Color wheel

Marine photographers spend their life seeking the perfect moment to capture, but some images stand out better than others because of the colors of the subject. So Scuttlebutt asked a few of the top shooters what they thought were the best colors for boats and crew gear. Here were there responses:

* Gilles Martin-Raget: Definitely red for the hull, a bit flashy. Get the Ferrari paint code. For the crew, I like white, but I know it’s a nightmare for the crews to keep it really white along the days. Also, plain white spinnakers/gennakers should be banned! We want colours and funny graphics!

* Onne van der Wal: I think my favorite color hull is a light grey blue...



Then please dress the crew with a yellow faded color shirt...



Also, red deck shoes and no socks. Yellow or red spinnaker too. So there you go! That's my dream color combo! Call me when its ready I will come and shoot it! Oh and it should be blowing 15-20 knots with a deep blue color water like you get off Hawaii or in the gulfstream off Miami and lots of sun.

* Daniel Forster: I know what we don’t like: Dark hulls with black gear, like Team NZL. Also, first crew gear rule: Every crew member should wear the same outfit!

There is no standard of my preference. I like blue hulls with either blue or red dressed crew, or a mix of it as you can see on Barking Mad...



When it blows, I find the cleanest, classic view is the white hull with yellow foul weather gear as in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race photo...



The classic racing look is still a white boat with a blue dressed crew. They stand out from all the white dressed crews. Like US 40101 at the Rolex Farr 40 worlds start...



But do not forget: There is only one color for crew gear on a classic yacht: Virgin white, with blue shorts, like Bill Koch’s KZ 7...