Behind the Scenes, April 2024

Sharon Green

The walls of Scuttlebutt HQ include the Ultimate Sailing calendar by Sharon Green, with Betsy Senescu sharing this behind-the-scenes story regarding the April 2024 images.

Where in the world is Amory Ross? Our intrepid contributor – who captured these incredible breathtaking images on the April pages of the 2024 Ultimate Sailing Calendar – is off the grid! And it’s no surprise.

Amory is one of the most accomplished ‘Plimptonian’ journalists in the world, bouncing from coast to coast, surf to slopes to capture action sports from within. He has participated in The Ocean Race four times as an onboard photographer/videographer, calling it, “an exhausting, stressful, full-time, nomadic existence but (I’m) exactly where I want to be.”

Amory has been a sailing photographer all of his professional life and noted, “I really love to play with lighting: backlight, low-light, high contrast, or super saturated, and to capture movement.” When he heard about the addition of an Onboard Reporter to what was then called the Volvo Ocean Race, he determined to ramp up the skills he needed to qualify. He focused on the requisite writing, story-telling, and video production to earn his first spot in 2011-12 event aboard Puma.

He returned in 2014-15 aboard Alvimedica, in 2017-18 with Vestas 11th Hour Racing and again most recently with 11th Hour Racing. Although he said he’s “technically not one of the sailors” he is clearly excellent in his role, and was bitten by the bug hard!

April 2024

Rounding Cape Horn aboard 11th Hour Racing’s 60-foot foiler Mālama, Amory captured these stunning images by drone which depict both the power and beauty of the southern oceans, plus the intense conditions competitors must endure during the five-month, 32,000nm challenge.

“Amory creates exceptional images and footage and is multi-talented as an onboard reporter,” said Sharon Green. “I’m just in awe of him! The task is challenging and requires a lot of skill and agility.

“Flying a drone from the boat, shooting stills and video, editing onboard while being bashed around, with water, water everywhere … writing and creating the social media and posts, and having to upload it all in the middle of a roaring sea: he’s just amazing. And through it all, he always seems to be smiling.”

In his bio he reported, “I don’t think there is any better job in the world for me. I’m a passionate sailor and I love sharing this sport – particularly its extremes. There is nothing else like it. It prepares you for anything and everything. To be onboard living the adventure… it is an impossible invitation to decline and I’m never happier than when I’m at sea doing what I’m best at.”

In addition to generating breathtaking images, 11th Hour Racing won both the In-Port and Ocean Legs of the 2022-23 edition of The Ocean Race. The team was led by skipper Charlie Enright and as an aside, Sharon and I both proudly have a claim to fame on Charlie’s meteoric rise, as we were involved in the Disney Morning Light film production and present when the final Transpac team was chosen!

Speaking of Sharon … recently she was featured on Latitude 38’s ‘Good Jibes’ podcast! If you ever wanted to know how Sharon got into sailing and photography, what her favorite venues and events are, which ones she still hopes to capture and other tidbits, then listen in at GOOD JIBES! You’ll hear how passionate she still is about capturing ‘Ultimate Sailing’ images!

To read more about Amory, click here.

Editor’s note: The documentary, Fresh to Frightening – The Sharon Green Story, profiles legendary yacht racing photographer Sharon Green. To stream the 19-minute film online, click here.