Details have been revealed of the “horrific” incident in which a crew member fell off yacht Porco Rosso during a dangerous night of racing, drifting for more than a kilometer and killing two crew members from another yacht before being rescued. .
Two sailors aboard another yacht, Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline, died at sea in rough weather, with mass retirements forcing favorite Master Rock Comanche to retreat.
Both sailors were fatally injured when they were struck by the booms (large horizontal bars at the bottom of the sails) of their respective boats. A crew member fell from Porco Rosso at around 3:15 a.m., threatening to raise the death toll during the race to three.
Crew member Luke Watkins, 37, was blown overboard as the yacht passed Green Cape on the New South Wales coast in strong winds.
“It's one of the most terrifying experiences you can have,” said David Jacobs, vice-command of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), which runs the race. Being swept overboard at night was “10 times scarier,” he says.
Mr Watkins told media on Friday afternoon that he was thrown from the boat by a large wave that “completely washed the deck” and was subsequently trapped underwater.
“I felt like I was out of breath, so I managed to get out of the boat,” he said. “When I came to the surface, the boat was probably 200 meters in front of me.”
Watkins said he followed safety protocols but started feeling cold 10 minutes into the water and tried to “control his thoughts.”
“It was pretty rough and I got thrown out by the waves. It's hard to keep yourself above water so many times I swallowed quite a bit of salt water.”
The race will proceed to Constitution Dock, with the first boats expected to arrive late Friday or early Saturday morning.
The Flying Fish Arktos incident occurred about 30 nautical miles east-southeast of Ulladulla on the New South Wales south coast, and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) received a mayday call just before midnight.
A 55-year-old crew member from Western Australia was hit in the back of the head by the shock wave.
“The ship was moving violently overnight in difficult sea conditions and a crew member sustained serious head injuries,” Supt Joseph McNulty told reporters.
Water police were called to assist the vessel and it was escorted to Jervis Bay, but despite CPR efforts by fellow crew members, the man died.
Bowline's crew was struck about 30 nautical miles east-northeast of Batemans Bay, and lost consciousness, with CPR unsuccessful.
A 65-year-old man from South Australia also suffered head injuries from the boom at about 2.15am. Mr McNulty said the New South Wales Police vessel Nemesis was nearby and was immediately dispatched.
“Crew members made significant efforts to perform CPR to keep the crew member alive, but unfortunately their efforts were not rewarded and the crew member passed away in the early hours of this morning,” McNulty said. he said.
A second Bowline crew member, injured with a suspected shoulder fracture, was taken to Nemesis and then transferred to a waiting ambulance at Bateman's Bay.
Mr McNulty said both men appeared to have been “general crew members assisting with deck operations” and their level of experience was a factor in the investigation.
Police believe both ships may have been changing sails at the time of the fatal accident.
“So it wasn't really sailing with the wind,” McNulty said. “It creates a different set of circumstances: the hull moves, the sails move, the boom moves.”
Mr McNulty said the vessel, which was seized as evidence, was a crime scene and all passengers and crew were being questioned.
“Both of those crew members are doing it.” [it] It’s pretty tough at the moment… We have provided them with some counseling,” he said.
“They are shaken by what they have seen and what they had to do, but they bravely performed central pulmonary resuscitation on the crew overnight while they waited for police to arrive and gave up. They didn't. They continued until those two lost their lives.”
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Mr Jacobs said “systems and procedures developed” helped rescue crew member Watkins, who was swept overboard.
The incident triggered an emergency locator radio beacon, a safety device that all sailors participating in the race must wear.
As a result, Amsa was automatically notified and the race committee was contacted.
Amsa also sent an aircraft to search for the area.
“We believed they were washed away about 1.2 kilometers from the boat,” Jacobs said of Watkins.
As of 8:30 a.m. Friday, 16 out of a total of 104 yachts had retired from the race. Jacobs told reporters three ships lost masts, two had mainsail damage and the others had “various equipment failures.”
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Mr Jacobs said northerly winds pushed the vessels onto the shore, causing the lead yacht to travel “very fast”.
Jacobs said CYCA will conduct an investigation into the incident.
The vice-admiral said he was “personally surprised” by the number of supermaxi yachts withdrawing from the race, including Master Rock Comanche, URM and Alive.
“It's unusual for so many large ships to be withdrawn,” he said.
Mr McNulty warned that conditions could worsen overnight on Friday as the boat sails towards Tasmania.
“It's going to be a difficult night in Bass Strait. There's big seas coming up,” he said.
Anthony Albanese said his thoughts were with the two sailors and their families.
“The Sydney to Hobart voyage is an Australian tradition and the loss of two lives during what should have been a joyous time is heartbreaking,” the prime minister said in a statement.
“We extend our love and deepest condolences to their families, friends and loved ones.”
Six sailors were killed in a storm during a voyage from Sydney to Hobart in 1998, triggering major reforms to the New South Wales colonial checkpoint and safety regulations governing the race.
