Double win for Josh in ilovesailing calendar competition
by Emma Slater, RYA 6 Aug 2016 15:46 BST
6 August 2016
Big Boys Toys © Josh Cooper
It was double glory for Josh Cooper from Aberdyfi, Gwynedd, when not one, but two of his entries in the ilovesailing calendar competition where chosen to feature in the 2017 ilovesailing calendar.
Picked from among the 23 stunning entries for July, Josh was thrilled with his win commenting: "My two passions in life are photography and sailing and I was therefore thrilled to learn that two of my photos have been selected for the RYA 2017 Calendar - a double bonus! Sailing makes a great subject for photographers: it can combine dramatic action with stunning locations and landscapes. When I'm not on a boat sailing, I'm usually on the shore or a RIB with camera in hand."
Josh's winning images show two very different sides of sailing. The first of winning shots is entitled 'Big Boys Toys'. "The youth of Dovey Yacht Club decided to have a go at sailing an Ultra 30 in Cardigan Bay and discovered it's not quite as easy as it looks! Just as they were starting to get the hang of it, a shroud parted and that was it for the rest of the day. Oh well - there's always next time!" explained Josh.
While in his second photo, entitled 'Twilight on the Dyfi Estuary, Gwynedd, Wales", Josh comments: "I love the changing colours after the sun has set. The sky turns from a bright orange sunset to deep reds, purples and eventually blue, before darkness envelopes everything. This stretch of the Dyfi Estuary is one of my favourite spots and to make it even more romantic it's known locally as 'Smugglers Cove'. Where better to drop anchor after a day sailing with dolphins in Cardigan Bay?"
As well as his two spots on the 2017 calendar Josh also wins:
- Two tickets to the PSP Southampton Boat Show for the official prize giving
- Canvas print of his winning entries
- A copy of the final printed calendar
- An RYA goody bag
And of course the much loved and coveted ilovesailing Union Jack rubber duck!
The ilovesailing calendar competition opened in March with entrants submitting their favourite sailing photos. Each month between March and July two winners were picked to represent a different month on the 2017 calendar. The final two spots will be picked in mid-August from all the other entries made between March and July. This way all entrants will have two shots at winning a spot on the calendar.
"Yet again the calibre of entries in the competition was extremely high and choosing just two winning shots proved a tricky task for the judges. However after much deliberation two photos were chosen which we then found out both belonged to Josh; he clearly has an eye for taking great sailing photos!", commented ilovesailing co-ordinator Emma Slater.
"We've had some amazing entries every month so we are very excited to go back and revisit all the entries to find our final two winners", Emma added.
The 2017 calendars will go on sale at the 2016 Southampton Boat Show in September, with the first 100 people to purchase a copy also receiving a 2016 ilovesailing rubber duck. Alternatively the calendars will also be available to purchase via the RYA web shop, www.rya.org.uk/shop from 16 September.
As well as the calendar competition the ilovesailing page will continue to run its ever popular weekly caption competition, giving you a chance to share your funny, clever and witty captions in a bid to win an ilovesailing duck.
Come along to the page at www.facebook.com/ryailovesailing and get involved.
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