I’ve done it at the top of a mast, I’ve done it on the end of a bowsprit, I’ve done it underwater, I’ve done it while being courted by an amorous seal, and now I’ve done it on the bow of a 19ft (5.8m) speedboat crossing Southampton Water at 20kts. I am of course talking about taking photos. Part of my job as boating journalist is to wedge myself in various awkward positions to hopefully get what is known in the trade as ‘the money shot’. What I hadn’t anticipated when I climbed onto the foredeck of the Sabre 19 was how little space there would be. I had to either slide back onto the windscreen or perch with the bow cleat between my legs. I chose the latter as it gave me the wide-angle view I was after. But ouch.
I was lucky it was a calm day on Southampton Water with hardly any other boats around, and hence very little wash. Despite my extra weight in the bow, the little boat carried on as if nothing had changed (though I’m sure driver Robert
