The Manhattan Sailing Club annually hosts the Dennis Conner International Yacht Club Challenge, a J/24 Regatta that attracts sailors from across the world.  The Regatta was held August 21st, 2010.  In the above image the Race Committe gives the 2 minute flag before the start of the second race as racers fight for a good position.

The Manhattan Yacht Club’s Flagship, the 12 Meter “America II” cruises the New York Harbor, was bought by a group of members for the club in 2007.  The boat spent most of the afternoon dodging the ferries and buzzing the spectator barge (and bar) that the club anchors off of Ellis Island.

A member of the Race Committe worked barefoot for part of the afternoon.  The Race Committee was comprised of volunteers and a few paid officials.

A patron on the Manhattan Sailing Club’s barge enjoys the same breeze that lifted boats all afternoon.

Two members of the Race Committe for the Manhattan Sailing Club’s Dennis Conner International Yacht Club Challenge debate moving a pin due to a shift in the direction of the wind during the second race of the day.

Three J/24 boats round the top mark as they pass in front of the Empire State Building.

Last week I shot an over 30 club soccer match in Rochester, NY. The teams were a part of the Rochester District Soccer League, the oldest continuously running soccer league in the U.S. since 1913. The match was between Pittsford United SC 1 Thirsty’s (Red) and United (white). The soccer they played was an intelligent player’s game. Their tactics and passes showed years of experience, while their speed sometimes reflected knee surgeries and a 9-5.

The game started around 6:30 in a public park in Pittsford next to a U14 girls soccer team practicing and a summer softball league that seemed more focused on the beer in their coolers than playing softball.  The sidelines were scattered with wives, girlfriends, and the occasional child.  Two women who showed up with players started off on a jog around the park.

The entire park was surrounded by lush, 40 foot tall trees that provided great backgrounds.

Almost every play was contested in the first half, all the players seemed fresh and spry.  One headball ended in a sore nose.

In the second half the sun started to give that warm, orange glow that you only see at sunrise and sunset so I walked to a part of the field where I could shoot directly back into it.  The light only lasted for a couple of minutes but I got two frames from it that I like.

Right as I got to the part of the field where I could shoot back into the sun one of the Thirsty’s players went in hard from behind, tying up the legs of one of his opponents who augered into the pitch.  The United player eventually was helped off the field and after a couple of minutes of sitting walked over and picked up his daughter.  For some reason I didn’t take a picture of it, feeling that I was already intruding a little on this match by sitting in a public park with a very large, very obvious camera.  I still regret not shooting that picture.

After the game the Pittsford team went to their title sponsor, Thirsty’s, for a drink.