Beautiful boats, marine wildlife, exotic locations and a romantic wedding: see a gathering of our readers' best photos and memorable moments at sea.
At YBW.com, we have so many readers who are out on the open waves snapping beautiful photos that we decided it was high time we began to collect these images in one place and share them with the world.
Dai’s trip to the Greek Isles
Reader Dai titled this photo simply ‘Company,’ with the caption: “A sea of glass in the Gulf of Corinth and we had the company of about a hundred dolphins for an hour. It would put a smile on anyone’s face seeing these so close up.”.
Dai’s other contributions include a dark and dramatic portrait of a short-lived waterspout in the Aegean conjuring up thoughts of squalls encountered by ancient mariners and an altogether calmer, sunnier image of a deserted cove in Kyra Panagia’s northern bay, called ‘Freedom.’ Take a look at the gallery above to see the beautiful shots.
Dylan’s beloved Hunter Minstrel
Reader Dylan has a lot of love for his Hunter Minstrel, which he calls, “the finest trailer sailer ever made.”
Dylan sent us snaps of his pride and joy from departure day to launch and even out on the water (above). Dylan says the Hunter Minstrel – at 22 feet long, drawing just 13 inches – is ideal for jaunts into the shallower waters around the UK. Other reasons he considers this boat tops is her lovely cockpit and two seven-foot berths down below deck. “All this,” he says proudly, “and she can be trailered home at the end of the season.”
The Hunter Minstrel has taken Dylan’s heart and taken him “deep into the Wash and Up the river Nene, along the Ouse as far as York and along the oldest canal in England to Lincoln.”
Sam’s trip to the river Blackwater
The beautiful craft in the image above was spotted by reader Sam, whose daughter-in-law Nicola snapped the photo. The pair were opposite the Stone Sailing Club on the river Blackwater in Essex and had just raised the anchor for an early morning sail.
Sam often sails solo, as well, and was multitasking impressively when he snapped another submission while sailing down the UK’s east coast just past Lowestoft on the final leg of his circumnavigation of the UK. We’ll let Sam set the scene: “Early morning, bacon sizzling in the frying pan, 6.0 Kts on the log and almost home.” See the beautiful photo in our gallery above.
Bill and his father’s adventures on the Westerly Griffon Calstar
Reader Bill often sails with his father on their Westerly Griffon Calstar. The richly textured and blue-hued first-person perspective of the photo above came from the first time Bill and his dad had taken the boat further down the coast than Cardiff. They were on the final approach to Porlock Weir in the Bristol Channel at the end of May, earlier this year, on the first leg of a four-day trip to Ilfracombe and back to port in Portishead.
“We’ve only had her a year so far,” Bill says, “and she’s our first yacht; a step on from the dinghies I’ve been sailing for the last ten years or so.”
Carl’s trip to the British Virgin Islands…and his wedding!
To cap off our first instalment of reader photos, we have the lovely story of reader Carl and his partner of 20 years. The couple’s son, who lives and works in the British Virgin Islands, knowing his father’s passion for boats, arranged a trip for his parents. And, in addition to the trip, he also arranged for the couple to get married on a sailboat called the Silmaril.
“Our son planned the whole holiday … and a few months before we left he suggested me and his mum getting married as we have been together over 20 years.”. We couldn’t think of anything more idyllic!
If you would like your pictures featured why not drop us an email at: ybwdotcom@gmail.com with the subject ‘Readers’ Pictures’ or get in touch via Facebook or Twitter – we’d love to see your snaps!
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