Top Twenty Selected for Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image 2017

No less than 134 professional photographers spanning 27 countries have submitted a picture for the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award 2017. After the selection of the top eighty pictures by the international jury, the public vote commenced for their favorite pictures.

The field of 80 pictures has now been reduced further to the top 20 selected by the international jury. The winner of the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award – who will be announced and celebrated during the Yacht Racing Forum in Aarhus (DEN) on November 28 – is one of them.

Top twenty photographers (in alphabetical order):
• Cristina Balcells (SPA)
• Stephanie Billarant (FRA)
• Olivier Blanchet (FRA)
• Chris Cameron (NZL)
• Sharon Green (USA)
• Sören Hese (GER)
• Nicolas Jutzi (SUI)
• Harry Kenney Herbert (UK)
• Anton Makhanov (RUS)
• Gilles Martin Raget (FRA)
• Pedro Martinez (SPA)
• Rob Migliaccio (USA)
• Tomas Moya (SPA)
• Jerome Naquet (FRA)
• Martina Orsini (ITA)
• Elena Otekina (RUS)
• Marina Semenova (RUS)
• Dmitry Sharomov (RUS)
• Tobias Stoerkle (GER)
• Sander van der Borch (NED)

Top 20 Images:

The leading countries are: Russia (4 pictures), France (4 pictures), Spain (3 pictures), USA and Germany (2 pictures), New Zealand, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Italy and The Netherlands (1 picture).

The votes by the public on Internet are still open (click here), and not restricted to the top 20 images selected by the Jury.

The partnership between World Sailing and the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image will provide great visibility to the world’s best photographers, and showcase their work to their current and potential future clients.

The delegates from World Sailing’s annual conference in Puerto Vallarta (November 4-12) will be asked to vote for their favorite picture. Their votes will be added to the voices from the delegates of the Yacht Racing Forum, and will contribute to the election of the winner of the Yacht Racing Forum award.

Three prizes will be awarded on November 28, at the Yacht Racing Forum in Aarhus, Denmark:

• The main prize is the ‘Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image’, selected by the international jury: Rob Kothe, founder of the Sail-World network, Daniel Allisy, sailing writer and founder of Voiles & Voiliers, Jean-Marie Liot, winner of the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award 2016, Nicolas Mirabaud, member of the Executive Committee, Mirabaud & Cie SA, and pro sailor Sally Barkow.

• The ‘Yacht Racing Forum Award’, decided by the 700 delegates of World Sailing’s Annual conference and the 300 delegates of the Yacht Racing Forum.

• The ‘Public Award’ is based on the number of votes on Internet. This is a fun award, aimed at increasing the visibility of both the photographers and the entire contest. Photographers are encouraged to like and share pictures, and to do as much self-promotion as they like. This prizes recognizes the quality of the winning picture as well as the photographers’ network and the support he (she) can generate around him and his (her) photograph.

Started in 2010, the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award is the world’s premier photography competition dedicated to the sport of sailing, celebrating the very best yacht racing image taken during the year, and which best represents the essence and excitement of the sport.

Open to professional photographers, it provides an opportunity for yacht racing specialists to display their work and share their passion with a wide audience. More than one million people saw the pictures submitted for the last edition of the contest.