I had a dream a few years ago of becoming a yacht racer. I guess it started off as a kid on dinghys, racing toppers and here and there over the years it revisits me. You may have read in the previous blog entry that I finally became a Yacht Day Skipper. It’s quite an achievement for me and I was so pleased with myself I wanted more. As it happens, I met a guy who runs a yacht charter company from Vienna, Austria and he invited me to join his race crew in the Adriatic Sailing Week regatta in Croatia.

Our crew was made up of the Russian charter company owner — Alex, English Operations Director for the charter comapny — Frank, Austrian Literary Publisher — Volker (see image above), Hungarian Graphic Designer — Endre, our Croatian Olympic Skipper — Rajko and finally me… we did have an English Photographer with us who was shooting the brochure material too but he was there as a jobbing Photographer rather than as part of the crew.

To cut a long story short… We came in best in class and 9th overall out of 28 race teams and the whole team was asked to stay on as the permanent crew of the AYC team. So, twice a year we will be racing in the Adriatic off the coast of Croatia and I hope here and there, I will get a chance to join some other teams in France and the UK… Well, the world is my oyster, so anywhere that will have me!

I shot a few images for the cover of the brochure and also a few shots for the internal pages. You can see them in the Portrait/Editorial Gallery.

I have just come back to my blog after an absence due to a couple of heavy work filled months of photo shoots. It’s harder than I thought to dedicate enough time to keeping the blog up-to-date but I am keen to get back to it for the rest of the year of blogging.

I have finally managed to do something other than just work, this year. I have been trying for a long time now to find the right time and supply company to do my yacht training. It’s now reached it’s third year of planning but I have had trouble finding time to get away in reasonable weather. Finally in January of this year, I had enough of planning without results and so went to Excel’s London International Boat Show with the idea of booking my course. I saw a few companies there but the one that impressed me the most was Ondeck Sailing, based in Gosport (It really is Little Britain…) and the Isle of Wight.

I spent a total of 9 days doing my RYA (Royal Yachting Association) Day Skipper combined; Theory and Practical training and exams. I even roped my friend Martin in on the action as a Competent Crew trainee (Above image – Martin & I on the Main and Halyard lines) I’m sad to say I look like a dirty sea dog after a few days at sea. My wife, Yana also joined to do her Competent Crew along with Martin. She was very cold going into our windy night sailing practical as Helmswoman on our Jeanneau yacht. (Below image) I’m glad it didn’t put her off sailing.

The three of us spent five wonderful days sailing around the Solent and navigating around the different rivers that it serves. I was in my element and although there were a total of six of us onboard, I found the voyage, comfortable and fun. I can recommend it whole heartedly. I really can’t wait to get out to the sea again.

Yana and I were invited to join one of the other tutors and his wife on their X-yachts, sailing a cross-channel trip, which I am looking forward to doing when the weather warms a little. Yesterday, I booked tickets for Yana and I to fly to Croatia to join the Adriatic Sailing Week in mid May and join a friend I met on the course who happens to run a yacht charter company in Croatia called AYC (Adria Yacht Center) based in Vodice. So he is putting Yana and I up on one of their 60 yachts for the Regatta. I can’t wait! Between now and May, I have a few other plans that I will blog about soon.

Well, at last the end has finally arrived and we can say goodbye to 2010. I say at last and it sounds like I can’t wait. I don’t mean it like that, I just mean I am glad of the rest over the Christmas period. It has been one of the busiest years I could hope to have. Work has increased and has seen me take on, not just one but two new assistants. I have shot some great people for some great companies and travelled all over the country. I have even had a nice photograph taken of me by my first assistant Elena who I see blossoming into a fully fledged photographer next year once she graduates from her Photography degree in 2011.

December saw me join the ranks of those people who have been abused by HRH Prince Philip. I won’t say what he said but I’m just happy he didn’t call me a Stripper or one of those Colonial types… which of course I am… Colonial, not a Stripper. I’m happy with how his pictures came out. He gives you a few seconds to do your thing but happily it was enough.

I have enjoyed almost every minute of the passing year. We entered 2010 with a bang at a great party — Il Bottaccio surrounded by friends and it hasn’t really stopped since. This year saw me marry my wife, Yana and then honeymoon in Barcelona. Her wedding present to me was to go and watch one of the Spanish Moto GP races at the Circuit de Catalunya, near to Barcelona, again attended by friends who live there.

2010 also saw the loss of my beloved CBR 1000 RR Fireblade, through theft. I no longer look back and lament it’s disappearance but forward with hope for replacing it with something altogether new and improved. I may even look at buying a race bike and leave the street riding out for a while… London is a difficult place to ride and bike theft is just ridiculous.

This year I have seen a good bit of film watching. I wouldn’t say that I am a film buff really, but I do think that my work with entertainers and my desire to explore HD video via DSLR has seen an increased interest for film this year. I must confess I rarely get around to seeing a film when it is in the cinema. This is mainly because I often forget. Most of the films I watch are usually about a year behind and are often recommended. I suppose the difficulty in watching television is also to blame. I live in a basement and although I have a eight foot ariel, I find watching the box too difficult to bother with sometimes, so hiring, borrowing and buying films is easier.

Anyway, I have produced a little list of films on my shelf or what I managed to see at the cinema (not many). A few firm favourites that reminded me that I loved them – Malèna, Angel A, Il Postino. Dinner for Schmucks is based on Le Diner du Cons. I loved that film. I saw it years ago and was great to watch again. I haven’t seen the remake yet but they rarely better the originals.

Avatar – US, Angel A – French (I saw it a few years ago and still love it), A Single Man – US, Atonement – British, A-Team – US (terrible film), Alice in Wonderland – US, Astro Boy – US, The Book of Eli – US, Bigga than Ben – British, Bright Star – British, Bronson – British, Les Chansons d’amour - French, Choke – US, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky - French, Le Concert – French/Russian, Date Night - US, Le Diner Du Cons – French, District 13 Ultimatum – French, Dorian Gray – British, The Duchess – British, Eastern Promises – British, L’Enquete Corse – French, Four Lions – British, From Paris with Love – US, Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) – French, Get Him to the Greek - US, Gomorrah – Italian, Hallam foe – British, Happy Go Lucky – British, Harry Brown – British, Heartbreaker - French, The Hangover - US, The History Boys – British, Il Postino – Italian, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - British, Inception – US, The Infidel – British, Iron Man 2 – US, Knight and Day – US , Kick-Ass – British/US, Lars and the Real Girl – US, Mary And Max – Australian, Malèna - Italian, Mr. Nobody – Belgium, 9 – US, Nothing Personal - Dutch/Irish, Precious – US, Prince of Persia - US, Resident Evil Afterlife – German/French/UK, The Reader – US/Germany, Revanche – Austria, Robin hood - British/US, Salt - US, Scott Pilgrim – US, Sex and the City 2 - US, Spread – US, Sherlock Holmes - British, She’s Out of My League – US, The Social Network – US, Tell No One – French, The Bank Job – British, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas – British, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – French, The Girl Who Played With Fire – Swedish, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Swedish, The Good The Bad The Weird – South Korea, The Ugly Truth – US, Waltz With Bashir – Israel, Where the Wild Things Are - US/Germany, Youth in Revolt – US, 44 Inch Chest – British,

I will say that there are some really bad ones in the list. 44 inch chest being one of them. Dross, dross and more dross. A-Team was another, Alice in Wonderland was another, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was so bad I barely made it through without subconsciously sawing away at my wrist with a blunt knife. This is nothing though, compared to the insult that Sex and the City 2 offered the world. Naturally I watched under much duress.

Favourite films were, in no particular order; Le Concert, Heartbreaker, Four Lions, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Kick-Ass, The Reader, Choke, Youth in Revolt, Hallam foe, Atonement, Waltz With Bashir, Revanche.

It’s interesting that when you write down the countries of origin, there are many more US films than most others. 28 US films, 19 British films, 12 French films, 3 Italian films, 2 Swedish film, 1 Romanian film, 1 South Korean film, 1 Israeli film. 1 Australian film, 1 German film 1 French/Russian.

There are many countries who are producing great films and mostly we don’t get to watch them. Sweden has produced some great films in the past. The latest trilogy of ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ is not their only produce. I remember a touching film called Lilya 4-ever from years ago. So sad to watch.

I challenge you all and myself too. See if you can watch as many foreign language films as you do English language films. There must be thousands. Good Luck!

Ever thought that you could go to a ski resort in Russia? No, me neither. It turns out there is an old ski resort that’s only about 600 metres in length with a number of runs down the hills… not mountains. It’s not much but it seems popular with the locals. It’s also the first place I have ever tried skiing. I have been snowboarding for 15 years but have never liked the idea of skiing till now.

My wife Yana and I went to Russia to go to her best friend’s 30th birthday party and also to have a break from London and work for a week. It was only my second time visiting St. Petersburg but I meet my in-laws in London all the time, when they visit. It feel like home when I see them.

I really like St. petersburg, I like the buildings and the people I know from there. I’m not too keen on the food that I had this trip, I much prefer the food at my local Russian restaurant in Primrose Hill — Trojka. The quality seems better. I guess you could argue that I have only eaten in a small number of restaurants and in fact I may have missed some great stuff… well, you could I suppose but I went to places with good reputations but didn’t deliver.

Getting there was a little harder than I thought and in fact our flight was cancelled when we first arrived to Heathrow. The staff said that it was because they didn’t have planes and staff to hand because they were stuck in airports badly affected by snow. So one day lost but still enjoyed a day where everyone thought we were away and so we snuck off home and hid with treats and old films on the box. It was great turning off the phones.

When someone says it’s a nice day today… only minus -6 degrees, you know you’re in a cold country. The night before was about minus -16 or so and I could not stop coughing. Not through a cold or virus but the temperature of the air was so cold I could not take deep breaths. It’s the first time I ever felt that. Very strange. What is also strange is that I was told in summer St. Petersburg can now hit nearly 40 degrees and has hit last year — minus -40 degrees. That’s a huge 80 degrees difference in temperature. It’s crazy.

Another thing is the HUGE icicles hanging from the buildings. The day we arrived Yana heard on the radio that people have already been killed by falling icicles. I saw some which must have been 10′ long hanging from buildings. Some of them so high the would be travelling at speed when falling. Some buildings cordon off the pavement in front but most seem not to do that. It makes you cringe to watch people walking along without a care in the world, even though they know it could drop and literally split them in half. Yana and I would come out of buildings with a quick run to get away from the building, just in case. The locals must have thought we were weird running from each building.

I can highly recommend travelling to Russia but it was so cold at times, think about doing it in Summer.