The Malta Cruising Club launches The Panasonic Lumix Photo Award

Sailing along the coastline, anchoring in a quiet bay for an overnight sleep and sitting at the helm of the boat lazily watching the sun set in the distance all sound idyllic beyond most people’s dreams. But to a group of leisure sailing cruisers who enjoy sailing in company, this shared passion brings them together through their membership of The Malta Cruising Club.

“In our view, a cruise can be anything from a few days sailing in local waters to long weeks or a whole summer cruising the Mediterranean, or even the world,” explains club secretary Michael Mifsud, himself an avid cruising sailor. “We are lucky enough to be based in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, with hundreds of locations within our reach, thus making pleasure sailing a very convenient and accessible way of travelling and enjoying some of the unique pleasures that only sailing can give.”

“Besides promoting cruising, our club also holds lectures, talks and presentations during which members share their own sailing experiences. We practice this passion in the company of each other, something that we consider an added bonus. We get together, alongside our families, we share our time, we create new friendships and nurture them. More importantly, we believe that sailing with others results in safety in numbers,” added Mr Mifsud.

The Malta Cruising Club is now launching a nationwide photographic competition open to everyone to present the Panasonic Lumix Photo Award to the best sailing themed photograph. The competition, sponsored by Panasonic, is themed Cruising – An Idea For Life and the winning photographer will win a Panasonic Lumix Digital Camera courtesy of Digital Planet, official importers of Panasonic in Malta.

“This is the first time we have held this competition, which we intend to organise on a yearly basis. Moreover, we are very lucky to have secured the expertise of none other than Kurt Arrigo, Malta’s foremost professional marine and sailing photographer. Mr Arrigo will be assessing all the entries to choose the winner,” Mr Mifsud added.

“Panasonic is all about quality entertainment and therefore, associating ourselves with The Malta Cruising Club and supporting this creative competition was a natural involvement for us,” said Keith Spiteri from Digital Planet. “Cruising is a great way to enjoy life, the pleasures offered by the company of family and friends and most importantly to fully appreciate the wonders of nature, the sea, and life around us. It is with this in mind that we chose to partner the Malta Cruising Club in support of this creative competition,” Mr Spiteri concluded.

Entries for the competition can be sent by email to info@cruising.org.mt by not later than 5th February 2012. The winning photograph will be announced in February.