More than 80,000 people packed downtown Auckland, New Zealand, in July to celebrate the triumphant return of the America’s Cup after a 17-year absence. Thunderstorms didn’t dampen spirits as Emirates Team New Zealand paraded down Queen’s Street, the Auld Mug held high, and onto a boat for a tour of the jam-packed Waitemata Harbour. 

When helmsman Peter Burling buried the hulls of his 50-foot foiling ACC catamaran on the way to the start line, lost control and nosed-dived into Bermuda’s Great Sound, there was a chance that the America’s Cup was over for Emirates Team New Zealand. But like Humpty Dumpty, the shore crew picked up the carbon fiber pieces and put the fragile cat back together again, and the Kiwis went on to dispatch the British Land Rover BAR team in the challenger playoffs semifinals, and the Swiss Artemis team in the finals to win the Louis Vuitton Cup, setting up a rematch against Oracle Team USA for the America’s Cup in June.

Although short in stature, sailing photographer Bob Grieser had a huge presence, one that he was known to announce with his trademark bark, a literal “Woof, Woof!” that could be heard from down the dock or across anchorages. Whether it was the press offices of the America’s Cup or the Los Angeles Times, a Caribbean race’s party tent or local sailors’ watering hole, The Big Dog, as Grieser was known, would bring life to any room. ScheduleScheduleSchedule