"One of the greatest challenges when photographing a regatta from a rib is keeping the cameras clean and dry. Salt water and electronic cameras do not mix well. In the early days there was water everywhere as we bobbed around in underpowered 15ft ribs. Thankfully for the last five years I've been photographing from some big powerful chase boats. However, spray on the lens is a nightmare and on this particular day in Imperia all my lenses and filters were affected. Mariquita was charging towards the finish line on a broad reach and I was desperately trying to clean some filters when I remembered I had my 100mm macro lens in my bag. Quite an unusual lens to use for a marine action shot but what the hell. It was like finding a set of keys that you thought you'd lost. A totally dry, clean lens with a pristine UV filter to boot. I was sorted for the next 5 minutes at least. I'd visualised this shot when I saw the course in the morning and everything was coming together beautifully. For me there are two elements that really elevate this photograph. The first is the red protest flag that Mariquita is flying and the second is the cityscape in the background. Those extra pieces of colour really elevate what is already a dynamic composition."