Carlo Borlenghi: Obituary – Images for Eternity

Every sailor in the world recognises these images! The spray-speckled bow waves of an America’s Cup racer glistening in the evening sun. The solitary silhouette of a solo skipper somewhere between sky and ocean. The weary smile of a crew after weeks at sea.

​The man behind the lens

Carlo Borlenghi was born in Bellano on Lake Como in 1956 and grew up with a deep passion for the water. What began as a youthful fascination with sailing boats soon turned into a dual obsession: capturing the beauty of sailing and sharing it with the world. With his camera in hand and the wind at his back, he began to gain his first experiences at regional regattas and local sailing clubs in the early 1980s. It soon became clear that Borlenghi possessed an extraordinary eye – for the way light refracts through a sail, for the decisive moment when a boat lifted off and seemed to fly, and for the human dramas unfolding on board.

Through his agency Sea&See and later his world-famous Studio Borlenghi He went on to become one of the world’s most sought-after sailing photographers. His photographs appeared in virtually every major sailing magazine on the planet – from *Sail* to *Yachting World* and, of course, *YACHT*, as well as in national and international daily newspapers. Publishing houses, sailing associations, shipyards and equipment manufacturers all over the world booked Carlo Borlenghi because they knew that when Borlenghi is behind the camera, the result is not mere documentation – it is art.

Four decades at sea

For more than four decades, Carlo Borlenghi was a regular fixture at the world’s biggest sailing regattas. He photographed countless editions of the America’s Cup – from the classic duels on the water to the modern era of flying catamarans. He covered the Volvo Ocean Race, formerly known as the Whitbread Round the World Race and one of the toughest regattas on the planet. He was there when the Vendée Globe heroes returned to Les Sables after months of solitude at sea and endless physical exertion. He captured Jules Verne record attempts in images that take your breath away.

Borlenghi spared no effort and shied away from no danger. He hung out of helicopters to find the perfect angle. He sat on small RIBs and was tossed about by the waves whilst keeping his camera dry. He would wait for hours for the right light, which he knew how to interpret with the intuition of a true artist. For him, a photograph was never simply a snapshot – it was the result of preparation, patience, experience and a deep love for what he was photographing.

What he has contributed to the sport of sailing

Carlo Borlenghi’s significance to the sport of sailing can scarcely be put into words or figures. Yet his contribution is enormous. He has opened up a sport – which, outside its own community, was long regarded as elitist and inaccessible – to a global audience. His photographs told stories – of courage and exhaustion, of the power of nature and the fragility of human beings at sea. They captured the beauty of sailing so compellingly that countless people were inspired to take up the sport in the first place by his images.

It was he who documented the technological revolution in sailing. From the classic monohull duels of the America’s Cup in the 1980s to the foiling high-tech machines of modern competitive sailing. Borlenghi was always there, capturing the transformation with an admirable eye for the essentials. He worked with the greatest sailors of his time, with the teams of the most powerful syndicates, and with the solitary solo skippers, and he accorded each of these people and moments the dignity they deserved.

A legacy that endures

Carlo Borlenghi leaves behind a photographic legacy of inestimable value – an archive that documents the history of modern sailing like no other. His photographs will continue to speak for themselves in books, exhibitions and on the walls of sailing clubs around the globe, long after the man who took them is no longer with us. What will remain are the memories of his unique smile, of the strikingly friendly and generous sportsman, of the committed champion of young talent and, of course, his body of work.

With the passing of Carlo Borlenghi, the world of sailing has lost an irreplaceable voice. The sea has lost one of its most devoted observers. And we have all lost the man who, time and again, showed us why we love sailing so much.

Thank you, Carlo – for every single photo.