Before drones, aerial photography of sailing competitions was only available by chartering a helicopter or plane, which was expensive and provided limited coverage. Helicopters and planes could only go to sea a certain distance before having to return to land to refuel, and the cost of a one-hour helicopter ride could easily exceed one thousand dollars.
Today, each Volvo Ocean 65 has its own media person on board, and all of them use drones to provide footage that was not available in the pre-drone era. Drones are now launched regularly from Volvo Ocean 65s, providing video and still images from the most remote locations, even in the middle of the Southern Ocean.
In this video compilation, the highly-skilled drone operators give you a look at the interior of Turn The Tide On Plastic, fly between the headsails of AkzoNobel, take you on a rollicking sleigh ride through the Southern Ocean, and finish with the recovery of a drone by a crew member on the stern of Brunel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRiuK0LnqB4
