14 years ago…

There are exactly 14 years, on December 25, 1999, I had the chance to sail the legendary race Sydney-Hobart aboard Mari-Cha III. MC3 arrived first, before Nokia, but were not ranked because of her size (145 feet/45 metres) ... I was hired to shoot this film: claris-video
Beware of high winds and waves as well as boat speed (reaching 32 knots!)

Nicolas Claris said:

There are exactly 14 years, on December 25, 1999, I had the chance to sail the legendary race Sydney-Hobart aboard Mari-Cha III. MC3 arrived first, before Nokia, but were not ranked because of her size (145 feet/45 metres) ... I was hired to shoot this film: claris-video
Beware of high winds and waves as well as boat speed (reaching 32 knots!)

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A great Adventure, but only one of many! What camera did you use, Nicolas? I was surprised by the large number of crew and the danger of being washed overboard when the weather was a bit rough. Are there places for the crew to latch themselves to the boat in an emergency? The mast is superb and massive. How tall is it? The fellows climbing seems to be doing it freehand!

Now a silly question that shows how little I know about this rare sport. Is there some race official on board to check that sailboats don't use the engines in the race?

Happy holidays,

Asher

Nicolas, I live down near Eden so I get to see the boats pass just before they head into the often brutal teeth of Bass Strait (I remember 1998!).
Yes, a legendary race. Must have been a thrill.

Andy brown said:

Nicolas, I live down near Eden so I get to see the boats pass just before they head into the often brutal teeth of Bass Strait (I remember 1998!).
Yes, a legendary race. Must have been a thrill.

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Hi Andy, a surely tough place to live! I can't say for the Aussie land there, but Tasmania (at least the short part I saw from the harbor to the airport) is beautiful and looks so wild! I promised myself to come back one day with Wife and more time…
And Yes we all had in mind '98, a dramatic year…

Asher Kelman said:

A great Adventure, but only one of many! What camera did you use, Nicolas? I was surprised by the large number of crew and the danger of being washed overboard when the weather was a bit rough. Are there places for the crew to latch themselves to the boat in an emergency? The mast is superb and massive. How tall is it? The fellows climbing seems to be doing it freehand!

Now a silly question that shows how little I know about this rare sport. Is there some race official on board to check that sailboats don't use the engines in the race?

Happy holidays,

Asher

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Bonjour Asher
I used a Sony camera (one of the very first digital pro camera) in a waterproof case, had to deal with condensation!
AFAIK crew were 24 (2 sets of 12) all pros from NZ, Aus, US and France.
The weather maybe seems a "bit" rough, but believe me, we were on the largest boat of the fleet so the feeling of tough is pushed away, I can't imagine the same conditions on a 12 (36 feet) meter boat… : (

There are lifelines on each sides of the boat so everyone can latch his harness and move.
The fellow climbing the mast (something like 60 meters high) (more on the boat in a "Claris made" website) is called "#1" and is responsible for all foredeck maneuvers… his job includes to climb the mast at anytime needed and he does that many times a day!

There are no official committee member on board, we are between Gentlemen!