Originally from Arles in the south of France Gilles now lives in Marseille where he has worked for over 40 years as a marine photographer. What some may not know is that he was for many years an active professional racer, first in the Mediterranean and then in major international events – including an America's Cup campaign in 1983 aboard France III.
He first started covering the regattas in which he participated as a journalist for various specialist magazines, including Voiles et Voiliers, his go-to magazine. He became a full-time professional photographer in 1986, he has since been providing images to the world’s major publications.
He has authored – individually or collectively – numerous books on racing and boats and has worked as the official photographer for several major sailing events and professional racing teams and sponsors. He also produces advertising visuals for the biggest names in the nautical industry, such as Wally Yacht and the Bénéteau group.
One of Gilles’ true passions is the America's Cup where he is one of the very few photographers to have covered the last 13 editions. He was the official photographer for Oracle Racing for 11 years, notably at the time of the giant trimaran USA 17. At AC34 in San Francisco in 2013 he managed the photo production of the event.
In recent years he has added video production and drone piloting to his skill set and continues to work for his many international clients (including Louis Vuitton during the 38th America’s Cup in Barcelona) and is well known for his spectacular images of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez, for which he has been the official photographer for many years.
Fuji at Ushant
May 27, 2002. French solo skipper Loïck Peyron passing Ushant Island aboard the ORMA 60 trimaran Fujifilm during the Course des Phares race.
This archive photo from 2002 won the ‘Photo of the Century Award' in 2020 (the year of the Covid when nobody was able to take a racing photo). Although many sailing fans know it already, I could not leave it out of this selection. It was taken in 2002 during the Round the Lighthouse Race for ORMA 60 trimarans – the fastest offshore boats in the world at that time.
Skippered by the legendary Loïck Peyron the boat was sailing in a very shallow channel of water at the west tip of Brittany between Ushant and the Sein Islands. It’s a very spectacular stretch of water when the tide is running against the North Atlantic swell creating large pyramidal waves like the one the trimaran looks like it is about to encounter.
In fact the anticipated collision never happened, as the wave disappeared in an instant just before the boat got there. But the passage was a tricky one nevertheless and I remember being surprised how little the trimaran had slowed given the crazy sea state. I had never seen a boat be shaken about like that before – nor have done since.
This photo was taken at a turning point in photography as it was shot with a digital camera (a Canon EOS D60). I could have used a film camera as I was using both at that time because we were not quite sure of the quality of the digital. Soon after the photo was taken – and with Fuji far away ahead of its opponents – we landed on a beach and I was able to send this photo from my laptop using one of those noisy and slow external modems. It took a little while but then it was gone into the newly emerging Internet. The original file was only 3 MB and not even shot in raw but in .jpg. (today’s cameras create 45 MB files and we shoot in raw), but the file was good enough quality to be featured on many magazine covers and even coffee table books.
I eventually gave up film for good in 2005. Twenty years later, the good news is that the progress of photo editing software now enables us to enlarge those small files considerably without losing quality. So if you want to fill an entire wall with this Fuji at Ushant image please call because now it is possible!
Testing the Giant
July 17, 2009. BMW Oracle Racing’s USA 17 during a training session in San Diego (CA) in preparation for the 33rd America’s Cup.
As team photographer for BMW Oracle Racing my job was to chronicle the creation, testing and racing action of the gigantic American trimaran USA 17 that ultimately won the 33rd America’s Cup. It was a huge adventure and an unforgettable experience that generated so many unique images like this one.
This one was taken a day the crew was testing the performance of the VPLP
design in ‘high-flying’” mode. Normally the trimaran was supposed to be sailed as low as possible to maximise its huge power, but this session was typical of the kind of ‘no-stone-unturned’ testing programme the team would engage in – just in case anything valuable might be discovered.
I particularly like this photo as it gives a good idea of the true scale of the giant multihull. Jimmy Spithill and the crew were roughly 15 to 20 metres above the water and flying at 30 knots. I was always very impressed throughout the campaign by the courage of these pioneering sailors who were in many ways similar to the crazy people who flew the first aeroplanes.
In this picture, USA 17 is still equipped with its original ‘traditional’ rig (albeit with a huge, carbon aerofoil rotating mast) and ‘soft’ (like cardboard) sails that were so big a crane was needed to load them aboard. It was not an ideal combination and two days after this photo was taken, the mast exploded with a deafening bang. Because of the speed and the narrow apparent wind angle, the massive mast tube fell backwards onto the main hull, with several crew members being jettisoned into the water. It was an absolute miracle that nobody was injured.
An almost even bigger miracle happened a few days later when the boat’s new wing mast was stepped – a highly complex operation using two gigantic cranes – and USA17 sailed the same day inside San Diego Bay and showed a dramatic improvement in power and manoeuvrability. That was the pace and determination of the American campaign that ultimately overcame their Swiss rival Alinghi in Valencia, Spain to bring the America's Cup back to the USA.
Solo Sailor Pushing Hard
May 2003. French solo sailor Jeremie Beyou racing his Beneteau Figaro Solo in the Generali Med off Porquerolles Island near Hyères, France.
I have always been amazed how the top solo sailors can push their boats close to – and sometimes beyond – the point where any regular racing crew would have reduced sail a while ago. Here we are with Jérémie Beyou (who recently finished fourth in the 2024-25 Vendée Globe on his state-of-the-art IMOCA Charal) racing in Mistral conditions aboard a Beneteau Figaro Solo one-design during a long downwind leg between Marseille and Porquerolles Island.
I was shooting from a helicopter and I set a slow shutter speed for the camera to accentuate the impression of speed created by the flying spray. This type of shooting which is relatively easy to achieve on land in a stadium, perhaps for motor racing, is much more difficult at sea. The boat is moving in 3D directions because of its speed and the effect of waves. The photographer too, but not the same directions, nor at the same pace – to say nothing of the vibrations of the helicopter.
These situations call for what I describe as ‘statistical shooting’. That involves taking many, many, many pictures as you experiment with different shutter speeds, and hold your breath and try not to move when you squeeze the shutter. In reality most of your photos go straight in the garbage, and you are extremely happy if you get one that is more or less correct and usable.
Why IMOCA Designs Went to Dry Cockpits
July 16, 2008. French IMOCA solo skipper Kito de Pavant aboard Groupe Bel off Port Camargue, France while training for the Route du Rhum.
This shot makes it easy to understand why the fastest offshore sailing boats like the IMOCAs and Ultims are now designed to keep the sailor sheltered inside a dry cockpit. The previous generation of IMOCAs were slower and much, much, wetter than today’s modern designs that fly above the waves on foils.
Groupe Bel is a Guillaume Verdier / VPLP design launched in 2007 in the south of France for skipper Kito de Pavant. The photo was taken in the Gulf of Lion during training with an appropriately 25-knot Mistral blowing.
It was taken from a helicopter and one of the purposes of the session was to capture some spectacular images ahead of the Route du Rhum 2008. This sortie was part of a long term assignment with this project that lasted several years.
Ultimately Kito did not succeed with his Vendée Globe hopes, but his boat has since had a long career – including finishing 21st in the 2024-25 Vendée Globe with Conrad Colman as MS Amlin.
12 mR Forever
1986-87. France’s America’s Cup Challenger French Kiss racing during the Louis Vuitton Cup, Fremantle, Australia.
As someone who has sailed on 12 Metre yachts, watched the historical win of Australia II in Newport in 1983 as one of my very first photo assignments, and then covered in its entirety the most spectacular edition of the America’s Cup – the one staged in 1987 in Fremantle – 12 Metre yachts and the 12 Metre class means something very special to me – and will do for the rest of my life.
What makes these boats so special is hard to define. Maybe it’s the balance of their proportions, maybe the ratio between the size of the boat and the size of the sailors, maybe it’s the satisfying way a 12 Metre sails through the waves – sometimes slicing through at a nice pace, but sometimes exploding the water out of its way.
Maybe it’s the fact that the sails go down to the deck, or maybe the low freeboard. Or perhaps it’s the way the crew is tightly packed together, or the fact that their intense physical efforts show clearly on their faces. Maybe it’s about the skill of the foredeck guys who are fully exposed to the waves on the 12 Metre’s narrow bow during sail changes or gybes. Whatever it is, there’s a lot of magic in the Twelves.
This photo of French Kiss in Fremantle perfectly illustrates how the sailors, designers and technicians adapted the boats designed for the light airs prevailing in Newport to deal with the brutal sea state generated by the ‘Fremantle Doctor’ – the notorious local sea breeze which blows at 20-25 knots under clear blue skies. Although tough for the sailors, these conditions made for the perfect studio for apprentice marine photographers like me at that time.
French Kiss was a Philip Briand design steered by Marc Pajot which reached the Louis Vuitton Cup semi-final and was then beaten by Kiwi Magic skippered by Chris Dickson.
J Class Power
October 7, 2006 J Class Shamrock V racing at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez regatta.
This is another aerial shot taken at low altitude using one of my favourite lenses – the 600mm f4.
It depicts the fabulous power deployed by the J Class yachts and illustrates the extra caution the crew need to take when they move about the deck in strong winds. The volume of water washing the decks of a J Class are larger than on any other boat and with no lifelines the risk of man overboard is high.
Shamrock V was the last of Sir Thomas Lipton’s America's Cup yachts. She is built entirely of wood and is one of the smallest in the J Class fleet. Nevertheless, due to her low freeboard she is one of the most spectacular to photograph spectacular in a breeze. The good news is that she has just had a major refit and will rejoin the J Class racing circuit in 2025. I cannot wait!
Bermudian Kiwi Nosedive
June 6, 2017. 35th America’s Cup Day 3 of the Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Pushing to the limit and sometimes beyond is one of the characteristics of Kiwi sailors, designers, and engineers. During the last few America’s Cup editions there have been incidents that could potentially destroy their entire campaign.
At the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda, on one of the windiest racing days of the 2017 season, the New Zealand crew were facing the British Land Rover BAR team with Sir Ben Ainslie at the helm. At some point on the hairy first leg of the race the Kiwi boat’s rudder came out of the water and instantly sent the AC50 catamaran into a high speed nosedive.
As a photographer in this kind of situation you have mixed feelings. Although you shoot by reflex, at the same time your brain is saying ‘Oh no! This is bad. Please let nobody be injured’. The agonising time it takes for head counts is terrible, but it is an experience I have been through year after year.
Having watched so many breakages and tense situations like this one, I have developed a real fear about windy conditions and that kind of upper limit wind range racing – especially with the huge speeds of today foiling yachts – when bad things can happen and sailors are at risk. It is a complete paradox for a professional yachting photographer as we all know that the best sailing photos are taken in strong winds and heavy seas.
Another thing to know about this photo is it came about as the result of something all yachting photographers always need – a nice bit of luck and good fortune. As part of the AC 35 official photo team in Bermuda it was my turn to be in the helicopter, but it was a rainy day and the TV video crew and the pilot wanted the side door closed to keep the live TV equipment set in the cabin dry.
One minute before the start, the door was still closed, and I was getting frantic because for sure it was going to be a spectacular start. At the very last moment the miracle happened. The rain finally stopped and the pilot allowed me to open the door less than 10 seconds before the nosedive occurred.
Moral of the story: Never lose faith and always be ready to shoot.
Here Comes the Hail
September 29, 2007. Régates Royales, Cannes, France.
Sailing is a nature sport and that’s why we love it. But for photographers there are some weather moments when you have to choose between taking a photo or protecting the fragile and very expensive equipment you have in your hands. The truth is that most of the time when you have to choose you sensibly go for the equipment saving option. The alternative is to risk not being able to work for a few days and paying a hefty repair bill.
Sometimes though, what you see is so exceptional that you choose to risk it and go for the photo – albeit just for a few seconds, while trying to shield your camera body and lenses from the elements as best as you can. That’s exactly what happened that day when a squall approached the starting area of the classic yachts racing in the renowned Régate Royales de Cannes, on the French Côte d’Azur. Although it was not so ‘azur’ on that day as – like can often happen in September – heavy clouds had gathered over the race area.
The start gun had just fired when suddenly a heavy hail shower began to fall. The reduced visibility forced the committee to cancel the race as the fleet scattered in different directions to escape the hail storm, struggling to reduce sail, avoid breakages, and more general chaos.
A few minutes after it all started I decided to go for a wide angle shot that might enable me to protect the camera under my wet weather gear. Opening my jacket slightly and hunching over to shield the gear I was only able to point the lens straight in front of me, nothing else. The hailstones were really big and they hurt! A few minutes later, as suddenly as it had begun, the hail was gone and everything went back to peace and quiet – as if it had never happened.
Flying Around the World
September 2023. French IMOCA skipper Charlie Dalin aboard MACIF racing in the Defi Azimuth regatta in Lorient, France.
The Défi Azimuth regatta is a very special annual event that takes place in September in the French port of Lorient in Brittany. It is a prelude to the major transatlantic races – Route du Rhum, Transat Jacques Vabre – that usually start a few weeks later. This regatta brings together the cream of the IMOCA fleet looking to benchmark themselves against the competition and it is also useful for capturing powerful images for PR, marketing, and media use.
A day during the event is devoted to the sprint runs where the competitors try to set the fastest speed over a half a mile straight line course. For the teams this is a fantastic opportunity to take guests, sponsors, or even shore team members onboard to experience the thrill of IMOCA sailing. This photo of Charlie Dalin aboard MACIF was taken in 2023, one year prior to the start of the 2024-25 Vendée Globe that Dalin went on to win.
Even back then Dalin was already demonstrating amazing skill and finesse as he flew his Guillaume Verdier design at full speed. I shot this image from onboard the legendary Nigel Irens media catamaran Royale Atlantic that was specifically constructed in the late 90s by Philippe Facque in order to film and photograph the fastest racing boats in offshore conditions. I had the pleasure to be onboard for very many miles back in the early 2000s while shooting the ORMA trimarans. I can say that although it is fast, wet, and shaky to be onboard, this boat is an invaluable tool when it comes to capturing close up views of high performance offshore racing.
Super Maxi or 470 Dinghy?
September 2021. The 100-foot Verdier Design/VPLP Super Maxi 'Comanche' racing during Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez.
The legendary Super Maxi monohull Comanche by VPLP/ Verdier has won just about every major offshore race – including Rolex Fastnet and Sydney to Hobart races – and set multiple transoceanic records. Its capacity to sail endlessly at maximum speed and the fact that it can surf like a 470 when the seas get large enough, makes it one of the most spectacular racing yachts of all time.
In this photo taken from a helicopter the crew are racing in a solid breeze on a coastal course during Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez in 2021. The problem you have as a photographer when you get the chance to witness a boat like this really putting on a show is to not forget about the other 250 other boats you have also to shoot in such ideal conditions.
I am not complaining as the rest of the fleet at that regatta included several other amazing Super Maxis, a class of big, beautiful – and on that day, overpowered – classic yachts, along with a myriad of smaller other boats that were struggling much more in those strong winds. It’s on days like that when I really love my job!
