Drone vs. North Atlantic Ocean

AIRVŪZ STAFF NOTE : The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world. Held every three years, it was first held in 1973. Covering nearly 39,000 nautical miles it takes around nine months to complete. The start of the race in 2017 was Alicante, Spain and the finish was The Hague, Netherlands. Sam Greenfield got a behind the scenes look while traveling with a crew and shares his experience in this dynamic drone and ground camera video.

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This is a behind the scenes look at my wildest flight of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race. During the transatlantic leg from Newport, Rhode Island to Cardiff, Wales, I was the Onboard Reporter with Team Brunel. If you're not familiar with the Volvo Ocean Race, go check it out - it's arguably the toughest test of team sport in the world, spanning 9 months and over 40,000nm around the globe. On this day we were at the end of a record-breaking run for this class of boat - 588nm sailed in 24 hours. Conditions were foggy and rainy with 30 knots (34.5mph or 55km/h). The water over the deck was relentless, drone suicide, but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to document. Once Kyle Langford (Pro Sailor/Drone lover) was on the wheel I opted for a hatch launch in atti-mode. The entire flight the drone was getting pounded with fog and rain, and when it came time to land the gimbal was shorting out and twitching uncontrollably. Standing in the hatch it's impossibly loud to talk with the driver, but I yelled to Kyle that I was going to crash the drone into the cockpit to get the footage. I could have sworn he said, "Nah, I'll catch it" -- but after the fact, I learned he had sent Peter Burling to the back rail for the catch. Oops. If you watch carefully you can see Kyle didn't flinch when the drone flew alongside his right shoulder and he made the catch effortlessly while sending the boat at record pace down waves. Also, the team was tied for first place so huge props to Kyle and the crew for helping make this shot possible while in full on competition mode. It takes incredible teamwork to win the Volvo Ocean Race, and the same goes for getting the best shots that make it worth the weeks at sea without a toilet or shower. Thanks for watching! Sam P.S. If you're wondering what happened to the drone -- I put it in the engine box to dry for three days -- over which time the camera seemed dead or the props didn't start up. But as soon as we came in sight of the UK coastline it fired back to life and returned to work.