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Matinee: 'Sailboats on the Strait'
14 May 2022
Saturday matinees long ago let us escape from the ordinary world to the island of the Swiss Family Robinson or the mutinous decks of the Bounty. Why not, we thought, escape the usual fare here with Saturday matinees of our favorite photography films?
So we're pleased to present the 448th in our series of Saturday matinees today: Sailboats on the Strait.
This 1:14 video clip of the Benecia Yacht Club's recent Beer Can Races was shot by Luke George using a drone.
He described the experience in the liner notes:
The wind did not attend the first race of the season last month and skippers with spinnakers crept across the strait graciously like toys in a still bath. The perfect conditions for my drone photography. I flew from Port Costa to the marina and followed the sailboats to 9th Street and back. With the last light of day and last seconds of battery power, I captured the crew drawing in their sail before entering the marina.
Benecia (not to mention Port Costa) is on the Carquinez Strait that empties into San Pablo Bay from Suisun Bay to the east. These bodies of water form the northern parts of San Francisco Bay.
In Opening Day on the Strait Returns, Jeannine Mendoza reports on the May 14 event with George's stills. She writes, "Opening Day is a time-honored tradition in many boating communities. It harkens back to the 1800s when boats were finally allowed back onto the open seas in the spring."
Last year's event was canceled because of the pandemic. But sails were again unfurled this year and the fleet once again blessed.
George runs Luke George Photo/Video Studio in Benecia. He has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Montana School of Journalism and worked at Quicksilver Studios in Idaho doing wedding, corporate and product photography. He has also worked as a photo editor at newspapers, magazines and online publishing.
He doesn't pretend to know much about sailing but he sure knows how to fly.