TRANSCRIPT
“The sailing community is a very close community, and there are about a thousand sailors on the water in this race, and to lose two in this fashion is just devastating.”
David Jacobs is the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, CYCA Vice Commodore.
He says there were two separate yachts, Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline.
In both cases the member of crew died after being struck by booms, a large pole at bottom of the sail.
New South Wales Police, Superintendent Joseph NcNulty says one of the crew members, a 55-year-old man who died, was struck in the head by the boom.
“Boom is a part of the vessel that takes the sail off to the mask. It was moving violently through the night with the challenging sea conditions, and a crew member suffered a significant head injury. Port Kembla water police was deployed to the vessel to assist them, and overnight has escorted that vessel back to Jarvis Bay this morning.”
The incident on Flying Fish Arctos occurred 30 nautical miles - 55 kilometres - east-south-east of Ulladulla, New South Wales.
Crew members attempted CPR but were unsuccessful.
The Bowline sailor, a 65-year-old man, was struck 30 nautical miles east-north-east of Batemans Bay and also could not be revived.
Their bodies have now been returned to the shore, and both their boats docked in Batemans Bay and Jarvis Bay.
Another man who injured his shoulder was taken to paramedics in Batemans Bay.
The race continues its passage to Constitution Dock with the first boats expected to arrive later today or tomorrow morning.
Comanche Skipper Matt Allen spoke in an interview with Sky News Australia today.
“We have disappointment but it is nothing compared to what the other crews are going through. You know - and their families and their friends, we are really just thinking about all of them and hopefully we are able to catch up with them and support them.”
The incident occurred after a west-southwesterly change brought strong winds to the southern New South Wales coast and Bass Strait.
It has caused line honours favourite Master Lock Comanche to withdraw from the race.
Mr Jacobs spoke about the latest retirement of the race at a press conference today.
“There are 16 retirements now, there were a total fleet of 104, 16 have retired and three were dis-masted, two had main cell damage. And the balance there were various equipment failures that had caused them to retire. But we still have 88 sailors - sorry - 88 boats, that are continuing in the race.”
That number has since increased to 17 retirements.
These deaths come 26 years after six sailors were killed in storms during the 1998 race, which led to significant safety reforms.
Mr Jacobs said that shortly after three-a.m., a person went overboard on the Poco Russo yacht and was swept about 1.2 nautical miles from their boat.
But safety protocols were followed and Mr Jacobs says the person was retrieved well and healthy.
“Fortunately there are developed systems and procedures to cater to that situation and retrieve that person. They wear a personal location beacon, that was activated and sends a satellite message to the Australian maritime survival centre. They then were able to contact our race committee, and all the procedures were put in place. The boat was able to look for searching for person that they had. We believe had been washed 1.2 kilometres away from the boat.”
LawConnect commander Christian Beck had earlier expressed concerns over the heavy winds and difficult sailing conditions of the area.
“Look it's definitely scary. I think I'm a bit nervous about it, as I think anyone should be because when you've got heavy downwind racing, there's a lot more to go wrong on jives and things like that. So it's pretty scary conditions. And obviously we're trying to do the best in those tough conditions. Trying to make Comanche, kind of push them hard and try and force a mistake wouldn't be a bad thing for us.”
CYCA Vice Commodore, David Jacobs talks about the weather conditions.
“Currently there is about a 25 knot northerly wind, being a northerly wind it is behind the boats pushing them down the coast. The lead boats were experiencing speed of about 25 and 30 knots so they were travelling extremely fast. The sea was not unusually large, from the information I have received. They are likely to hit a westerly which will turn south westerly as they move there straight.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that he was sadly awoken to the awful news of the lost lives.
He says his thoughts are with the crews, their families and loved ones at this deeply sad time.
In a radio interview with the ABC, he says it's a heartbreaking day for Australians.
“The Sydney to Hobart is an Australian tradition and it is heartbreaking that today Australians have awoken to the news that two lives have been lost participating in what should be the experience of a lifetime. Our thoughts are with the crew, their families and loved ones at this deeply sad time.”
Retiring Labor MP, Bill Shorten has also expressed his condolences to the families and loved ones of the sailors.
He describes the Sydney to Hobart race as iconic, saying it is a real test of human against the elements.
“These are the first fatalities I understand since the terrible events of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht storm. The families will be grieving. It will cast a definite pall over all of the yachts competing in this race.”
Mr Jacobs says a full investigation will be launched into the deaths.
“Until there is an investigation and we find out exactly what happened, it is difficult to know. The club will do an investigation. We always want to improve safety wherever we can. So we will do an investigation. And if there is something that boats can do to try and prevent this from happening, we will implement it.”
The names of the deceased have not been released as not all family members have been notified of the incident.
New South Wales police Joseph McNulty says rescue workers need to be remembered for their efforts.
“Men and women of New South Wales police are still out there, with the fleet continuing South. There's going to be challenging night in Bass Strait. Big sea is coming, but our ambulance, our marine rescue people are keeping us safe. They need to be remembered for giving up their weekend and days and nights to be out there looking after our community.”
