SYDNEY: Two experienced sailors were killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney to Hobart yacht race, organisers and local authorities said on Friday, as a string of yachts retired in powerful winds and high seas.

Race organisers had said in a statement that both crew members died after they were suspected to have been hit by the sail boom, a horizontal pole which holds down the sails and swings depending on the direction of the wind.

They later said one of the sailors, Nick Smith from South Australia, has been hit by the boat’s mainsheet and thrown across the boat, hitting his head on the winch.

Smith, 65, was a crew member of the Bowline, competing in the race for the fifth time.

A few hours later a crew member on the Flying Fish Arctos was struck by a sail boom and died. He was identified as Roy Quaden, 55, a sailor with two decades of experience from Western Australia.

“The sailing community is a very close community, and there’s about a thousand sailors on the water in this race and to lose two in this fashion is just devastating,” said David Jacobs, vice commodore at Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.

“We always want to improve safety wherever we can. So we will do an investigation and if there’s something that boats can do to try and prevent this happening, we will implement it.”

Other crew tried to revive the two Australians but were unsuccessful. Weather conditions played a part in the deaths, Jacobs told reporters, with one of the boats facing 30-38 knot winds and seas of two-to-three metres (six-10 feet).

“They’re challenging conditions. You only need to be hit broadside by a wave and it will knock you across,” Jacobs said, adding however that the weather was not “extreme” for ocean racers.

In a night of drama, one man was also swept overboard from the yacht Porco Rosso and carried far out before being rescued by his crew, Jacobs said.

He promised an investigation by the yacht club to help improve safety in the event but said the race would go on.

Crews on the two yachts that lost men had been hard hit, said New South Wales marine area command superintendent Joseph McNulty.

“Both those crews are doing it pretty tough at the moment. They are shaken up by what they’ve seen and what they’ve had to do,” he told reporters.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was “heartbreaking that two lives have been lost at what should have been a time of joy”.

The last loss of life in the race came in 1998 when five yachts were sunk and six sailors died after a major storm hit the fleet.

So far 21 yachts — including race record holder Comanche — have pulled out from the fleet of 104 that left Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day bound for the Tasmanian capital, organisers said.

Many were dismasted or suffered damage to mainsails and other equipment.

Comanche’s retirement with a damaged mainsail overnight left the door open for supermaxi rival LawConnect to win line honours for the second straight year.

Comanche, which surged over the finish line in one day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds to set a new mark in 2017, was leading when she pulled out.

LawConnect held a lead of more than 14 nautical miles by early Friday evening over nearest rival Celestial.

Alive, last year’s overall winner of the Tattersall Cup, which takes into account boat size and other factors, was the first to drop out this year, retiring with engine issues.

Other former Tattersall Cup winners forced out included Wild Oats, Centennial (formerly Celestial), and Porco Rosso (formerly Victoire).

Three-time overall winner Love & War remains in the race.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2024