Behind the Scenes, December 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 December 2024 images.

These festive and fabulous images on the December pages of the 2024 Ultimate Sailing Calendar herald the oncoming Holidays and New Year! With that cheery burst of red and white amidst the frothy spray – and is that Santa on the bow? – you can’t help but smile and think of all the joys and celebrations of December.

These thrilling and dynamic shots come to us from Studio Borlenghi’s Stefano Gattini, who took a circuitous route to get to the pages of the Ultimate Sailing Calendar.

Windsurfing and hiking in the mountains were Stefan’s passion in his youth, and “taking pictures just for fun,” he revealed. That segued into studies in photo editing, which then brought him to Carlo Borlenghi’s Studio. Working as a photo editor with Carlo on the 2005 America’s Cup in Valencia, Spain, Stefano was able to put into practice what he had learned. “And thanks to Carlo I started shooting sailing events, and combine my passion for photography with watersports,” he adds.

And what a talent he is: capturing the Swan 36 Farstar barreling head-on through the water, the crew cool and confident as they battle to second place overall in the Swan One Design World Championship in Valencia – just missing first place in a tiebreaker.

Looking back at this regatta, Stefano notes, “These were days with tough wind and sea conditions. When you are lucky enough to have these elements then you can also try to photograph the race staying closer, without creating too many problems for the sailors. The secret for a good job in these cases is definitely having a good driver!”

“We had different conditions in the other photo,” Stefano explains, while shooting the Swan Tuscany Challenge Marina de Scarlino. “There was not much wind and quiet seas … in these situations you try to capture the most dramatic moments, such as the spinnaker drop in a mark rounding.”

This poetic and fluid image depicts a takedown on the Swan 36 G Spot, which went on to ace first place in this 10-race series. Both images, top and bottom, were taken with the Canon 5D Mark IV, using a 100-400mm lens “and always in shutter priority,” Stefano adds.

Stefano says his favorite events are long distance races, because “they’re more exciting to photograph and they allow you to have changing and unusual light conditions, such as sunrises and sunsets!”

Sharon enjoys curating Stefano’s image for the Ultimate Sailing Calendar. Stefano has a remarkable talent for unique compositions and knows precisely when and where to be to capture stunning photographs.”

“It’s always great when your photos are selected for prestigious and well-known projects, and for sure seeing my name in the Ultimate Sailing Calendar is something that makes me proud and really happy!” Stefano adds.