Yacht photo of the year: Samo Vidic wins Mirabaud Prize with Alinghi adrenalin picture

Samo Vidic has taken the Mirabaud yachting photo of the year. It is an on-board study of a rare mission that won over the six-member Mirabaud jury. Samo Vidic captured his winning image during a training session with the America's Cup challengers from Team Alinghi off Barcelona. It shows the crew exposed to enormous forces at a speed of more than 40 knots.

Taking photos at high speed and with strong g-forces is a real challenge" (Samo Vidic)

"Being a photographer on board an AC75 travelling at over 40 knots is a unique privilege," explains Samo Vidic at the award ceremony at the Dutch Metstrade trade fair in Amsterdam. "Taking photos at high speed and strong g-forces is a real challenge. On the day this photo was taken, we had strong winds, lots of waves and incredible speeds. I tried to capture these elements in the photo with a slow shutter speed and convey the adrenaline feeling of the day."

• Mirabaud photo competition: These 20 pictures made it to the final

Samo Vidic is one of the official photographers selected by Alinghi Red Bull Racing for the 37th America's Cup. A challenge that he gladly accepted. He knows: "Not many photographers get the chance to experience something like this."

Imoca power and colourful 29er image in second and third place at Mirabaud

Second place in the prestigious Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image Award competition went to French photographer Samuel Cade. His spectacular image of Charlie Dalin's Imoca "Macif Santé Prévoyance" was taken during the Azimut 2023 Challenge. "For me, this photo is very special because we can't see the boat, while at the same time we can feel the power and imagine how difficult it is to sail an Imoca alone in the deep south," commented Samuel Cade on his shot.

Canadian Christian Bonin took third place in the main category with an almost fairytale-like image of 29er dinghies sailing in the ABYC Seahorse Youth Regatta. The captured scene fascinates with unusual colour contrasts and has an almost fairytale-like appearance. "The environmental conditions - high solar radiation, heat distortion, fog, little wind - and the distance to the subjects (over 300 metres) pushed the photographic equipment to its limits," recalls Christian Bonin of the challenges on the way to his work.

Samual Cade's powerful Imoca photo twice in the top three

Eugenia Bakunova from Russia won the Audience Award, which is awarded according to the number of online votes received, ahead of Brigi Török from Hungary and Ewan Lebourdais from France. The delegate prize brought a completely different result. Australian Craig Greenhill won with the votes of the Metstrade trade fair visitors in Amsterdam, ahead of Frenchman Samuel Cade and Italian Martina Orsini. Samuel Cade's picture was the only one to make it onto the podium twice in the three Mirabaud competition categories.

Christian Gossmann and Tobias Stoerkle were the only German photographers to make it into the top 20 in the Mirabaud competition. Austrian Stefan Leitner also made it into the top 20 with a study of hard work on board battling the elements. A total of 144 professional photographers from 30 different nations submitted their best sailing motifs for the most prestigious sailing photography competition.

Impressive and very topical: the Alinghi training pictures were taken this week off Barcelona. They show the forces at work on board that Samo Vidic's Mirabaud winning picture captured so well: