Organizers say two sailors have died in Sydney to Hobart yacht race amid wild weather conditions

SYDNEY (AP) — Organizers said Friday that two Sydney to Hobart sailors have died at sea amid wild weather conditions that forced line honors favorite Master Lock Comanche to withdraw among mass retirements.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney, which administers the yacht race, has said that one sailor each on entrants Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline were killed after being struck by the boom, a large horizontal pole at the bottom of the sail.

The race will continue as the fleet continues its passage to Constitution Dock in Hobart, with the first boats expected to arrive later on Friday or early Saturday morning. The race is 628 nautical miles (722 miles, 1,160 kilometers) long.

David Jacobs, vice-commodore of the CYCA, said the race would “absolutely” continue.

"The conditions are challenging, but they’re not excessive,” he said. “So we’ve got sort of winds at about 25 knots coming from the north seas around about two meters or thereabouts, so the conditions that most of the sailors would normally easily handle.”

Australian 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.”

The incident aboard Flying Fish Arctos occurred around 30 nautical miles east-southeast of Ulladulla on the New South Wales south coast. Crew members attempted CPR but could not revive their teammate.

The crew member aboard Bowline was struck approximately 30 nautical miles east/north-east of Batemans Bay and fell unconscious, with CPR also unsuccessful.

A police vessel was escorting Bowline to Batemans Bay, where she is expected to arrive later Friday morning.

“As these incidents are being dealt with by the Water Police and all family members are yet to be contacted, we cannot provide further details at this stage,” the CYCA said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the crews, family and friends of the deceased.”

Flying Fish Arctos, a New South Wales-based 50-footer, has contested 17 previous Hobarts since being built in 2001. The boat was designed for round-the-world sailing and is currently used by Flying Fish, a sailing school that operates in Mosman, a suburb on Sydney’s north shore.

The deaths come 26 years after six sailors were killed in storms during the 1998 running of the race, which triggered a state coronial inquest and mass reforms to the safety protocols that govern the race.

The first all-Filipino crew of 15 sailors was entered in the 2024 race, but was among about 15 retirements because of the weather. With veteran sailor Ernesto Echauz at the helm, Centennial 7 was one of six international entrants and includes sailors from the Philippines’ national team and the Philippines navy.

Last year, LawConnect won line honors after holding off defending champion Comanche by less than a minute in an exciting finish between the super maxis. LawConnect, which was runner-up in the last three editions of the race, finished in 1 day, 19 hours, 3 minutes, 58 seconds. Comanche’s time was 1 day, 19 hours, 4 minutes, 49 seconds — a margin of just 51 seconds.

It was the second-closest finish in Sydney to Hobart history after Condor of Bermuda beat Apollo by seven seconds in 1982.

Comanche holds the race record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds, set when it won in 2017.

LawConnect, which led out of Sydney Harbor, was leading the 2024 race but still had 400 nautical miles before reaching Hobart, indicating a finish overnight Friday night. Celestial V70 is in second place, about 10 nautical miles behind LawConnect.

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