MIDNIGHT RAMBLER

Photographer Richard Bennett OAM

Date1998

Object number00055883

NamePhotograph

MediumPaper

DimensionsOverall: 723 × 800 mm
Overall (image): 524 × 661 mm

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift from Richard Bennett

Collections

Terms

DescriptionColour photograph printed in 2017 by photographer Richard Bennett OAM of MIDNIGHT RAMBLER battling huge swells during the tragic 1998 Sydney to Hobart yacht race.HistoryOne of Bennett's most powerful documents was capturing the tragedy of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart in MIDNIGHT RAMBLER. The yacht is framed battling severe winds with reduced sail, its crewmembers dwarfed by the huge swell. MIDNIGHT RAMBLER finished the race as overall champion on handicap, and Bennett's iconic image later won the 1999 Nikon-Kodak Australian Press Photographer of the Year Award for best sports photograph. Richard Bennett OAM first photographed the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 1974 and has captured every race since. Bennett's speciality is low level aerial photography, his yacht photographs characterized by moody seas and the dramatic lines of Tasman landscapes. This style is a product of Bennett's experience as a mountaineer, his love of adventure, and passion for documenting rugged and remote parts of the Tasman Isle. "I love everything about the Sydney to Hobart: the many moods of the sea, the sense of participation in a great adventure, the camaraderie, the tactics, sensing the proximity of the elements, the wildness … the gales, the different light and the dramatic coastline. It’s about putting all those elements together. My most compelling moments photographing the Sydney Hobart are when it is blowing hard. The harder it blows the happier I am…within reason. There is an organisational challenge in being in the right location to capture the peak of the action. (I am not there often enough, according to the yachties!)". SignificanceBennett's award winning photo of MIDNIGHT RAMBLER is a standout in the collection, capturing the tragedy of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart when six sailors lost their lives and 55 were pulled from the tumultuous seas. Only 44 yachts finished the race, 60 pulled aside, five of which, sunk. In the aftermath of the race new rules and safety provisions were implemented.

Bennett's photographs offer a critical reminder of that race and the severe weather patterns of Bass Strait.