What follows is an account from the SSL at the SEA Games and the SSL Gold Cup Asian Qualifier in December 2025. Although the story is told through the perspectives of my colleague Karolina Soltaniuk and me, it was the collective effort of a 15-person media team, working across complementary roles, that shaped how the events were experienced and communicated.
I worked across editorial production, press, and sustainability storytelling, responsible for written coverage, newsletters, interviews, and publishing across platforms. Karolina focused on real-time storytelling from the water, managing social media channels and working as an onboard reporter for live broadcast and streaming. Different vantage points, same objective: capturing elite sailing as it unfolded, with accuracy, pace, and human depth.
The SEA Games Pressure Starts on Day One
Ten days in Thailand began with the opening of the SEA Games sailing programme. Expectations were high with Asia’s top sailors preparing to battle until the final meters, and the media operation having to match that intensity from day one. Just a few days before the event, Karolina had been asked to take on the additional role of onboard reporter, a challenge that gave her new wings.
The first briefing made it clear this would be anything but light. Alongside a new central website, every local team site (also new) needed daily updates. For me, that meant five short news alerts per day, translated into local languages. Luckily, not translated by myself, plus a full English press release, daily newsletters, and live dock interviews after racing.
Training Day was no warm-up. Everything had to be dialled in to perfection before the starting signal sounded. With the SEA Games live-broadcasted to millions across Asia and Her Majesty Queen Suthida sailing alongside SSL Team Thailand, security was tight. Permissions from Thai police were required just to be on the water with camera equipment.
I covered the racing from the drone boat, assisting the drone team while taking live notes from every start, shift, and tactical decision. Lighter winds meant easier writing. Stronger breeze and meter-high chop meant wet screens, soaked gear, and moments when typing became close to impossible. Paper and pen crossed my mind for a second. Then reality hit; everything was wet anyway. A soaked phone wiped with a soaked T-shirt was still better than a notebook no one could read. After the first brutal day, a bigger boat and calmer conditions brought relief, and the work continued at full speed.
Authenticity comes from being there. Seeing, hearing, feeling, and living the race before writing about it. That is how stories gain credibility, whether they are written, spoken, or filmed.
From another angle, Karolina was working just as close to the action. Her mornings began with publishing content, pre-race interviews, and preparing for long days on the water. A quiet coffee at the Lake Restaurant overlooking the marina pond became her daily ritual, a brief pause before everything accelerated. Once racing started, there was no pause. Two races per day in over 15 knots of wind, full sunshine, and intense heat. For Karolina, the most emotional moments came immediately after racing, jumping onboard and speaking to sailors while adrenaline was still high and emotions unfiltered.
Photo: Martina Orsini / SSL Gold Cup
Sustainability In Action
Between the two events, the focus shifted briefly from results to responsibility. Sustainability, both environmental and social, took centre stage. Time was tight, racing coverage always comes first, but these initiatives mattered and the whole team made them happen.
Before the Asian Qualifiers began, sailors from the Star Sailors League teamed up with Amara Watersports and 60 local children for a beach clean-up at Ocean Marina Jomtien. In just 30 minutes, 144 kilos of trash were collected, sorted, and sent for recycling. Sailors from multiple nations worked side by side with the children, reinforcing a message that extends far beyond one shoreline.
I documented the morning through still images, social content, and interviews, juggling camera, phone, research notes, and questions on the move. Intense, fast, and deeply rewarding.
The afternoon continued in Pattaya with a filmed interview with Tim McKay, founder of Thai Ocean Academy. What was expected to be short became a 40-minute conversation on education, coral data, and long-term impact, later edited down to two minutes by me together with filmmaker Michael Kolodziej and sustainability managers Elise Laffan and Melissa Gilliéron. No matter the challenge or timeframe, there must always be a solution.
For Karolina, the day between events meant more time on the water, sailing with young Thai sailors training alongside SSL Team Thailand and collecting additional stories. Inspiration, she reflected, always comes from people, and SSL offers endless opportunities for human stories across cultures, nations, and generations.
Gold Cup Asian Qualifiers Precision From Shore
The Asian Qualifiers introduced a new format. Seven teams raced across two groups, changing both pacing and coverage strategy. I followed the racing from shore this time, watching live feeds with headphones on, preparing dock interviews as boats returned. It was less visceral, but highly efficient. Commentators provided sharp analysis and quotes that fed directly into rapid news alerts as each group finished. Sailors were interviewed twice, once in English and once in their native language, with English responses recorded for accurate quotes across press releases, summaries, and newsletters.
Karolina, meanwhile, spent even more time on the water. Four races per day meant longer hours, tighter timelines, and higher output. Boarding yachts in choppy Gulf of Thailand conditions was physically demanding and required careful coordination between RIBs, crews, camera operators, and commentatorst. Before each interview, she prepared the microphone, notes, and headset, waiting for cues while balancing on fast-moving boats. Her pink Peli case became an essential lifeline for keeping equipment dry.
Preparation, hydration, and teamwork were survival tools. Content plans, creative frameworks, electrolytes, and trust within the media team made it possible to sustain the pace.
The Work You Do Not See
Every day followed a relentless rhythm. Early breakfasts, emails, and social media at sunrise, transfers to the marina by 8.30. Mornings were for preparation, newsletter frameworks, press monitoring, and coordination. Racing usually started at midday. Interviews followed immediately after. Evenings were for writing, editing, approvals, publishing, and newsletters. Days ended sometime between early evening and late night, only to repeat again. Over ten days, I produced 54 written pieces; articles, newsletters and alerts, managed sustainability visuals, published across multiple platforms, supported translations and held daily interviews. Karolina delivered continuous social coverage, live onboard reporting, and broadcast interviews.
Between December 14-22, the events reached:
• +5M TV audience
• 215.1k live YouTube views
• 27h 16m of live broadcast
• 309 content pieces published
• 54 written articles and news alerts authored by me during the event
• 37.3k social media engagements
However, what mattered most was not the statistics, but the collaboration and trust within a team that functioned under pressure.
Historic firsts. Royal moments. Points battles. High heat. High pressure. Golden tickets. Big drama.
Two major events done and dusted. Live broadcast to millions. Published in real time. Daily. We both agree that it was intense, fast-paced, full throttle, inspiring. And a lot of fun.
For those watching from afar, buckle up. The battle has only just begun.
Read the previous articles from the SEA Games 2025 and SSL Gold Cup Asian Qualifiers here:
- Racing for More Than Results: A Look Inside SSL’s Sustainability Actions
- Roaring and Roller-Coaster Rides as Oman and the Philippines Grab the Golden Tickets to Rio
- Momentum Swing Showdown
- Buckle Up For Big Drama
- Seven Nations, Two Tickets – the SSL Gold Cup Battle Begins Now
- Thailand Takes Gold Medal on Home Waters in a Historic Royal Moment
- High Heat and Fierce Competition
- Points Battle Intensifies in Pattaya
- High-Intensity Start at SEA Games
- Historic First as SSL Goes Live at the SEA Games with Asia’s Top Sailors
