RORC News

Through the Lens - Rick Tomlinson

Jolie Brise was the winner of the inaugural Fastnet Race in 1925 and is still the only boat to have won the race on three occasions. She celebrated her centenary by competing in the 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race. Rick Tomlinson selects his favourite shot of this historic 1913 Gaff-Rigged Pilot Cutter.

“One of my all-time favourite pictures is this shot of Jolie Brise at the Fastnet Rock. It came about because her skipper Toby Marris asked me if I could get a picture of them rounding the Rock in the 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race. I was concerned that if we attempted this during the race, they were likely to round in the dark. Toby’s response was “no problem, we can sail over a week before, do the pictures, sail back and then do the race!” Good positive attitude!

The picture was to commemorate the 100-year birthday of Jolie Brise as she was the boat that won the very first Fastnet Race in 1925. She also won in 1929 and 1930 and to this day is the only boat to ever win three Fastnet Races. This picture hangs in the Jolie Brise Room at RORC’s Club House in London.

Jolie Brise is owned by Dauntsey’s School, Wiltshire, UK and is crewed by students, with just a full-time skipper and mate on board. The students do all the sailing and helming, even when docking and manoeuvring. In recent years she has sailed the Norwegian coast, done two transatlantic crossings and last year sailed to Iceland. She is a regular competitor in the Tall Ship events, often winning her division.”

rick tomlinson mugshot

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.

Website: https://www.rick-tomlinson.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ricktomlinson758
Instagram: rick_tomlinson


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