Owen Adams / Open Skiff

Suellen Hurling

Manly Sailing Club, Whangaparāoa, New Zealand

Regatta Polooza is meant to be a fun, chilled out summer regatta for kids who want to go racing without the worry of who is winning. This year, Regatta Polooza was a different kind of fun, with massive gusts, squalls and rain that felt like you were getting washed down with a fire hose! 12 year old Owen Adams, fresh from completing a school holiday programme and with only 4 weeks sailing under his belt, jumped into the Open Skiff like a pro and was absolutely loving the crazy weather. Check out that smile with gritted teeth! My camera was getting absolutely drenched, but it didn't matter because seeing kids like Owen absolutely loving the stress free, crazy, sendy conditions was worth losing an R5 to the ocean for.

Canon R5, 100-500mm , 400, f6.3 , 1/2000