Quotes
That is one of the most terrifying experiences that you can have,
said David Jacobs, vice-commodore of the CYCA
We have sadly awoken to tragedy in the Sydney to Hobart with the awful news two sailors have lost their lives,
he saidThere's about a thousand sailors on the water in this race, and to lose two in this fashion is just devastating,
Jacobs said of the recent deaths
My first thought was 'this isn't fun' and then basically I just tried to keep calm and work through my safety training really,
he told the ABCThe hull moves, the sails are moving, the booms are moving. It’s a technical change of sail at sea. So that may have contributed to the deaths of those people today,
he said
When I popped up above the water, the boat was probably 200m in front of me,
Watkins said
[The ... The boom] was moving violently through the night in challenging sea conditions and the crew member suffered a significant head injury,
superintendent Joseph McNulty of the Marine Area Command said on FridayThese conditions are probably the worst forecast I’ve ever had to go through,
the skipper of reigning line honours champion LawConnect, Christian Beck, saidIt’s going to be a challenging night in the Bass Strait, big seas are coming,
he said.jpg)
The Sydney to Hobart is an Australian tradition, and it is heart-breaking that two lives have been lost at what should be a time of joy,
said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
The lead boats were experiencing speeds of between 25 and 30 knots so they're travelling extremely fast. The sea was not unusually large from the information I have received,
Jacobs told reporters
On a boat itself they train together, live together, cook together, they do everything together. It would be devastating, as we are devastated,
he saidThese fleets can handle those winds easily. They are ocean racers, they are used to the winds,
he saidFortunately the boat from which they fell was able to retrieve that crew member and they are healthy and well
he addedThey are shaken up from what they have seen and what they’ve had to do, but gallantly they provided CPR to their crew member through the night, while they waited for police to attend, and they didn’t give up,
McNulty said
Flying Fish Arctos was sailing approximately 30 nautical miles east/south-east of Ulladulla when the incident occurred,
a committee statement said on Friday
We thought that he had been hit by the boom, as had Roy, and we’ve now learnt that that wasn’t the case,
Jacobs saidNick was a regular crew on Bowline … Nick’s done offshore racing, he did the Haystack qualifier, he’s done at least one leg of the Clipper ocean racing,
Smith’s club commodore said on FridayIt is a fundamental principle of yacht racing, once the race starts, the skipper has the right, and the obligation, to decide whether it’s safe to continue. So it’s the skipper’s decision whether he or she wishes to race or retire,
he saidIf they know the weather is going to be deadly why don't they postpone the race start by a day or two,
a third questioned