Photographer Richard Bennett on his 50 years spent capturing the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

At 78-years-old, photographer Richard Bennett is no spring chicken – but that hasn’t stopped him from getting out on the water to capture his 50th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

Photographer Richard Bennett is photographing his 50th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 2023. Picture: Supplied

He might be pushing 80 and currently shooting his 50th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, but seasoned photographer Richard Bennett says he has years left on the water and is still “approaching my prime”.

Richard, 78, has spent the last half-century documenting the iconic race with his trusty camera.

From 4am, he takes to the skies with a pilot, capturing the morning glow in his pictures of the yachts rounding the commanding dolerite cliffs of Cape Raoul, which mark the start of the race’s home stretch

The bearded snapper takes himself to the limit in his quest to take the most spectacular images possible, and has even developed pneumonia on a couple of occasions after working in extreme conditions.

Photographer Richard Bennett is photographing his 50th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 2023. Picture: Supplied

“The wind is where the action is,” Richard said. “And yachties like to see their boat sailing well in rough conditions. They go home and talk about how rough it was out there and the water can look flat calm. And people say, ‘That isn’t rough, it looks like a mill pond’. So, I capture what they go through. Out at sea.”

“And to do that I need a jet ranger helicopter with a highly skilled pilot to provide the platform and the experience to put me where I need to be – where the action is.

“It’s been said that the harder it blows the happier I am. And that’s generally true. There have been occasions where it has blown too hard. But fortunately, that doesn’t happen often.”

For Richard, if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

Photographer Richard Bennett is photographing his 50th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 2023. Pictured here is an image he took of Midnight Rambler during the infamous storm-hit 1998 race. Picture: Richard Bennett

“When you’re concentrating on a major project, you need to put in 100 per cent effort,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter how hard it is. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. It requires total commitment, determination and relentless pursuit of the goals, irrespective of the difficulties, because the yachts don’t stop until they get to Constitution Dock.

“And until I have photographed them all, I’m going to be out there chasing down every yacht because when they get to Hobart they’re going to turn up at my stand [in the Race Village] and ask to see their photographs.

“So, it’s my job to make sure the photographs are there when they get to Hobart. It’s a shared experience really. It’s telling their story in amazing photographs.”

Photographer Richard Bennett is photographing his 50th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 2023. Pictured here is an image he took of Quetzalcoatl during the 2009 race. Picture: Richard Bennett

Richard’s daughter, Alice Bennett, has followed in her father’s footsteps to become a photographer herself, and has joined Richard this year to shoot the race alongside him – something she has been doing intermittently since she was just 14.

“We’re just having so much fun,” she said.

“The light, the waves and the boats are coming. We’re so excited to get out there, the pilot is always telling us to wait and let the yachts get a little closer until we can’t wait any longer, and then we leap into the air again.”

Richard plans one day to pass the torch to Alice and give her sole responsibility for capturing the race. But he says that day is a long way off yet.

“I’m only 78. Approaching my prime,” he said.