Thursday, March 5, 2009

Life on and off the RMS St. Helena

Greetings from St. Helena! Perhaps the most beautiful thing about this island is that you can only get here by boat or ship. I spent 5 days at sea aboard the RMS St. Helena after seeing Zac off in Cape Town. Travel has been slow for him so I have been keeping myself busy exploring the Island and meeting new people from all over the world.

In this blog you will see photos of Bryson and Hugh who are from Vancouver traveling around the world exploring different surf spots. They are also doing environmental research along the way, focusing on educating young adults on where their trash ends up by documenting the trash they find on various beaches. Check out their website/Blog at http://www.oceangybe.com. They met Zac in Cocos Kealing and were hoping to be able to see him when he arrived. Alas, he has not arrived yet. Hopefully he will be here this afternoon. I enjoyed exploring the island with them for a few days and playing a round of golf at the St. Helena golf Course, definitely the most isolated golf course I have ever played on ;)

I am also introducing you to Rob ‘Bee’ Clark who is on a unique adventure of his own. Where to Next? Is his motto and he is sailing Single-handed around the world, guided (or misguided) by the dice! Check out his site http://www.w2n.co.uk for more information on this very unique story.

The last group of people I am introducing you to will be my crew for the next month. What? Crew? Huh? Well, as has been the nature of this story since I began shooting Zac in May 2008, things are constantly changing and I have to just roll with it. I was planning on being gone from the states for three weeks and have been gone for the past two months.

The other day I was walking down the main street in St. Helena and saw someone I recognized from Cape Town…you should have seen my face, shocked would be the proper word. I ran into Greg who is delivering a power cat to Ft. Lauderdale from Cape Town. One of his crew members needs to get back home so he has asked me to join their crew to help with the delivery. It just so happens that they are heading the same way Zac is and hopping on board with them saves me a LOT of money! So, I will be meeting them in Ascension and will be at sea for the next month until it is time to meet up with Zac in Grenada. We are making a stop in Brazil and Trinidad/Tobago.

I think this next month at sea will bring me closer to the story then I could ever be on land. Immersing myself in the world of sailing these past few months and meeting some amazing people with the most incredible stories has certainly given me a new perspective into Zac’s incredible journey. Being at sea, virtually neighbors with him for the next month will most certainly give me the insight I have been searching for. I am looking forward to the unexpected and thrilled to see what is lurking around the next corner…












































































Sunday, February 22, 2009

Tribute to the most beautiful woman in my life. My mother.

My mother and I were blessed with the opportunity to road trip together a couple months ago when she helped me move from Cali to Jackson, Wy. It was a fabulous road trip and I just wanted to have a tribute to the most wonderful and beautiful woman in my life. Thanks mom for all your love and support! (Dad, you are next ;)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Three.

Three Solo Sailors: Zac Sunderland, 17. Mike Perham, 16. Saito, 75. Three Different Countries: USA, UK and Japan, Three Different Routes. Three Achieving the same dream.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to photograph and meet three extraordinary men this past weekend in Cape Town. The only one who had planned to stop here was Zac, that is why I am here. Mike and Saito had to stop to make repairs before heading back out to sea. Zac and Mike are currently trying to be the youngest to solo circumnavigate the world while Saito currently holds the record for the oldest person to solo circumnavigate the world. This is Saito's 8th time around the world. I have enjoyed chatting with Mike and his father Peter, they are wonderful people and have been very generous to me. Saito has a very warm and inviting smile and has been a wonderful person to chat with about his journey. Here is a look into three sailors following their dream.


































Friday, February 13, 2009

Youth and Wisdom

Zac Sunderland, 17 and Mike Perham, 16, two young sailors both attempting to be the youngest to solo-circumnavigate the world had a chance to meet Minoru Saito who is 75 yrs old and on his 8th trip around the world. He currently holds the record for the oldest person to sail around the world solo. It was a wonderful moment in Cape Town and a pleasure to meet Saito.



Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Portrait Shoot

Zac had a portrait shoot with Kevin for Italian Vogue so I thought it would be a good chance to test out my mounted camera before sending it off on the boat to St. Helena. As you can see I was steering the boat and trying to take photos at the same time...multi-tasking ;) After the shoot, Zac and I decided to have a portrait shoot of our own. More to come...


Sunday, February 8, 2009

Cape Town

I've been in Cape Town for about 10 days now photographing Zac Sunderland before he heads off to his next stop in St. Helena. I've been spending most of my time down at the Marina and have met some wonderful people. Everyone has been so generous to us and I am so gracious for that. Cape Town is a beautiful area full of magnificent landscape and beautiful people.







Zac pulling into the marina



World Cup Stadium being built



'Tablecloth' over Table Mountain







































Guys from Ocean Sailing heading out for the week



Ross from the Ocean Sailing Course



Bruce from the Ocean Sailing Course




Racing on the Addis in Cape, my first time ever on a racing boat...camera needed a bit of TLC afterwards :o)












Dragon Boats in the Marina
























Concert at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town