AUSTRALIA: SYDNEY TO HOBART YACHT RACE CATASTROPHE LATEST

(28 Dec 1998) English/Nat
Two sailors are dead and six others are missing after gale-force winds and high seas battered yachts in the Sydney-to-Hobart race.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) began coordinating a massive sea and air rescue after yachts started to report major problems in the Sydney-to-Hobart race.
More than forty yachts are stranded in the Bass Strait between the Australian mainland and Tasmania.
The 630-nautical mile Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race was hit by gale-force winds of up to 80 knots on Sunday.
They turned the blue water classic into a battle for survival.
Two Australian yachtsmen have been confirmed dead.
The two dead - Australians Bruce Guy, and first-time race participant Phil Skeggs - were found on the 40-foot vessel Business Post Naiad, about 60 miles off the New South Wales town of Merimbula.
Guy, the yacht's owner-skipper, suffered a heart attack during one of the two occasions the yacht rolled, while Skeggs drowned when he was unable to free himself from a safety harness.
Their bodies were left on board the boat but attempts were being made to recover them as soon as possible, rescue officials said.
Rescuers workers winched survivors to safety in appalling conditions, with the winds whipping up massive swells.
About 56 sailors have been airlifted and taken to safety from their disabled boats.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Sixty foot waves. 50 knot winds. It was very difficult and it hasn't calmed down yet at all."
SUPER CAPTION: Peter Davidson, Paramedic
For the sailors, the storm was a nightmare.
The survivors were flown to hospitals on the Australian coast, shocked and injured but glad to be on dry land.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It's getting a little bit hairy out here so we turned around to come back and that's when we were struck by one of these 30 odd metre waves. It flipped the boat sidewards s and just kept tumbling us over and we got stuck upside down for about a minute and a half or so and we were sitting in there waiting for it to arrive."
SUPER CAPTION: Voxpop
Yachts without masts and broken rigging have left a trail of debris along the New South Wales coastline.
The navy frigate H-M-A-S Newcastle was also involved in the air sea rescue as it prepared to pick up the five-man crew of Solo Globe.
There are grave fears for British sailor Glyn Charles who was washed off the Sword of Orion and is presumed drowned.
Charles sailed in four Admiral's Cups and represented Britain in the Star Class at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics when he finished 11th.
The Winston Churchill, built in 1942 and the oldest boat in the race, was abandoned by its crew on Sunday afternoon after being swamped by a huge wave whipped up by gale-force winds.
Four crew members were rescued from another life raft early on Monday morning.
While two crew members of the Winston Churchill were winched from a life raft and taken to Merimbula, the remaining three crew members were tossed out of the life raft and are still lost at sea.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority alerted all shipping in the Bass Strait as high winds and huge seas smashed into the remnants of the 115-boat fleet.
Helicopters fitted with night vision and heat-seeking equipment are being used to aid the rescue.
Despite the disaster, the American maxi Sayonara is narrowly ahead of last year's winner, Brindabella as the race continues.
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[@ianlowery6014]

You have made the same mistake as 3/4 of the sailors. They weren't gale force winds, they were storm force winds. That is what was forecast, and many of the sailors thought that gale force winds are stronger than storm force. Gale force = 34-40 knots Strong Gale force = 41-47 knots Storm force = 48-55 knots Violent Storm force = 56-63 knots Next up is hurricane force