply won't find anywhere else on earth.

To capture this moment required more than just a fast shutter speed; it required an understanding of the boat’s soul and the river’s temper.

"In sailing, as in photography, timing is everything. You wait for the gust, you wait for the light, and for one fleeting second, the chaos of the race aligns into perfect, silent symmetry."

Sailing is my discipline; photography is my testimony.

I’m honored to be out here amongst some of the finest sailors in the world, documenting the grit and the grandeur of not only the Prince Philip Cup,
But Sailing here in Tasmania in general.

🚁📸 Flight Risk Sailing
Tasmanian International Dragon Association@top fans

The View from the Invisible Mast
There is a silence in the sky that you don't get on the deck.

From 50 feet up, the roar of the Derwent softens into a rhythmic pulse, and the chaos of a downwind leg becomes a choreographed dance of nylon and salt.

I launched the drone into a sky heavy with the threat of rain—the kind of light that makes the white hulls pop and the blue of AUS 189’s spinnaker feel like a neon sign against the charcoal clouds.

It’s a fleeting moment where the elements held their breath; the wind was firm enough to fill the sails, but the water remained dark and glass-like, reflecting the mood of a classic Tasmanian afternoon.

In the viewfinder, these Dragons aren't just boats; they are spirits chasing the horizon.

There’s a weight to the air here, a sense of history that comes with the Prince Philip Cup, and seeing it from a bird's-eye view makes you realise just how small we are against the scale of the river—and how beautiful the pursuit of speed can be.

🚁📸Flight Risk Sailing