Sailing Boat Sound Expedition

During my trip on the American Atlantic coast, I had the chance to jump on a sailboat and record the sounds. This was a mesmerizing expedition, fresh air guaranteed!

An enchanting boat and its captain

I don’t know how much time I have to say I was lucky enough to find this opportunity. The captain in charge of the boat was so nice and generous. He understood the mission and challenge of recording sounds, which was a blessing.
The boat in itself is just magnificent to watch (an Alberg 29), made in extremely beautiful wood, it looks antic but at the same time it is impeccable. every little details on the boat have been taken care of.

Sounds from every angle

I took an holistic approach, by recording the ambience at various place on the boat. From the top front (called the ‘bow’), near the water, near the mast, on the left side, the right side, at the back (the stern), near the wheel,… inside on the bottom of the hull using contact mics (actually I used the Aquarian as contact). I also recorded mechanisms of changing the sail with the typical winch sound. The boat was equipped with a motor too, which of course I could capture.
For the gear, I mainly used my custom handheld made of Sennheiser MKH8090 with Kortwich preamp and Sony A10. I also used Mixpre-6 with the Aquarian hydrophone, and also the LOM Audio MikroUsi.

All in all, it was one of the highlight of my whole road trip across North-East America. A great bowl of fresh air!

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