The Classic Sailing Team’s top 5 choices for sailors who love to snap! Whether it’s for the ‘Gram, the family photo album or your professional portfolio we have voyages that offer the perfect landscape, wildlife or sunset shot and much more!
Surely it’s just water and boats, right?
No way! Even a short voyage along a coastline can uncover an endless array of imagery for your family album or portfolio. The surface of the sea is ever changing, the interaction between sea birds as they go about their day. You don’t even need to look further than the ship itself – from intricate hand carved lettering in the oak transom seat to the general pottering about of the deck crew to the decorative ropework.
The ships in our fleet are as varied as the destinations and sea areas they sail. If you’re interested in photographing landscapes and sunsets – the views from the deck of a tall ship are unbeatable! The variety of interesting and captivating subject matter on a Classic Sailing voyage is only limited the skill and availability of the photographer!
Adorama have a great article with ocean photography tips
What gear and how to look after it at sea
First off – ships on the sea can be pretty onerous places for delicate, expensive camera equipment! Due to the usually limited space on board, we recommend bringing your personal belongings in soft and squashable bags, rather than hard shell suitcases. Boats heel over as the tack and gybe along and big seas can throw your things (and you!) about a bit. That’s not to mention the affect the salty air and sea spray can have on delicate electrical equipment. With all that said, we can’t recommend you bring your best, most expensive camera equipment with you. If you do have your heart set on seeing a photo from your voyage on the cover of NatGeo – please ensure you know how to clean and maintain your gear and look after it as best you can. You may be able to get cover on your holiday insurance but we suggest you check the small print that the cover includes photography equipment at sea.
Of course, you don’t need professional gear. I’ve seen some stunning photos taken on a disposable camera and most mobile phones these days produce better images than stand alone digital camera from the last 10 years. Whatever you choose to bring, we suggest keeping it in a padded, waterproof case when not in use, keep lens covers on while up on deck (remember to remove them when you shoot!), clean the lens and camera/phone regularly with a microfiber cloth. Also, bring extra memory storage and check what power facilities are available on the ship for battery charging – some vessels don’t allow guest phone/battery charging until you’re in port and hooked up to the mains. Some Ships have 3 pin plugs and some have 2 pin. Some ships run on 12v and other run on various other systems. Make sure you know before you plug in.
Right – onto our top 5 voyages!
Pilgrim – Sunset Sailing in the English Riviera – PM280723
Pilgrim’s Torbay Sunset Sails a great introduction to heritage sailing vessels. Torbay is known as the English Riviera with good reason. It is a UNESCO Global Geopark recognised for its unique coastal landscape. Your cruise provides a ‘taster’ of traditional sailing in the sheltered waters of the bay stretching from Berry Head in the South to Hopes Nose in the north and encompassing the resorts of Brixham, Paignton, Torquay. Hopefully, the climax to the trip will be one of our stunning sunsets and some bubbly to round things off.
Your sailing will start and end in the historic fishing port of Brixham at the southern end of Torbay. Brixham is often referred to as the ‘mother of trawling’ as it was at the heart of the development of the sailing trawler and is still England’s most productive fishing port to this day. It is bustling now, as it was then, and the harbour is still characterised by quaint colourful fishermen’s cottages and scores of fishing boats.
Highlights for photographers:
Wildlife photography
Landscapes
Heritage in action
Sunsets
Find out more and book your place on this voyage HERE
De Tukker- Action Shot: Cargo run – DT310523
This is De Tukker’s inaugural season under the ownership of EcoClipper, and the atmosphere on board will be electric! This voyage is perfect for documentary-style photography. With 9 days onboard a working ship, this voyage offers opportunities to capture the action first hand! A unique insight into the day to day running of the ship and the people who make it happen. From loading cargo by hand on the dockside to cross-channel, engineless sailing.
Highlights for photographers:
Crew portraits
Landscapes
Industry and Heritage in action
Unobtrusive Street Photography
Find out more and book your place on this voyage HERE
Tallulah – Wildlife and Seascapes TH110623
Tallulah is a very photogenic ship, she has beautiful lines, a colour scheme that sets her apart from any backdrop and billowing canvas sails. This voyage provides opportunities to capture her from ashore and from ‘Number 8’ – her ships rowing tender. Exploring the south west coast of Cornwall offers a wide variety of coastal landscapes, pretty rivers, secret coves and abundant sea life. It’s a great location to explore by sail and by foot, you’ll be sure to find plenty of hidden gems!
Highlights for photographers:
Sailing vessels in action
Variety of scenery
Marine mammals
Hidden gems and secret coves
Find out more and book your place on this voyage HERE
Phoenix – Life of the Party: Festival Snaps
Set sail from Falmouth aboard stunning brig Phoenix and cross the English Channel to the famous Chant du Marine at Paimpol. This is an amazing experience for musicians and traditional music lovers, artists and photographers – you’ll be right in the heart of this bustling maritime and music festival. When sailing to and from Brittany there are many possible places to visit along the Granite de Rose coast too!
Highlights for photographers:
Lifestyle photography
French landscapes & festival atmosphere
Large gathering of heritage vessels
Unobtrusive Street Photography
Find out more and book your place on this voyage HERE
Provident – Dramatic Landscapes PV120823
We couldn’t talk about great photography voyages without mentioning one of our many brilliant trips around the Inner Hebrides aboard Provident. Despite their close proximity, the Islands are all unique and offer a wide range of landscapes from lush green meadows, unspoilt beaches, towering rocky mountains and many even show glimpses of island life, long ago. On your way from Mallaig to Oban, the Inner Hebrides will be your playground –
A landscape photographers dream!
Highlights for photographers:
Large seabird colonies
Small remote islands
Mountain scenery
Hidden gems & relics of historic island life
Find out more and book your place on this voyage HERE
Share your Snaps
Share your stories, feedback and photos with us – we love to see and hear all about your adventures! Not only does it brighten our day, your feedback genuinely helps us and our sailing partners improve our services, and your photo’s show fellow sailors what they might expect on their Classic Sailing Voyage. You’ll receive an email after your voyage inviting you to share your feedback and photos.
You can also tag us on your socials when you share your photos: #classicsailing @classic.sailing and be sure to join our mailing list – we occasionally run photo and writing competitions!
Speaking of; our friends at National Historic Ships UK are now accepting entries to their annual photography competition.
This year’s theme is “In All Weathers”
See their website here for more info on the National Historic Ships UK Photography Competition 2023
