Photographing from within a smaller wooden boat that skimmed the water only inches from its surface, it became evident that it would be a bad idea to leave the camera out for long. A few shots of the crew and that was all to be gotten while sailing this Sonderklasse wooden boat at Panerai Marblehead, MA.
Tilly XV quickly became the darling of the fleets at Panerai Corinthian Classic Yachts Regatta, held the weekend of August 12-13, 2017 at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead. One racer at the host club commented, “From afar, she looks like a kayak with a mast.”
Sonderklasse Classic Wooden Boat Tilly XV
About Tilly XV Classic Yacht
Built in Germany in 1912, Tilly XV was the wish of Mr. Richard Krogmann Reeder and his Royal Highness Prinz Heinrich von Preussen, brother of Wilhelm II. She was designed by Willi von Hacht, a noted naval engineer and owner of the Willi von Hacht shipyard in Hamburg. Out the gate, sonderklasse Tilly XV won the Kieler Woche in her class and was directly sold to the president of the Bayerischer Yacht Club/Starnberger.
Fast forward and as of 1992 she’s been in the care of Siegfried Rittler (owner/Starnberg), master skipper Joerg Moessnang and crew Birgit Brandes. Among her many achievements, in 2015 within her fleet she won the Regattes Royales Cannes plus the overall best performance yacht award. In 2016, this wooden boat clinched the North American Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge win (day racer class). I met the crew at the 2017 Panerai Antigua Classics Regatta, and was invited aboard for the Marblehead Corinthian Classics Yacht Challenge this past weekend.
Embedded Photographer Tucks Away Camera
I’m generally skeptical about bringing a camera on a small wooden boat, especially one so close to water top. It was noted that I’d have ample time to shoot, but the best moments tend to line up when very nearby vessels initiate conversations; the same instants when extra hands and eyes are needed to track proximity, not frame up. What I do have are memories of wonderful angles and points of view.
The few seconds that I did shoot happened early on. Gingerly unwrapping the camera, I nabbed a single shot of the horizon sans lens water droplets. An instant later we took a slight turning douse and the camera was sprinkled. Risking it, I quickly fired off three images of Joerg and Birgit, then called it quits. I placed the camera back in the drysack round my neck and hiked out for the race. Fleets crossed over the start line in pursuit order. It turned out to be an eight hour day on the water for us. Said Sonderklasse skipper Joerg, “Seemed like eighty miles, not eighteen.”
