I was in Hobart at the time and around 2 or 3 in the morning of boxing day, we were hit with a massive electrical storm which lasted 20 or so minutes. The next morning I looked on SBS which at the time always had the latest BOM satellite image for their weather watch (it was updated every 15 minutes or so). To my total surprise, there were three (3) mini tornadoes about 100-200 km off the east coast of Tasmania. I was interviewed by police investigators at the time. To this day I believe that BOM withheld information, but there's no way to prove it one way or another. One thing that was in the papers was that Hobart had a flash flood on that night, and that never happened before or since.
I remember being shocked at the sinking of the Winston Churchill. I sailed on that yacht on Sydney Harbour around 1994 approx.The yacht was at that time owned by a friend. I remember the old pictures inside and the old fittings. It was like a little museum. Such a tradgedy RIP 20 years on
for those who knew that rescue was coming a debt of gratitude is Ode to the stainless steel Bullocks of the rescue jumper. God bless them, they'll Brave the worst to hope to save one life. from the sailors and yachtsman of the world a big thank you!!
Not to make light of the Tragedy or loss of life... BUT Im surprised Someone like Peter Berg or Christopher Nolan, or Even Jerry Brukenheimer havent done a Movie about the 98 Race! It is one of those True films where their is absolutely no reason to Doctor the The Storyline because this Had it ALL! Romance, Wealthy, Overachiever, Olympic Athlete, Legendary Yahts, and Skippers,1st Timers and People who had no business in the race.... Lets Not Forget Absolutely Steller Helicopter Pilots and Rescue Crews! I Think it would be a TOTAL BlockBuster Film / "RESPECTFULLY"
Making a feature film with lots of yachts & lots of water would cost a fortune. Around this time there were a couple of movies similar to this tragedy though - White Squall & The Perfect Storm + Deadliest Catch started on TV not long after either & that show has it all story wise...
Heaving to in some conditions works, others, like this (much worse than the 79 Fastnet) its a death sentence. All it takes is one wave and you’re done for, regardless of if you’re hove to or not. Personally I’d have kept going, be it under bare poles or a #3 staysail if possible, but once you stop, it’s hard to get going again in seas and wind like that.
Absolutely insane that none of the volunteer sea rescue groups along the coast had been coordinated with. The support vessel could have also had a radio operator and search coordinator from a rescue group on board that could have taken over at the first sign of trouble and coordinated the SAR assets far more effectively. The race should also be supported by powered vessels capable of SAR duties in those conditions. Not only could lives be saved, it is invaluable experience that the volunteers can take back to their groups. In the field of SAR, there is never enough training.
I have a lad and we have indeed the momey to g0out sailing perhaps around the world. I showed him this video in order that he could grasp the orders that might be at hand. I think it prudent for every sailor to take into account what ANY ocean or path can toss at them.
I read "The Proving Ground". They do portray Kulmar as a villain. However I do not take everything as gospel. They also made Glyn out to be a villain. I cannot believe that an Olympic sailor would have steered the boat downwind with that big a following sea. Maybe maybe not. But it is a great read.
Interesting to me no boats hove to, layed to para anchors or drogues. Very sad story no matter how you slice it. After reading many accounts and studies of the Fastnet race tragedy, again almost no boats hove to, layed to para anchors or drogues, but the boats that did heave to all fared well actually.
@@brianbelton3605 No doubt Brian! I was NOT saying they should have, only curious as to why no one did? I am always curious about heavy weather tactics, which ones work best, and why the people chose those tactics. It was curious to me I didn't see any tactics used. Were you there? I am curious about your opinions if you were.
You have to think of the force a para anchor it will rip cleats out an heaving to is impossible in those types of conditions .The best thing to do is run away from the storm
@@bigredinfinity3126 it's not the conditions that make heaving to impossible...the yacht design, perhaps...? Not many long keels amongst these boats I guess...
Yes John Smith is correct it is not the conditions that make heaving to impossible it is the yacht design. Heaving to is a proven and long used tactic that has worked for sailors at least since the invention of the Marconi rig and in huge breaking seas. Several boats in the Fastnet race hove to and were unscathed. Modern Racing yacht design has been the source of many discussions as to their seaworthiness, righting moment and ability to handle heavy weather for two decades and this race was a perfect example of the problems associated with these designs. In regards to using para anchors. They too have been used successfully in conditions worse than these for centuries. It is a proven and often used tactic by fishermen in less stable boats than sailboats for a century or more. Many many sailors have used para anchors in extreme weather and come out unscathed. Cleats tearing out is not the problem, it’s chafe!Anchoring to the surface of the water is absolutely no different than anchoring to the bottom! And in ways even safer as there is no lee shore to be washed up on. A well found and purposed boat will ride to a para anchor in relative comfort. For some interesting reading check out the “Drag Device Data Base” it demonstrates and compares drogues and para anchors as used on monohulls, multi hulls, and fishing boats from about 100 actual events as recorded by the captains, as well as the science of how waves work and how hull shapes swim through the water. Remember... the “water “ isn’t moving only the boat and the “breaking wave” are moving. The most stable place for a displacement hull is “stopped” bow on, or is sailing at or below hull speed... the most “unstable” position for a displacement hull is “exceeding “ the speed of its designed hull shape and therefore surfing which is an extremely unsafe condition for the boat and an extremely uncomfortable and exhausting and fatiguing experience for the crew which is arguably the most dangerous aspect of all... a fatigued crew in a huge seaway. WIB Crealocks main reason for his design of the Crealock 37... comfort as the first safety measure.
With Channel7 as a significant sponsor, couldn't we have a couple of roving mikes for the media in the room. Good stories there, looking forward to another great race on the tracker.
When I get the next chance I will show him "hell on high watrer parts 3, 4 &5. So as to illustrate what the very SMALL boats and what was done on the that race by those magnifent crews. Gos bless the ones with Davie Jones, and may comfort be upon those families and loved ones who rest peacefully upon his locker.
The rescue operation was no doubt incorporated into the flying hours of the navy and other federal aircraft involved in the operation... Had they not been there, they would have been flying elsewhere, probably training.
D0ctorGonz0 I don't quite understand what your point is. Even if they would have been training, that is very different to being in the middle of the shitfight risking your own life performing a rescue in genuinely dangerous conditions.
I think the cyca has a bit more to be accountable for it should have called the race of,sailors in a yacht race are like prospectors with gold fever. My heart goes out to the families who suffered loss.
Gee, that Chris Dickson, skipper of Sayonara, his crewman Justin Clougher, and the Nokia guy David Witt, all talk like psychopaths. They mouth the words of sympathy and tragedy, but they're not really there emotionally. Philosophically, "those things happen when you race at sea". Yep, the deaths from their little sports race was "so that's a bit of a shame". I wonder if HIS WIFE and children would would feel the same if HE had not returned from his 3 days of extreme egoistic fun.
I heard deep seriousness and gravity, and perhaps they had barely begun to process what had happened. Also, people who put themselves into extreme situations tend to know exactly the risks they are taking. So they don’t waste energy jumping up and down, wailing ‘how could this happen?’ when it goes wrong.
It's amazing how helicopters can fly and hover in those conditions. Props to the heli pilots. What I take away from watching this is how rude and callous yacht owners can be towards the other yacht owners and crew. The fishing boat captain said not one yacht helped another yacht. That's just not cool at all. All the yacht captains or decision makers who were it there who didn't help others should be put on a list and when they're in trouble, nobody come to get them unless they agree to pay for the rescue. Take that all you callous rude arrogant yacht owners. It's "DNR" but different, instead of do not resuscitate, it's do not rescue! I used to windsurf and have been on the water in super crazy conditions. Sideways rain, wind so strong that the wave wavelength gets stretched out beyond anything I had ever seen on a lake I grew up on. When I crashed I ended up under the sail stuck to the harness, reach to find which side I can escape to, pull myself over, my face breached the surface anbd took a huge breath of life. Sailing can be treacherous and violent, and you've got to be prepared for it.
First I think this statement is kind of arrogant according the fact that windsurfing even in worst "lake"-conditions is not comparable to sail a 100nm offshore in a badass-storm like this,- Second, in fact there were other skippers trying to help others, in the end without any remarkable effort due to the impossibilty to maneuvre in a storm to reach other boats safely whithout risking your own crew`s life,....and that hits the point: the master always has to decide for his own crew`s safety first. I mean, imagine yourself struggeling for a breath of life and beeing asked for help at the same time, not seeing any borders, just tremendous wind and waves....as a sailor and a surfer, there is another point as well: if you fall off your board, in the near of the coast, in your Neo, you still can stick to your board, even if you can`t get up on it again, it won`t sink,- if your yacht is taking water or even doin`rolls, abroad the coast, it`ll just go down, which means you are just fucking done. To be fair, yes, there are a lot of arrogant yacht-owners, but more there are unskilled sailors and masters, who just won`t be able to help, not because of their arrogance but because of their lacking capabilities,...-especially in conditions like that noone is skilled well...-but again, the responsibility for their own crew still lays in their hands, and so they have to decide (if they can). Mostly all sailors on this regatta were well experienced, i guess, so for me it just shows how bad the conditions were, but even more how bad the organization, communication and coordination went on in this worse-getting scenario, pretty much the same chaos as in the "Fastnet"-tragedy in the late 70`s.....Ahoi then from Germany
@@danielhedo6628 good response. I agree not much any sailors could do to help each other there. The race organization needs to learn from this. They placed the racers and the rescuers into hell. Then they did not accept any blame or admit anything could have been improved for the future. That is criminal but just my opinion. Need a documented roles & responsibilities so all know do not count on the race organizers for anything!!!!
Fastening a boom alongside the boat? During a gale? Crazy... You immediately get a wire cutter and cut all the rigging to lose any mast or boom parts so they cán´t damage the hull of the vessel, you don´t indulge in suicidal bad seamanship.
you're a typical keyboard warrior. The boom was lowered to the deck and lashed down prior to the roll over. Prior to dropping the rig. You know, like what you need to do in extremely rough conditions when not using a mainsail.
Chris I sailed it and made it - nothing to do with skippers and their core crew, all to do with race organisers and the weather bureau. Read the coroner's reports.
There is independent information from the altimiters of some rescue helicopters that prove this was accurate. Indeed one wave went over 100 foot high. Not my opinion but based on published information.
@@jusomebody3069 Rude, gutless, and ignorant..The Apple Isle notched up Australia's second-biggest recorded wave - 18.4 metres high - after wild weather lashed the state yesterday....  How an 18m wave shapes up. The freakishly big wave was recorded yesterday morning by a wave-rider buoy device off Cape Sorrel
@@rosewood1 I've noticed a tendency in Australians to exaggerate things. Aussy surfers coming to the North Shore will call a wave a 20 footer and it will will barely clear 8 feet Hawaiian.. So no surprise about Australian sailors. Don't worry the English did the same during the '79 Fastnet Race. And if you look at all the video footage involving helicopters the seas are barely breaking. If waves were even at the lower range of the claimed 18 metres everything would be white. So I'm still calling BS.
I'm a kiwi living and sailing in Pittwater Sydney. I would dedicate my years wages to find the missing sailors! You are obviously NOT like us men. Your probably one of those boys with a BLOW OFF valve and cheap deodorant. If you ever reach manhood, you'll regret your comment.
I was in Hobart at the time and around 2 or 3 in the morning of boxing day, we were hit with a massive electrical storm which lasted 20 or so minutes. The next morning I looked on SBS which at the time always had the latest BOM satellite
image for their weather watch (it was updated every 15 minutes or so). To my total surprise, there were three (3) mini tornadoes about 100-200 km off the east coast of Tasmania. I was interviewed by police investigators at the time.
To this day I believe that BOM withheld information, but there's no way to prove it one way or another. One thing that was in the papers was that Hobart had a flash flood on that night, and that never happened before or since.
I remember being shocked at the sinking of the Winston Churchill. I sailed on that yacht on Sydney Harbour around 1994 approx.The yacht was at that time owned by a friend. I remember the old pictures inside and the old fittings. It was like a little museum. Such a tradgedy RIP 20 years on
for those who knew that rescue was coming a debt of gratitude is Ode to the stainless steel Bullocks of the rescue jumper. God bless them, they'll Brave the worst to hope to save one life. from the sailors and yachtsman of the world a big thank you!!
Brass balls
Or titanium
Not to make light of the Tragedy or loss of life... BUT Im surprised Someone like Peter Berg or Christopher Nolan, or Even Jerry Brukenheimer havent done a Movie about the 98 Race! It is one of those True films where their is absolutely no reason to Doctor the The Storyline because this Had it ALL! Romance, Wealthy, Overachiever, Olympic Athlete, Legendary Yahts, and Skippers,1st Timers and People who had no business in the race....
Lets Not Forget Absolutely Steller Helicopter Pilots and Rescue Crews!
I Think it would be a TOTAL BlockBuster Film /
"RESPECTFULLY"
Making a feature film with lots of yachts & lots of water would cost a fortune. Around this time there were a couple of movies similar to this tragedy though - White Squall & The Perfect Storm + Deadliest Catch started on TV not long after either & that show has it all story wise...
Rescue crews hero's every single one of them
My heart is with all not only have lost loved ones at sea or even those endured hellish swells praying to the sky on the worst of days 🙏
The question is why some yachts survived and others didn't. In the Fastnet 1979 tragedy one documentary said all those boats which hove-to survived.
Heaving to in some conditions works, others, like this (much worse than the 79 Fastnet) its a death sentence. All it takes is one wave and you’re done for, regardless of if you’re hove to or not. Personally I’d have kept going, be it under bare poles or a #3 staysail if possible, but once you stop, it’s hard to get going again in seas and wind like that.
They don't mention any boats using a drogue, particularly a series drogue. I wonder if that might still help in such conditions.
Absolutely insane that none of the volunteer sea rescue groups along the coast had been coordinated with. The support vessel could have also had a radio operator and search coordinator from a rescue group on board that could have taken over at the first sign of trouble and coordinated the SAR assets far more effectively.
The race should also be supported by powered vessels capable of SAR duties in those conditions.
Not only could lives be saved, it is invaluable experience that the volunteers can take back to their groups.
In the field of SAR, there is never enough training.
well they didn´t know it was going to be bad
60 - 80 foot seas... That's fucking terrifying
a series drogue works wonders in these conditions
With winds gusting to 80 knots
I have a lad and we have indeed the momey to g0out sailing perhaps around the world. I showed him this video in order that he could grasp the orders that might be at hand.
I think it prudent for every sailor to take into account what ANY ocean or path can toss at them.
"No I want to go back on the boat" lol
Andrew Muir how ungrateful was that ? Arse !
Nothing funny about it.
He was being sardonic; a typical (good) Aussie trait & quite brave response, under the circumstances.@@davidwolff8903
Awful experience! Remember Glyn, met him at Proctor Masts, Swanwick. Always remember his Green TVR. R.I.P
The bottom line of this story is: Don't f*ck with Mother Nature...
Might seem slightly trivial but Ausmaid was third over line not Raggamuffin.
Not trivial but not worth the mention men lost there lives.
I read "The Proving Ground". They do portray Kulmar as a villain. However I do not take everything as gospel. They also made Glyn out to be a villain. I cannot believe that an Olympic sailor would have steered the boat downwind with that big a following sea. Maybe maybe not. But it is a great read.
The digital stabilisation on this video is really distracting!
good video
Interesting to me no boats hove to, layed to para anchors or drogues. Very sad story no matter how you slice it. After reading many accounts and studies of the Fastnet race tragedy, again almost no boats hove to, layed to para anchors or drogues, but the boats that did heave to all fared well actually.
You were NOT there. hush.. . .
@@brianbelton3605 No doubt Brian! I was NOT saying they should have, only curious as to why no one did? I am always curious about heavy weather tactics, which ones work best, and why the people chose those tactics. It was curious to me I didn't see any tactics used. Were you there? I am curious about your opinions if you were.
You have to think of the force a para anchor it will rip cleats out an heaving to is impossible in those types of conditions .The best thing to do is run away from the storm
@@bigredinfinity3126 it's not the conditions that make heaving to impossible...the yacht design, perhaps...? Not many long keels amongst these boats I guess...
Yes John Smith is correct it is not the conditions that make heaving to impossible it is the yacht design. Heaving to is a proven and long used tactic that has worked for sailors at least since the invention of the Marconi rig and in huge breaking seas. Several boats in the Fastnet race hove to and were unscathed. Modern Racing yacht design has been the source of many discussions as to their seaworthiness, righting moment and ability to handle heavy weather for two decades and this race was a perfect example of the problems associated with these designs. In regards to using para anchors. They too have been used successfully in conditions worse than these for centuries. It is a proven and often used tactic by fishermen in less stable boats than sailboats for a century or more. Many many sailors have used para anchors in extreme weather and come out unscathed. Cleats tearing out is not the problem, it’s chafe!Anchoring to the surface of the water is absolutely no different than anchoring to the bottom! And in ways even safer as there is no lee shore to be washed up on. A well found and purposed boat will ride to a para anchor in relative comfort. For some interesting reading check out the “Drag Device Data Base” it demonstrates and compares drogues and para anchors as used on monohulls, multi hulls, and fishing boats from about 100 actual events as recorded by the captains, as well as the science of how waves work and how hull shapes swim through the water. Remember... the “water “ isn’t moving only the boat and the “breaking wave” are moving. The most stable place for a displacement hull is “stopped” bow on, or is sailing at or below hull speed... the most “unstable” position for a displacement hull is “exceeding “ the speed of its designed hull shape and therefore surfing which is an extremely unsafe condition for the boat and an extremely uncomfortable and exhausting and fatiguing experience for the crew which is arguably the most dangerous aspect of all... a fatigued crew in a huge seaway. WIB Crealocks main reason for his design of the Crealock 37... comfort as the first safety measure.
With Channel7 as a significant sponsor, couldn't we have a couple of roving mikes for the media in the room. Good stories there, looking forward to another great race on the tracker.
The comment below refers to the 75thS2H media launch, the mediator of this video may remove it and this explanation.
When I get the next chance I will show him "hell on high watrer parts 3, 4 &5. So as to illustrate what the very SMALL boats and what was done on the that race by those magnifent crews.
Gos bless the ones with Davie Jones, and may comfort be upon those families and loved ones who rest peacefully upon his locker.
The rescue operation was no doubt incorporated into the flying hours of the navy and other federal aircraft involved in the operation... Had they not been there, they would have been flying elsewhere, probably training.
D0ctorGonz0 I don't quite understand what your point is. Even if they would have been training, that is very different to being in the middle of the shitfight risking your own life performing a rescue in genuinely dangerous conditions.
Exactly, what IS their point???@@freefall0483
what on earth was this filmed on?
News choppers with no rescue capabilities
This is what bothers you?
I think the cyca has a bit more to be accountable for it should have called the race of,sailors in a yacht race are like prospectors with gold fever. My heart goes out to the families who suffered loss.
Very sad
No doubt...
17:46 Notice Why Something Happend
No!?
NEVER expose the bow to seas like these. Only exception is lack of sea room
So run with the seas?
better than the transom
Not much emotion from the interviewées, sad story , only people to come out of this with credit were the rescuers
What do you expect? Should they cry and scream while describing what they've been through?
So so sad for or all concerned. 🙄
Gee, that Chris Dickson, skipper of Sayonara, his crewman Justin Clougher, and the Nokia guy David Witt, all talk like psychopaths. They mouth the words of sympathy and tragedy, but they're not really there emotionally. Philosophically, "those things happen when you race at sea". Yep, the deaths from their little sports race was "so that's a bit of a shame". I wonder if HIS WIFE and children would would feel the same if HE had not returned from his 3 days of extreme egoistic fun.
I heard deep seriousness and gravity, and perhaps they had barely begun to process what had happened.
Also, people who put themselves into extreme situations tend to know exactly the risks they are taking. So they don’t waste energy jumping up and down, wailing ‘how could this happen?’ when it goes wrong.
Davy Jones dished out a beating, never liked racing it devolves the consciousness of human intelligence..Your always winning just being alive....
HILLS OFF WATER,,,,
Scary
It's amazing how helicopters can fly and hover in those conditions. Props to the heli pilots. What I take away from watching this is how rude and callous yacht owners can be towards the other yacht owners and crew. The fishing boat captain said not one yacht helped another yacht. That's just not cool at all. All the yacht captains or decision makers who were it there who didn't help others should be put on a list and when they're in trouble, nobody come to get them unless they agree to pay for the rescue. Take that all you callous rude arrogant yacht owners. It's "DNR" but different, instead of do not resuscitate, it's do not rescue!
I used to windsurf and have been on the water in super crazy conditions. Sideways rain, wind so strong that the wave wavelength gets stretched out beyond anything I had ever seen on a lake I grew up on. When I crashed I ended up under the sail stuck to the harness, reach to find which side I can escape to, pull myself over, my face breached the surface anbd took a huge breath of life. Sailing can be treacherous and violent, and you've got to be prepared for it.
First I think this statement is kind of arrogant according the fact that windsurfing even in worst "lake"-conditions is not comparable to sail a 100nm offshore in a badass-storm like this,- Second, in fact there were other skippers trying to help others, in the end without any remarkable effort due to the impossibilty to maneuvre in a storm to reach other boats safely whithout risking your own crew`s life,....and that hits the point: the master always has to decide for his own crew`s safety first. I mean, imagine yourself struggeling for a breath of life and beeing asked for help at the same time, not seeing any borders, just tremendous wind and waves....as a sailor and a surfer, there is another point as well: if you fall off your board, in the near of the coast, in your Neo, you still can stick to your board, even if you can`t get up on it again, it won`t sink,- if your yacht is taking water or even doin`rolls, abroad the coast, it`ll just go down, which means you are just fucking done. To be fair, yes, there are a lot of arrogant yacht-owners, but more there are unskilled sailors and masters, who just won`t be able to help, not because of their arrogance but because of their lacking capabilities,...-especially in conditions like that noone is skilled well...-but again, the responsibility for their own crew still lays in their hands, and so they have to decide (if they can). Mostly all sailors on this regatta were well experienced, i guess, so for me it just shows how bad the conditions were, but even more how bad the organization, communication and coordination went on in this worse-getting scenario, pretty much the same chaos as in the "Fastnet"-tragedy in the late 70`s.....Ahoi then from Germany
@@danielhedo6628 good response. I agree not much any sailors could do to help each other there. The race organization needs to learn from this. They placed the racers and the rescuers into hell. Then they did not accept any blame or admit anything could have been improved for the future. That is criminal but just my opinion. Need a documented roles & responsibilities so all know do not count on the race organizers for anything!!!!
They couldn't even help themselves you farking idiot
Comparing your own lake windsurfing experience to this 😂 who are you
Fastening a boom alongside the boat? During a gale? Crazy... You immediately get a wire cutter and cut all the rigging to lose any mast or boom parts so they cán´t damage the hull of the vessel, you don´t indulge in suicidal bad seamanship.
you're a typical keyboard warrior. The boom was lowered to the deck and lashed down prior to the roll over. Prior to dropping the rig. You know, like what you need to do in extremely rough conditions when not using a mainsail.
Worrst advice I've heard keyboard warrior
The Skippers who lost crew should hold some responsibility for their deaths. So too race organisers.
Chris I sailed it and made it - nothing to do with skippers and their core crew, all to do with race organisers and the weather bureau. Read the coroner's reports.
@@VSAGolfClub typical rich kid with a boat. End of the day the skipper is responsible for the boat and all souls. Not the BOM or the race organisers.
60 to 80 foot seas? Bull.
There is independent information from the altimiters of some rescue helicopters that prove this was accurate. Indeed one wave went over 100 foot high. Not my opinion but based on published information.
Wanker
@@jusomebody3069 Rude, gutless, and ignorant..The Apple Isle notched up Australia's second-biggest recorded wave - 18.4 metres high - after wild weather lashed the state yesterday....

How an 18m wave shapes up.
The freakishly big wave was recorded yesterday morning by a wave-rider buoy device off Cape Sorrel
@@rosewood1jeez 18 metres..
@@rosewood1 I've noticed a tendency in Australians to exaggerate things. Aussy surfers coming to the North Shore will call a wave a 20 footer and it will will barely clear 8 feet Hawaiian.. So no surprise about Australian sailors. Don't worry the English did the same during the '79 Fastnet Race. And if you look at all the video footage involving helicopters the seas are barely breaking. If waves were even at the lower range of the claimed 18 metres everything would be white. So I'm still calling BS.
Hope the aussie taxpayers were reimbursed!!
You think saving (Australian) lives is a waste of tax money? People died and more would have without help - your comment is a bloody disgrace
I'm a kiwi living and sailing in Pittwater Sydney. I would dedicate my years wages to find the missing sailors! You are obviously NOT like us men. Your probably one of those boys with a BLOW OFF valve and cheap deodorant. If you ever reach manhood, you'll regret your comment.