The two sailors killed overnight in the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race have been identified, as the race continues in wild conditions.
Roy Quaden, 55, from Western Australia and Nick Smith, 65, from South Australia, were sailing on two different yachts when they were killed in separate accidents.
Quaden was a crew member on on Flying Fish Arctos when he was struck by the yacht’s boom (a large horizontal pole at the bottom of the sail) approximately 30 nautical miles east/south-east of Ulladulla.
Crew members attempted CPR but could not revive their crewmate, notifying the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in Canberra of the incident around 11.50pm.
Just hours later at around 2am, Smith, a crew member on Bowline was hit by the mainsheet (a rope that controls the mainsail of the yacht) which threw him across the boat and he hit his head on a winch, vice commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, David Jacobs told reporters on Friday.
The Bowline crew also attempted CPR but were unsuccessful.
Another man on the Bowline injured his shoulder and was taken to paramedics in Batemans Bay for treatment.
Both yachts have since retired from the race — two of the 17 pulled out by 8.45am on Friday after a west-southwesterly change brought strong winds to the southern NSW Coast and Bass Strait.
The deaths are the first in the 628-nautical mile race since the tragic 1998 Sydney to Hobart race, in which six sailors died in severe storms. That led to mass reforms of race safety protocols.
Third death averted after overboard sailor rescued
Details also emerged of a “terrifying” incident off Sydney to Hobart yacht Porco Rosso, in which a crew member swept more than 1km overboard in heavy seas.
The sailor, Luke Watkins, was thrown overboard as the 2013 handicap winner, formerly known as Victoire, made her way past Green Cape on the NSW south coast in the strong winds that had been forecast.
“We went down a rather large wave. The boat went into the trough bit the back of the wave in front (which) completely washed the deck,” Watkins told ABC news.
“Then we tipped over, what we call a Chinese gybe … and I got pinned to the … side of the boat underwater.
“I somehow managed to unclip myself from the boat as I could feel I was on my last breath.
“When I popped up above the water, the boat was probably 200m in front of me.”
“That is one of the most terrifying experiences that you can have,” Jacobs said.
“(And) it was at night, which makes it tenfold more scary.
“Fortunately there are developed systems and procedures to cater for that situation to retrieve the person.”
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia vice-commodore David Jacobs has promised a thorough inquiry into the deaths. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
The incident triggered Watkin’s emergency position-indicating radio beacon, a safety device that must be worn by all sailors in the race.
As a result, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority was automatically notified of the incident and contacted the Sydney to Hobart’s race committee.
AMSA also deployed an emergency aircraft to start searching for the crew member.
Four-time line honours champion Master Lock Comanche, which had retired earlier in the race, was diverted to help Porco Rosso in the search-and-rescue efforts.
Watkins was found, but Porco Rosso opted to retire at around 4.45am rather than continue into the Bass Strait, where strong to gale force winds were blowing.
Deaths to be investigated
Jacobs said the deaths would be investigated but many of the circumstances were still unknown.
“We always want to improve safety wherever we can, so we will do an investigation,” he said.
Strong winds on the southern NSW coast have forced the retirement of 17 yachts. Source: AAP / Mark Evans
“If there’s something that boats can do to try and prevent this happening, we will implement it.”
Organisers say the race will continue
Jacobs said the race would “absolutely” continue, with the first boats expected to arrive in Hobart later on Friday or early Saturday morning.
“The conditions are challenging, but they’re not excessive,” he told the ABC.
“So we’ve got sort of winds at about 25 knots coming from the north seas around about two metres or thereabouts, so the conditions that most of the sailors would normally easily handle.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the sailors who died.
“We have sadly awoken to tragedy in the Sydney to Hobart with the awful news two sailors have lost their lives,” he said.
“Our thoughts are with the crews, their families and loved ones at this deeply sad time.”
Flying Fish Arctos, a NSW-based 50-footer, has contested 17 previous Hobarts since being built in 2001.
She was designed for round-the-world sailing and is currently used by Flying Fish, a sailing school that operates in Mosman, on Sydney’s north shore.
The crew this year comprised 12 members, a mix of Hobart veterans and internationals, and was skippered by seven-time Sydney to Hobart sailor George Martin.
Bowline had been racing in her third Sydney to Hobart race when tragedy struck her crew of seven sailors.
One of only four South Australian yachts in this year’s race, she placed 33rd and 79th on handicap in the 2021 and 2022 editions of the bluewater classic, respectively.
She has been skippered by Ian Roberts on all three occasions, and is a previous winner of the Haystack Island Race in South Australia.
