This has a Cape Cod/coming of winter feel - all the sails down, and a grey stormy feel to the sky. The side lighting in B&W adds a harshness and coldness to the scene, that in color would likely feel completely different in a warm sunlight.

Super, like the bw version over color as it showcases the light and patterns without the distraction of color.

Thanks Tommy:-)

A visual concerto of powerboat and armada of sailboats with the masts presenting a fearsome display of windpower. The speedboat seems reluctant to approach.. Nice combination of ecological statement and visually compelling sequence of sailboat masts and their reflections. Delicious bw too.

Thanks Penny, Carole (ahrt connoisseur) & John:-) I could possibly PP the colour one to emphasise the light more but as I shot this for B&W I didn't give the colour version a fair consideration. I think wanting some grain in my B&W picys is maybe just from when I was first into photography in 1971 & all the examples of great photography that I liked seemed to be shot on TriX film Iso400. Colour photography wasn't seen as an art form back then, Ansel Adams didn't think you could make art with colour film. Maybe it all just boils down to brainwashing Penny, when I was learning photography B&W was it & for the photographers I learnt to like, TriX & fine film grain was the preferred film.
People learning in the digital age may be are brainwashed in the same way I was & over saturating their colour picys for more impact to the viewer. At least old dinosaurs like me & Tommy can remind people of the past glory days:-)
After a 30yr break from photography I'm learning again in the digital age.

Very ahhhhhhhrty Rod! ;-) The pp makes if look like a classic old film image! Nice light, composition and I like seeing all those masts sticking up like toothpicks.

PS. Why do you always want grain in a B&W photo?

I'm going out on a limb here (am I breaking any rules?) but I will commit to giving this a good score whichever version you go with. Maybe John said it - the B&W is about the wonderful light and contrasts and the color is about the wonderful colors and light (in those orders). The challenge is about light. You shot for B&W. You pick.

In B&W, this shot is about the light ... sure it has beautiful content ... sure it has beautiful reflections ... but in the end it is about the light that Doug describes. The color one is about the beautiful colors, reflections and content. I almost always favor color over B&W but in this case I have to recommend that you go B&W ... as you said yourself ... this works.

Thanks Penny, Jill, Brent, Steve, & Dougy:-) Gawd now wot do I do, all me favourite girls want it in colour & the ahrty blokes want it in B&W:-) Penny I actually shot this to be B&W & I shot my first 4 or 5 picys at Iso 1600 to try & get some grain but for insurance purposes I shot off 3 at Iso 100 & bugger me if the small speed boat was in a much better position for the composition in the Iso 100 picys. That's when I thought of using the Fred Miranda thingy as it has a mild type of film grain from 100 to 400 iso. It's from the Fred Miranda photography forums, he sells them there. It's in the PS that's on my computer from a Graphic Designer friend of Holly, that's why I have access to all the dreaded PS filters:-)
I think most of my B&W picys come from good colour picys, maybe it's a thing from the past & Tommy would be the same there's just something about a B&W picy if it works. I thought the B&W version told the story of the light better than the colour one, much as Dougy described

You filled your personal pending gallery to get there but finally hit the money shot. This is the ripper. The light is blasting in from the right side with full force before being absorbed by the image and reduced just the perfect amount before exiting stage left. The light enforces it's presence on the reflections along the way leaving an opposite reaction in the water. Now THIS is side lighting. -Doug

Great Rod, the lighting really is perfect, I tend to prefer color shots, but I actually prefer the B&W version.

Rod....this is wonderful, the lighting, the reflections, as well as the sky. I too would have left it in colour.(sorry) Ernest would have gone B&W. I would not like to find my boat amongst so many :-). Pity this is the last , I was looking forward to some more.

Usually I convert to B&W when the color doesn't seem to add anything to a picture, but this one.... what made you think of converting it? I'm honestly not sure which one I like better now that I've seen them both.
Where do you get a fred miranda converter and I guess I'll have to think about why one would want to add film grain to a picture like this one. You always have interesting ideas so I'm curious.

Beautiful image Rod! You may hate to hear this but the color image looks much better to me as an image and for the topic too. Great work mate!

Thanks Penny, JP, Daniel & John:-) Well Mereana does get the credit in a way Daniel as I had to drop her & Holly off at Manly markets as they're having a stall there to day to flog off some of their handicrafts & just round the corner is this place so I got a couple of picys. Penny I've put the colour one in the drop box. I put this one through the Fred Miranda B&W converter to add a film grain of Iso 400 which my favourite Tri X was although I did the B&W conversion in PS B&W converter & of course the ole Dodge & Burn:-)
There's no way a bloke will be winning this challenge John, have you seen some of the girls picys?

Slipped in a winner here ... just in time too.

This shot is so wonderful that I am suspecting it was taken for Mereana. Well done Mereana!. Daniel.

For the record, if you keep coming up with images like this, I will never mind how many more there are. The light is perfect (okay okay, I know, you just wanted to show me how I should have done it but my harbor shot was not taken for the challenge). I particularly like the masts and how they look differently depending on the darkness of the sky.
And just one more thing - while I might like to see the color version, I can't imagine I will like it better... the contrast here is superb.