For the past 50 years, Richard Bennett has captured all the action, thrills, triumphs and dramas of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race through photographs.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
His archive is made up of the most extensive photographic coverage of the history of the race with 150,000 images that span back to his first race in 1974.
Each year around this time, Mr Bennett's day starts at 3.30am and can finish at anytime as he pursues the perfect shot.
This will often require him to spend nine or 10 hours in a helicopter, allowing him to not only capture action photographs of a boat and its speed, the sea state and Tasmania's beautiful coastline.
"I get an absolute thrill, I absolutely love it," Mr Bennett said.
"It's very exciting and I enjoy it immensely."
He said the 1975 Sydney to Hobart race, which was his second, remained a highlight of his career.
The race was one that year by American maxi Kialoa which broke the race record and held the new record for 19 years.
Mr Bennett said the 1998 race was memorable as well, however, for a different reason.
He said the race that year was the most perilous in his time covering the event as the wind blew and storms raged harder than any other year.
Six sailors died on the water that year.
The nature of Mr Bennett's work, while in the air, has an element of danger about it too, but he said he never got off the ground unless he had complete confidence in those supporting him.
"My concentration is on the photography and I take absolutely no notice of anything that's not relevant going on around me," he said.
Mr Bennett said in applying his skill, he only snapped when he saw the exact shot he wished to take.
"Some people think there's a motor drive and you're taking hundreds of photographs," he said.
"I take three or four typically of each boat and I don't take the photograph until I have composed it to my satisfaction."