The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race Disaster

[@williamwalsh1399]

I was chief engineer on a large container ship sailing sailing from Port Botany to Melbourne during that race. We were allocated as standby rescue vessel as we proceeded down the coast handing over to other ships during the night. It was very rough for us and I had to order the main engine to be slowed down as we were overloading the turbochargers. My main memory of that night was sleeping on the floor wedged between the wall and the bed so as to not being thrown around the cabin.

[@Sidraughen]

Damn that's insane. I can't imagine what it would have been at those sail boats if it was that harsh in a big ship.

[@YanDaOne_QC]

Yo momma was chief engineer

[@mauricedavis2160]

Bless you and thank you for sharing!!!🙏😢⛵

[@belindapaul9828]

❤

[@Child_Of_Whoa]

Respect 🥃

[@Daviecrockett64]

I remember saying to my wife as they were starting the race that Boxing day, That if they didn't stop the race, people would die during the race as they were sailing into cyclonic conditions, I was amazed that people would go sailing into a 990 hpa low system moving eastward through Bass Strait, Here in Queensland we call a low pressure system like that a Cyclone

[@norml.hugh-mann]

These shows make it seem like nobody knew it would be bad...in the most notorious Australian waters..(sarcasm) I think people thought it would just be rough and just on the upper limits of their vessels and crews capabilities or less. I was thinking this was much too recently for people to be talking that day....I mean, boaters in the US don't go by the TV forecast, but the NOAA forecast combined with other satellite bases weather prediction tech...tech today is not much more dvanced than it was then. I think several left their boats prematurely and that they were functional...just scared because the boats were found functional floating abandoned or beached later...

[@mauricedavis2160]

I just don't understand why common sense seems to never be an option, and you know how the best laid plans end up...never good!!!🙏😢⛵🤔

[@mauricedavis2160]

By the way Mate, you were so correct, unfortunately!!!🙏😢⛵🤔

[@chicagogyrl4846]

Those look like sail boats to me, not yachts.

[@rossprentice4975]

It wasn't forecast to be a 990 mb low. The weather bureau forecast was wrong but doesn't stop people being wise after the event

[@kenkaniff8428]

After seeing this video I went and watched a few interviews with the men rescued from the lifeboats and the water. ALL of the men interviewed told their stories and it really put you in the moment. Hearing their firsthand accounts was really incredible. EVERY ONE of them were so stoic and showed virtually no emotion. One man talked about one guy had his turn at the helm and he watched the boom wipe his buddy off the boat never to be seen again, another guy talked about watching one friend fall in the water and there was NOTHING they could do to get to him, another guy talked about 3 of his buddies getting tossed/flipped out of the lifeboat and the 2 remaining in the lifeboat just watched their 3 friends get swallowed by the ocean and disappear. These guys had a horrendous experience!! I am not someone who follows this sport so I had never heard about this incident. It was REALLY incredible that some of these guys were alive to tell their stories!! Hearing them tell their stories was quite emotional but these guys were so "matter of fact". I understand why they were this way but it was incredible to listen to.

[@johnfoster3286]

I have been in extremely rough seas with a seasick crew of one in a 40ft yacht but nothing like those wave conditions. Waves that are just about the height of the ceiling in your living room are too big for a land based person to consider.

[@kenkaniff8428]

@@johnfoster3286 I've been is 25' seas in a 52' vessel so I know the feeling and I couldn't imagine what these guys endured.

[@kenkaniff8428]

@Charles Martell ALWAYS!!!

[@ripwednesdayadams]

What’s infuriating is that the people in charge of the race (and probably at least some of the people in the race) knew the weather was going to be bad before the race started. They elected to go forward anyway. No one should have died for a yacht race. Thankful for the brave people who went out to rescue the stricken vessels. The conditions were incredibly dangerous and they went out selflessly to save as many people as they could.

[@kenkaniff8428]

@@ripwednesdayadams I agree to an extent. The race organisers were not liable tho. They did what was required from all the stuff I've researched on this incident. It was the teams and their counterparts on land if anyone was to blame I believe. I've looked into this quite a bit the past few days and that's what I've been seeing and reading

[@bergec0]

The death of the man entangled in his safety gear just reminded me of a recent episode of Deadliest Catch where a seasoned crew member stressed the importance of always carrying a sharp knife while on deck.

[@kenkaniff8428]

It's your greatest tool on a fishing vessel.

[@ISOSAILING]

@@kenkaniff8428 it's manditory in the dingy sailing raceing rules to carry a knife or roap cutter on board or on your person, it's not fun getting a roap wraped around your neck when you capsize that drages you under every time you get hit by a wave!! got a diving knife on my boincyade for that verry resone

[@kenkaniff8428]

@@ISOSAILING I didn't know that. That's interesting. Thanks for that tidbit. I'm not in any way affiliated or connected to the sport or even as a hobby but I do know that it's COMMON SENSE!!! I guess it really does make sense that it's part of the rules and regulations. ANY sport promotes a SAFE environment so it does make sense. I just never thought about it because I'm not involved in it in any way

[@HarryWHill-GA]

As a junior officer, I watched a boatswains mate save the leg and likely the life of another sailor. We were just completing an underway replenishment. I was standing on the deck above the refueling station as a safety watch. The messenger line was being retrieved by the oiler when it wrapped around a sailor's leg. He was being dragged toward a snatch block. The BM grabbed his knife off his hip, flipped it up to open it and came down severing the messenger in one motion. He received a meritorious promoting to petty officer 2nd class. I have carried a pocket knife ever since.

[@kenkaniff8428]

@@HarryWHill-GA not exactly sure what all the terminology means but I do watch Deadliest Catch and the most dangerous place on the boat is next to the ropes/lines and getting caught in the "bight" as they call it. I sound like one of those Holiday Inn Express commercials. Im not a sailor or neither do I work on a boat "but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night"😂🤣

[@ottobiographee]

Your videos are great and really appreciate the metric conversions on the screen!

[@philiptclark23]

I've sailed on one of the boats that had to retire from the 98 Sydney to Hobart. A boat called Renegade. Built like a brick shithouse, Renegade rolled after getting hit by a 65 foot wave and lost all it's electronics which meant it had to sail to Eden because they couldn't get to engine running. They also had one of their crew knocked out underwater and had to administer CPR to keep him alive. I've sailed with the skipper and several of the other crew that went in the race and their reports from the race are unbelievable.

[@tumslucks9781]

Wow! Why not make a blog? 🇦🇺 ⛵

[@alexandros8361]

Thanks for telling this accurately. I watched, and remember the crippled yachts in Kiama Harbour. The helicopter rescue people did a brilliant and very brave job. Lowering someone into those seas to get each person, while the pilot was trying to ensure the helicopter itself was not caught by the waves.

[@mortalclown3812]

Agreed. Also those pilots who brave high altitudes for mountain climbers who need rescuing. Unnamed heroes.

[@alexandros8361]

@@mortalclown3812 Yeah I still can't figure out why they can't or won't build a helicopter with the lift to do that. Maybe would need oxygen tanks for the engine and pilot, I guess. Regards

[@ethanhitchcock5431]

The images of those wrecked yachts reminds me of the opening sequence of the T.V. show ' Gilligan's Island 'which scared the shit out of me as a kid in the 1970's , sure freezing to death on a mountain is horrible but the ocean is far more terrifying to me .Thank You for the Morbid Stories ! Love'm !

[@smoothmicra]

An unfortunate set of circumstances, sometimes you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time. No point in finger pointing, sea worthy vessels manned by experienced crew, they got caught out. Every now and then the planet decides to buck us off. We don't have the control we like to think we have.

[@aldraw]

You say that but it's the event organizer's responsibility to check the weather and make the call to proceed or postpone. If NASA used your reasoning lots more astronauts would be dead.

[@smoothmicra]

@@aldraw No, forecasting short term oceanic conditions is not a precise science and these were ocean going vessels. Comparing it to a NASA expedition is not relevant. NASA base themselves in environments where the weather is very stable, like deserts. They will cancel a mission if there is the slightest doubt about conditions being less than perfect, a yacht race is very different. It doesn't necessarily mean the organisers were negligent, people go out on the ocean every day with knowledge that conditions could be adverse.

[@IntoxicatedGhost1]

​@@aldraw it's the ocean the weather can change or rogue waves might show up. it's part of the risk when you do something dangerous

[@creatrixZBD]

You should watch the documentary and hear what the sailors and other S2H-experienced folk have to say. It’s no average event.

[@angelabordack]

@@aldraw You actually compared NASA to oceanic travel? Wow. Two completely different entities at work. Apple and oranges, huh?

[@vids5374]

This guy has the best narration music LOL it sounds like straight-up death LMAO

[@HarryWHill-GA]

I got to watch the boats in the 1988 Melbourne to Hobart race beat past Queensclift, Victoria into the teeth of a whole gale. Damn nasty weather to hold a race. I raced with my dad growing up and later in the Navy and I wouldn't have been keen to race in that weather.

[@grahamnalepa4622]

You did another great job with this video. I'm sure we all look forward to your continued success. 🤙

[@crunchytheclown9694]

Left out the info that showed these elitists were responsible for there own demise and how local media made them out as heroes

[@jacquelenew8440]

It’s a risk that seasoned sailors take every Boxing Day. The weather across the straight is deadly, when conditions are right. Sadly, the storm caught them out.

[@lesflynn4455]

I recall being on the annual pilgrimage for those of us in SE Oz to the coast for a family camping holiday, where the weather was brilliant. We were soon glued to the radio for updates on the Sydney Hobart, as we called it. The carnage was unprecedented, and we had many discussions about whether they should be abandon the race. They didn't. A boat won. Many were lost. The heroics of the rescue helicopter crews were utterly amazing. God knows how they fly those things in such conditions.

[@chasjetty8729]

Thanks again for another good work.

[@toddmichaeljohnson7139]

Please make a video about Donald Crowhurst. That story is crazy!

[@jonathansimmonds5784]

I would like to know how an out and out cruising yacht would cope in those conditions and how much of the carnage is due to them being racing boats and being pushed too hard? Shouldn't racing also include good seamanship? I'm reminded of the '79 Fastnet race, I knew personally two yachts in the same gale, one a 45ft Colin Archer and the other a 28ft Helford Cutter. Both said it was unpleasant but both, one boat consisting of husband and wife and the other the same but with three small kids, said that they lay a-hull and put the kettle on.

[@tonyarichards5430]

Yeah, imma be in my house.

[@phoenixmerridian9119]

The first yacht disabled was called...The Stand Aside. Of course it was

[@neoAREAXIS]

Im in tears watching this I remember watching on TV on boxing day. The Winston. Took me few days to finally cluck on this vid

[@trj1442]

Excellent episode. Thankyou.

[@EternalWarrior1988]

I remember this, I was just a kid and thought that the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race was just a memorial for this disaster for the longest time.

[@ripwednesdayadams]

The people running the race knew the weather was going to be really bad before the race started but decided to go forward with it anyway. There was time to call it off but the people in the race chose to go forward. There’s a longer documentary which really goes into the details. This was another completely avoidable situation that risked innocent lives and caused many injuries and a few deaths.

[@grapeshot]

In the end nature is the ultimate winner.

[@Bassmasterwitacaster]

Cringe

[@dburton2765]

Well, isn't that special. When the elite are having their fun, but something goes seriously wrong, they make changes to improve future play dates be safer. And yet when it's a bridge or an industry collapse or a theme park incident or an apartment fire, nothing happens and no one pays for it or even has to avoid more of it in the future for all us common folk. Niiiice. Great video! xx

[@jorgeluiscapiello414]

Your emotionless voice adds a lot to the drama of this story. RIP the deceased.

[@ileolai]

i remember this happening when i was a kid, I was about 12 at the time. despite the difficulty of the race no one had ever been killed until that awful day. the race organizers grew complacent and greedy and people died because of it. thanks for covering it, I don't see Australian disasters covered often.

[@helpstopanimalabuse8153]

Agree, complacency & greed, never a good mix. My wife was in the last car of the red rattler that derailed into the Granville bridge on the 18/1/77. She usually sits much further up in the train but overslept & almost missed the train at Parramatta & just hopped on at the end. That probably saved her life. There were no mobiles back then & i was a mess for hours until she got to a phone.

[@Merly3333]

Deaths including from my local, and small, yacht club in Sydney. It might sound snooty AF but our little boat house was a stinky, small, and happy community.

[@helpstopanimalabuse8153]

@@Merly3333 Whatever floats your boat!

[@Merly3333]

Oh man. A childhood friend's Dad died in this race. The Winston Churchill was captained by one of my Dad's best mates. It was a horrible, horrible time for the residents of Watsons Bay.

[@kenkaniff8428]

I couldn't imagine! After seeing this video I went and watched a few interviews with the men rescued from the lifeboats and the water. ALL of the men interviewed told their stories and it really put you in the moment. Hearing their firsthand accounts was really incredible. EVERY ONE of them were so stoic and showed virtually no emotion. One man talked about one guy had his turn at the helm and he watched the boom wipe his buddy off the boat never to be seen again, another guy talked about watching one friend fall in the water and there was NOTHING they could do to get to him, another guy talked about 3 of his buddies getting tossed/flipped out of the lifeboat and the 2 remaining in the lifeboat just watched their 3 friends get swallowed by the ocean and disappear. These guys had a horrendous experience!! I am not someone who follows this sport so I had never heard about this incident. It was REALLY incredible that some of these guys were alive to tell their stories!! Hearing them tell their stories was quite emotional but these guys were so "matter of fact". I understand why they were this way but it was incredible to listen to. I think the channel was called CYCATV and just look for the video with the name of this race. It's a 2 part video (I should probably say it is 2 videos)

[@lesflynn4455]

The tiny sail and the bent mast on the large boat at 4:00 shows how ridiculously strong the winds were. God knows how a helicopter was flying in those conditions to take the photo.

[@Darkcydesreign]

Sad story great job as usual

[@JoTheSnoop]

I usually watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart at Watsons Bay, very much like a pilgrimage, since childhood (despite living well away from the Eastern Suburbs). I was living overseas at the time, battling Force 12 in a house on the north-west coast of Ireland at the time.

[@mskinetik]

Thanks for another amazing well told adventure!

[@masonmunkey6136]

Appreciate the use of kts for wind/boat speed

[@kenkaniff8428]

Well that's the appropriate measurement/term to use when speaking about vessels.

[@masonmunkey6136]

@@kenkaniff8428 yea.. yet a lot media wouldn't do that

[@kenkaniff8428]

@@masonmunkey6136 you may be right but that would just mean that person is an idi0t. Using knots is the ONLY appropriate term to use.

[@filmswithclass7275]

First! Love the content!

[@fuzzjunky]

there's a documentary on YT about this. the footage is brutally scary

[@tictactoehuhn6]

Link

[@joshfrankem4372]

@@tictactoehuhn6 pretty easy to find kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3amZ3eHo5t0kKs

[@fuzzjunky]

@@tictactoehuhn6 you can't link here i don't think, but it is called "The deadly Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race (1998) | Four Corners"

[@davesmith5656]

@@fuzzjunky ---- Thanka yeoo la. Found it. Off-topic trivia: I believe I have found the secret to the Australian accent! "A" (as in "ate") is pronounced "I", so "Australia" becomes "Uhstr-I-liuh". "Good day mate" becomes "G'd-i-y mite". Etc..

[@fuzzjunky]

@@davesmith5656 yeh we don't treat vowels as non negotiable

[@jameswilliamson4508]

An acquaintance of mine competed in the '98, onboard a maxi. He said it was most frightening experience of his life - at one point looking out and seeing their 70fter surfing down the front of a wave. He said it felt surreal.

[@neoAREAXIS]

These life rafts tumbled like toys in a ball pit.. tragic. Our dear Winston churchhill and crew ❤️

[@christiankirkwood3402]

Good post about a tragic event. The race that year that none of us will ever forget. FYI - with respect, yes, Tasmania is an Island. It's an Island State of and part of Australia. Just like our mainland states and territories. Regards from Tuckombil via Alstonville and East Ballina 800km north of Sydney. MATE 🤙

[@johnphilipfosterdobson551]

A good book to get is .... Fatal Storm author Rob Mundle. We are in new zealand and worried about this race and storm. Very sad situation.

[@kenkaniff8428]

After seeing this video I went and watched a few interviews with the men rescued from the lifeboats and the water. ALL of the men interviewed told their stories and it really put you in the moment. Hearing their firsthand accounts was really incredible. EVERY ONE of them were so stoic and showed virtually no emotion. One man talked about one guy had his turn at the helm and he watched the boom wipe his buddy off the boat never to be seen again, another guy talked about watching one friend fall in the water and there was NOTHING they could do to get to him, another guy talked about 3 of his buddies getting tossed/flipped out of the lifeboat and the 2 remaining in the lifeboat just watched their 3 friends get swallowed by the ocean and disappear. These guys had a horrendous experience!! I am not someone who follows this sport so I had never heard about this incident. It was REALLY incredible that some of these guys were alive to tell their stories!! Hearing them tell their stories was quite emotional but these guys were so "matter of fact". I understand why they were this way but it was incredible to listen to. I think the channel was called CYCATV and just look for the video with the name of this race. It's a 2 part video (I should probably say it is 2 videos)

[@martinwarner1178]

Hove to is not racing...it's saving. Buckle down and wait for the blow to go...but racers don't see that. Peace be unto you. Great video, and thank you.

[@daveg2104]

Most of the fleet did retire to ports on the South Coast of New South Wales, at least until conditions improved. Some of them didn't have a choice because of damage suffered. For a lot of the big yachts at the pointy end of the fleet though, they kept racing as best they could, and hoped they didn't encounter a rogue wave. 115 yachts started the race, with a record 66 yachts retiring. 55 sailors were airlifted to safety by military/civilian aircraft and Royal Australian Navy vessels. 6 sailors died and 5 yachts were abandoned at sea.

[@Votrae]

This was a really gripping story and very well told.

[@tonyperone3242]

The sponsoring yacht club should have post postponed or called off the race due to the severe weather conditions. There is no point for people to go in harms way when there is no reason for it.

[@UNLVbasketball]

Bro idk what is happening but you need to figure it out. Your videos are way more interesting than “scary interesting”. Intact I’ve watched all of your videos, keep pushing content forsure but change your titles and thumbnails and hashtags. Add a lot of them. Hope you make it big you’re covering awesome topics, keep it coming

[@elliaurora825]

I can't imagine what they & their families have been through, some bad choices were made & it cost the lives of many & unfortunately that's how safety is changed & improved through the deaths of others, I agree with how Nobody was to blame as it seems like a few ppl made the wrong choice, great video as always & keep up the good work your doing. X😎🐘

[@johnengland8619]

Thanks for the content

[@neddyladdy]

First leg?

[@nikosapostolakis9655]

who did actually win this remarkable race and how??

[@MorbidMidnight]

It was a yacht named the Sayonara which was pictured in the video at 2:18.

[@daveg2104]

And AFR Midnight Rambler finished 10th, but won handicap honors. As for how they won. A big fast yacht, a good crew, and luck (because if they had been hit at the wrong time by one of those massive rogue waves, they would have needed plenty of luck).

[@timothylindsay3244]

Larry Ellison’s 80ft Maxi, Sayonara, won line honors. I recommend reading the book, Proving Ground, about the race.

[@RotrexfezST]

Like with the mountain climbing videos,these people take these risks and then risk others to save them.. it’s crazy.

[@jesushammer5592]

If everyone had your outlook on life. Nothing would ever get achieved

[@RotrexfezST]

@@jesushammer5592 I can agree but I just think it’s a tad selfish when people do stupid things due to ego and then others are at risk due to their stupidity

[@paulskopic5844]

@@jesushammer5592 OK but don't expect someone else to pull your ass out of the fire.

[@Iskusmarines]

@@RotrexfezST well, with mountain climbing and cave exploring/diving, the rescuers are always other people in their community, mountaineers rescuer other mountaineers and cave divers rescue other cave divers. nobody is expected to do anything they weren't already doing before, they know what they signed up for in a sense.

[@mauricedavis2160]

Humans go figure!!!🙏😢🤔

[@jockojockoson9995]

There was a massive tornado that hit some of the fleet as well. Crazy weather

[@m.anthonyc.8761]

Totally off subject and not about the story in the video but I'm trying my hardest to understand what it is I'm exactly looking at on the very first image that says "Morbid Midnight". I thought maybe the image could be upside-down or a cloudy outdoor background with a hill that has a odd looking bush maybe? Idk really, but very fascinating imo. Im now starting to realize I might have ADHD given I couldn't make it 5 seconds in the video before getting oddly stuck in curiosity at the first image screen. Lol 🤪

[@kikufutaba524]

I would love to actually ride on a sailboat yet I would never go out in weather like that, these people were brave and maybe a bit foolish but when it is something you love the draw can be intense and overpowering. I admire the people who follow their passions as these people did.

[@budawang77]

Yes, sailing can be wonderful. There is no reason to go out in weather like that as modern weather forecasts give sufficient warning.

[@audibjornsson6107]

Awesome

[@neoAREAXIS]

Many pulled into Narooma ,,others went wide out. Remarkably tragic.

[@colinloughlin6809]

Great vid morbid

[@wasabiginger6993]

Why would anyone want to race into cyclone conditions??? Did they all just go because they were expected to … a Boxing Day tradition that MUST be upheld at any cost?

[@phoule76]

Don't Bogart my Hobart.

[@harken9978]

perfect wind surfing weather! :)

[@philbox4566]

Cat correction. It is not The Bass Strait. It is simply Bass Strait.

[@micheleshively8557]

Horribly sad 😚 RIP to these victims.

[@atheistsince1210]

Just add me to the list of 💀 if I saw an 80ft rogue wave I’d definitely have a ❤️ attack and die myself life jacket or no lif3 jacket !

[@ykb946]

Pride before the fall...

[@Ontheroxxwithsalt]

When I was a child my mother was engaged to be married to a man in the Coast Guard and we flew from our home in Boston to visit him at his station in Alaska. One night he got called out to a rescue of a heart attack victim on a cruise ship. My mother went along as she was a nurse and she wanted to experience her fiancé's job. She told me when I got older that they did the rescue in a storm and they had to put a walkway from the Coast Guard boat over to. cruise ship and the waves had swells of 10, 15, and even 20 feet. She said the patient was an obese woman of 250 pounds and they had to carry her from one ship to the other on a stretcher. As the waves rolled across the water one ship would go way up into the air while the other ship would dip very low and within 20 or 30 seconds the boats would change positions with the first going down suddenly and the other up. The walkway was slippery, wet, and the crew was clinging to it for dear life as the rain and wind pelted them in the face, blowing people nearly off the walkway.But it was the only possible way they could get the patient because the storm made a helicopter impossible. She said that it was hell and she said she had a whole new respect for what our military does for our citizens. Things that Americans take for granted or that people never considered. Many people are quick to put the military down as war mongers, especially young people who like to protest wars. But it's unfortunate that privileged rich college kids aren't aware that it's men and women that are the same age as they are out in the middle of massive storms putting their lives at risk to make sure that somebody's mom or dad, grandma or grandpa makes it home when something goes wrong. The way these kids behave today makes me think that the United States needs to change the schooling regulations to K thru 12 and then make a two year military service after high school mandatory. And the only exception is if somebody has a medical condition preventing them from military service then they should have to give 2 years to a Peace Corps-type of volunteer program before being permitted to attend college. I think there would be a huge change for the better of people's pride in their country and in the respect shown to first responders and our military. And also many people would get two years of job training while being paid so they could enter the workforce if they chose not to go to college.

[@TK-fk4po]

I freak out when I hit 15 knot winds in my sunfish.

[@DidivsIvlianvs]

You said "630 nautical miles" but you converted to kilometers using STATUTE MILES to get 1013km. 630 NAUTICAL MILES are 1167 km because nautical miles are longer (6076.12 feet). Other conversions are correct.

[@neoAREAXIS]

Our family vintage sloop went down w w souls. Very very personal

[@scomo532]

One comment, these vessels are yachts, not ships. Don’t worry about using the terms sailboat, vessel and yacht repetitively, but don’t refer to them as ships, ships they ain’t.

[@patrickagee]

So sad... 25k subs here we come!!

[@Fullchristainname]

There’s all kinds of weird, even possibly supernatural stuff reported in the Bass Strait- to the point it’s become an SCP (not just the inspiration for one, but literally one- it’s SCP 5007 if you’re interested). Definitely more stuff there for your channel, even if you avoid the supernatural stuff.

[@caninecurry5823]

Yeah, it was a cracken. Lol.. 2022 an people still talk about voodoo and magic.. no wonder religion won't die when there's more gullible morons born everyday.

[@zoepaulastrassfield2664]

I dunno, I would say this video makes it pretty clear there’s no supernatural explanation necessary for accidents or disappearances in Bass Strait, it literally IS just that dangerous.

[@teamdawson1]

I’ve been on a race where only two boats made it to the starting line. The other boat-a J 40- her main subsequently ripped in half and began whipping the crew. We were the smallest boat in the fleet in a C&C 29, turned back and made it back to the harbour. We were not warned. This race should have been CALLED OFF! I hold the race organizers personally responsible for all of the deaths. They should be charged with manslaughter. I truly hope they have nightmares forever, but I doubt it because they are heartless. Maybe karma will find them. One can only hope for TERROR to the organizers/race committee and prayers to the sailors. Godspeed, fellow sailors.

[@timothymcpeak9408]

Some people like adventure that's why they become rescuers

[@paulskopic5844]

About 100 years before this event Ernest Shackleton and a few sailors made a very similar voyage in a 24 ft. boat..........only the distance was much greater.

[@NispeMr]

Shackletons was a fair bit more legendary, Southern ocean, 16 days onboard, "sleeping" on ballast rocks, wet and freezing the entire time, drinking water turned brackish.

[@scomo532]

And one hell of a lot colder and unconfortable. Shackleton’s voyage from Elephant Iskand to South Georgia was nothing short of a miracle. Then he and part of his crew needed to cross a glaciated mountain range without proper gear to find help. Racing a yacht in a stormy sea is in no way comparable to what Shackleton achieved

[@paulskopic5844]

@@scomo532 That is exactly my point. I am glad other people understand the significance of what was achieved with a ton of grit and determination.......with a bit of Devine intervention.

[@stevebarlow3154]

That was one of the greatest small boat voyages in recorded history. Shackleton was able to get help for his men marooned on Elephant Island eventually and didn't lose a single man.I think the only fatality was the ship's cat! Shackleton is one of history's greatest mariners and explorers.

[@IntoxicatedGhost1]

it's part of the risk..the weather can change, it's not 100% perfect. also there are rough waves that will come out of nowhere

[@bepowerification]

Well.. when you knowingly sail into a storm the weather will indeed change.

[@gringrin3979]

What is it with 'boxing day' and disasters. There's this one, Japans 2011 Tsunami and the Indonesian Tsunami. All on a 'boxing day'. Probably just coincidence.

[@henryvanveen5365]

Yip, I have noticed that myself. Every 26th December I wait to hear of some disastorous event and there have been many weather related including the death of my uncle in a car accident

[@yabbadabbadoo8225]

The race clips along much faster than this commentry.

[@sleazymeezy]

I'm not surprised the buck was passed. Here in nz we know aussies for a move called the Aussie haka. You try to find your wallet in your breast pocket, thigh pockets then butt pockets before declaring you can't pay the bill and dip.

[@jordymaas565]

never give a fool an even break...

[@katie195]

I love adventure. Safe adventure.

[@paulskopic5844]

It is not really an adventure if a safe outcome is assured.

[@penelopelopez8296]

That was horrifying.

[@neoAREAXIS]

Winds and gusts were 75 to 120 knots

[@johnfromdownunder.4339]

I remember this well because I just got sent away to prison in Sydney

[@williamshafer3199]

Any white collar criminals there? Of course not they are in Parliament writing the laws! :(

[@jockojockoson9995]

What did you go in for?

[@johnward536]

The ultimate racing yacht is so light and so weakly constructed that it will only survive the race.any extra strength is only going to slow the boat down. My point is that racing yachts are not designed for the type of weather that was forecast ,let alone delivered. they should not have started the race .

[@menufrog]

First Aussie to comment 😆

[@formulafinn8212]

nah

[@menufrog]

@@formulafinn8212 too late, I'm claiming it 😆

[@crieff1sand2s]

Check the Fastnet race in 1979....15 killed force 10 storm..it on YT

[@sreed8570]

This sounds remarkably similar to the fastnet disaster

[@Bowman339]

Yes. Some similar mistakes also. Lessons not learned. I'm not sure fastnet had rogue waves though. The requirements to enter this race are much tougher now. 1999 wasn't easy either. The winner pitch poling and going into a chinese gybe off a backless wave before dawn light. Everyone thrown off the boat except the skipper. Only the tethers stopped a tragedy.

[@stevebarlow3154]

@@Bowman339 The yachts in the Fastnet race were hit by what was described as a 'weather bomb'. In other words freak atmospheric conditions causing hurricane force winds and gigantic seas. A number of yachts were sunk and there were a number of fatalities.

[@Bowman339]

@@stevebarlow3154 I've seen the documentary on that fastnet. The systems that cause trouble for us are east coast lows. Difficult to forecast. I've been in force 10 winds that blew for three hours and seen 10m swells. Thankfully not together. They were from a low that had potential to turn in to an east coast low but didn't do so on a delivery up from Hobart. I hope I'm never out in one or ever see force 12 winds.

[@mortalclown3812]

60' waves. My God.

[@theidahotraveler]

That's funny I had to rewind 10 seconds because I thought the Winston Churchill had a great full dead flag on the back of their boat looks like the head for it kind of. Anywho carry on

[@bloopnation]

lol did no one think to do a weather check??

[@Soujirou13]

Commenting for YT algorithm.

[@ryannmahoney7528]

How awful omg these poor souls

[@allybally0021]

The yachts are not suitable. The race should be between car ferries or other large safe ships.

[@3vimages471]

Frightening.

[@madgary5827]

They Didn't make a mistake they were just Stupid. Cutting a big hole in your raft is never a good idea no matter what. Like 🙂

[@neoAREAXIS]

When oir family passed the old girl. Winston Churchill, they chose not to take the rafts supplied. Fatal mistake but who can say . Now it's Done.

[@vids5374]

That's your Venue that's not their venue you need to be responsible for the safety for the most part. You're putting safety on people visiting your Waters. That's bullcrap. You basically making them contractors LOL. And then you're just raking it in LOL

[@fbksfrank4]

B.s you race at your own peril.

[@lisaschuster686]

Summit fever.

[@neoAREAXIS]

These waves are 40 foot . Like tsunami style.

[@henryvanveen5365]

Yip, 2 things you have to learn to respect, the sea and the mountains otherwise they will take you

[@nonmihiseddeo4181]

Of course it happened at 3 a.m, the real Witching Hour.

[@CaptainLicorice]

I really want to do a sailing race. Way more then I want to go go cave diving or sky diving but this event. It was ran by people completely igorant to there actions

[@graftongodofmemes]

What does this blather mean?

[@evolutionaryadvantage]

Ahh Tasmania the forgotten Australia

[@stevebarlow3154]

Unfortunately not, the Island has been invaded by well off mainlanders causing a severe housing crisis!