Through the Lens: Rick Tomlinson - Jameson

“The Jameson Whiskey picture has become a bit of an icon,” says photographer Rick Tomlinson. “I took the shot at the 1987 Irish Admiral’s Cup trials off Howth.

It was blowing hard and I was taken out to photograph the racing in a small 4 meter Avon RIB.

“It was impossible to take pictures from the RIB, so with just minutes to go before the start I was transferred to the committee boat. I went straight up onto the fly bridge and put the camera to my eye - immediately Jameson Whiskey was hit by a big gust. As the main was eased, the leeward runner caught and pinned the boom in, resulting in the knock down. It was only over for a second or two, but as I had the camera to my eye, I instinctively pressed the shutter release. When I looked astern I saw that the RIB I had just got out of had capsized, but the driver was safely sitting on top of it!

“I seemed to catch Jameson tripping up a few times around that time….”

More about Rick Tomlinson 
Rick Tomlinson made his name capturing the Southern Ocean at its most treacherous from the decks of various yachts in the Whitbread Round the World Race. He started with freelance pictures published in Yachting World and Seahorse from Drum in 1985, and finished his 4 Race Whitbread career with a commission from National Geographic onboard Team EF.

Born in 1958, Rick grew up on the Isle of Man, where he established a serious interest in sailing, spending much of his time on the water racing dinghies, dreaming of one day competing in the Whitbread Race. Rick's enthusiasm for photography began whilst he was boatbuilding and sailing, particularly with his friend Nick Keig, who campaigned the Three Legs of Mann and VSD multihulls. Veteran yachting photographers Alistair Black and Christian Fevrier came to photograph the boat, inspiring Rick into the world of professional yachting photography.