Two sailors die at the Sydney Hobart Yacht race due to storm weather

Two sailors die at the Sydney Hobart Yacht race due to storm weather

On Friday, the organizers announced that two sailors at the Sydney-Hobart-Regatta died during rough weather conditions. These extreme conditions led the favorite boat Master Lock Comanche to get out of the race, while numerous other participants also asked to withdraw.

incident during the regatta

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney, who manages the Yachgregatta, announced that one sailor of the participants was fatally injured Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline after they were hit by the tree, a large horizontal mast at the bottom of the sail.

progress of the regatta

Despite the tragic events, the regatta continues. The fleet continues its course for a constitution Dock in Hobart, the first boats are expected to arrive late Friday or in the early hours of Saturday morning. The total route of the regatta is 628 nautical miles (722 miles, 1,160 kilometers).

expressions of mourning

David Jacobs, Vice-Vice Corption of the Cyca, explained that the race continues to be “absolutely” continued. "The conditions are challenging, but not excessively," he said. "We have winds of about 25 nodes from the North Sea and wave heights of about two meters - these are conditions that most sailors can normally cope with."

tribute of the nation

The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his condolences: "We are sad to have to experience a tragedy in the Sydney-Hobart Regatta, with the terrible news that two sailors have lost their lives. Our thoughts are in the crew, their families and relatives in this deeply sad time."

Details of the accidents

The incident on the Flying Fish Arctos occurred about 30 nautical miles east of Southeast of Ulladulla on the south coast of New South Wales. Crew members tried to provide first aid, but could not revive their comrades. The incident on the Bowline also occurred about 30 nautical miles east/northeast of Batemans Bay, where a member of the crew was passed out and here too the revival was unsuccessful.

police and security

A police ship escorted the bowline to Batemans Bay, where it is expected on Friday morning. "Since these incidents are treated by the water police and all family members still have to be contacted, we cannot provide any further information at this stage," said the Cyca in a message. "Our thoughts are with families, friends and the crew of the deceased."

The history of the participating ships

The ship Flying Fish Arctos, a 50-foot boat from New South Wales, has participated in 17 previous Hobart regattas since its completion in 2001. It was designed for the circumnavigation and is currently being used by Flying Fish, a sailing school in Mosman, a suburb of Sydney's north coast.

memories of previous tragedies

The deaths occurred 26 years after the accident, in which six sailors died during the storms in 1998, which resulted in a state investigation and comprehensive reforms of the security protocols that regulate the race.

Current regatta updates

In the 2024 regatta, the first purely Filipino team with 15 sailors was reported, but it retired because of the weather. Under the experienced sailor Ernesto Echauz, the Boot Centennial 7 was one of six international participants, with sailors of the Filipino national team and the Navy.

last results and records

Last year Lawconnect won the award for the fastest time after the defending champion Comanche had kept in an exciting finish with less than a minute lead. Lawconnect, which took second place in the last three editions of the race, came to finish with a time of 1 day, 19 hours, 3 minutes and 58 seconds, while Comanche followed 1 day, 19 hours, 4 minutes and 49 seconds - a distance of only 51 seconds.

It was the second fastest finish in the history of the Sydney Hobart Regatta after Condor from Bermuda beat Apollo in 1982 by seven seconds. Comanche currently holds the record for the fastest time of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, when it won.

LAWCONNECT, which started from the port of Sydney, led the 2024 regatta, but there were still 400 nautical miles to Hobart, which indicates a target from Friday to Saturday. Celestial V70 took second place, about 10 nautical miles behind Lawconnect.