"... the landmass pushes back, forcing the cold air into the upper hemisphere..." by god you talk some utter bullshit. You clearly have some basic knowledge, but your stretches are utterly painful. Please stop pretending to be what you are not. You KNOW what I am talking about. Your general format is nice enough, and the stories you cover are well researched, to a point, but honestly you are so far out of your depth at some points it makes me cringe.
You make great videos man always solid content. Thank you for all of your research and effort you put into these presentations and videos. It's good to see a UA-cam channel with class.
I was on board a 56 foot yacht called Future Shock in the 98 Hobart, we finished in 6th place (over the line). Conditions after the first 14 hours were brutal, highest windspeed was 92 knots with waves over 20 metres. Larry Ellison was on one of the largest yachts with a fully professional crew and ahead of the worst of the weather. It would have been terrifying on the smaller yachts.
When i was 16 i went on a trip to England from Belgium across the channel with liner ship.... 9Bft.. This is the North Sea... i swear i thought i saw high hills everywhere around us consisting of water.. When in the troughs this ship felt like it was a small fishing boat. I gotta tip my hat to you and all sailors going into such conditions with a yacht.. of all things. lol.
This is a horror story from end to end..... It is amazing that more sailors did not perish. Sailing here in Hawaii some years back, I suffered a broken back inflicted during a pitchpole in heavy weather while over rigged. In general, bad things happen fast. Be smarter than I was.
As an Aussie, only 7 at the time, I recall this well, it was all over the news, my parents were talking about it. People couldn't believe an Olympic swimmer could drown, but then you saw the chopper footage and immediately understood. There is no skill that will avert 10-20 meter high waves, in gale-force winds. One guy got super lucky, as his yacht was being battered about, he was flung into the freezing water, he said he knew he'd die as the sea was ferocious but suddenly a chopper appeared and spotlighted him the whole time (he said if the spotter has lost sight of him in the waves, he'd of drifted off and drowned too, or if the chopper had arrived a few seconds later, he'd of never been seen). Basically, the biggest ships survived (and won, outrunning the storm; the largest ship won the race) while the littler, quaint pleasure yachts (if they didn't pull out or didn't hear the call) were obliterated. It made the race more professional, but more corporate, kind of a shame, but not worth dying over.
@@deathbycheese850 No, but good memory! Just looked it up, Tony's story is also incredible, but he was doing a solo round-the-world yacht race in 1997, not the Syd to Hobart, he was transiting through the Southern Ocean when his yacht capsised but, he knew to sit by the boat, actually within the hull of his overturned yacht (as it was only partially flooded), he ate just a little chocolate and some fresh water for 4 days before he was found by the HMAS Adelaide.
@@skullsaintdead Bullimore was rescued by the Australian navy. They used a sonar to find him. They discovered his boat just at the very end of the sonars range. The printed circuit board for that sonar was laid out by David Jones, who is a well known youtuber in the electronics and hacker/maker space. ( EEvBlog.) Sorry. If I hear something once, it sticks.
When the SS Atlantic sank men who’d spent decades at sea drowned within a stone’s throw of dry land. In calm weather you’d look at the distance they needed to cover and think a small child could do it no problem. The way the sea can turn from something calm, simple and seemingly understood to a horrifying monster is amazing.
I was there. We were in a Jock Muir built 52' cruising Yacht and weathered the storm and made it to Hobart. We were all experienced and had completed many Hobarts over the years. We had on board a guest, an experienced sailor from The USA. We measured one wind gust at over 100 knots and we experienced many seas over 80 foot. We took all the sails down and strapped the boom to the deck and rode it out below. I do know we rolled 360 degrees at least 3 times. But we had taken precautions. All we had was our experience to not panic. An RAN guided missile destroyer was deployed to assist with the rescue. It was 440 feet long. A colleague of mine on another boat saw this destroyer climbing up a giant swell with 30 feet of breaking water on the crest. He said that he saw the destroyer half way up the face off the wave at an angle of 45 degrees. One can figure out how big it was. The only ocean that produces this is the Southern Ocean and the Hobart race pokes into it. Its never easy.
Holy crap!!!! I cannot even imagine being in a boat that size, and looking at waves that size, and would rather not, because they could come to a nightmare near me, soon. I remember reading about the guys that crossed the Atlantic on a large purpose modified Hobie Cat, with a double decker trampoline and some other mods. They hit a major storm, and reported the boat being fully UPRIGHT with the top of the mast 30' below the surface at times. They said if they had been overturned, it would have been guaranteed permanent lights out, but that it never happened. Talk about skating the edge. As a kid, one of my occasionally reoccurring nightmares was seeing a 1000' tsunami growing on the horizon, coming my way, with lots of time to predict the personal outcome. That one came from reading a story about 1000' tsunamis, on the West coast, generated by slides off the big islands in the Pacific, and the geological evidence that they not only occurred, but did so regularly, albeit on a very long time intervals. That, and living on a giant low level sandbar, Florida. Another was getting swallowed by the Earth, which seemed silly, until much later in life, when a HUMONGOUS sinkhole opened just mid single digit miles from where I live opened up, in Winter Park, and much more recently, a fellow swallowed up in a much smaller one, directly out of his bedroom, asleep, into what they termed "unsurvivable conditions". Geez, as if my imagination weren't bad enough. Glad you survived your ACTUAL life threatening trial. The 'in head' nighttime video 'shows' are bad enough. Haven't had any nighttime sweats that I remember though, in decades, as an adult. I'm guessing you may have had a few, though, after that actual adventure.
@@MrJdsenior I got caught as a surfer in 10ft waves.. i am just a beginner. I swear these things do something to ya. I had half a year passing by that i almost couldn't watch a surf video because of fear triggers...lol. It's gone now luckily. The ocean can be such a creepy place.
@@alainvosselman9960 I love the ocean, not creepy at all, just respect it and it will give you joy. Lifetime of big wave surfing. 15 metre swell height at Margaret River means wave height much higher, was the only one in the water that day but only caught 2 waves from way out the back but they were big. Pretty safe as long as you can hold your breath for a long time. As far as that race goes. From experience spearfishing at The Fads 12klms off Sydney Heads on a mild day I had no chance of swimming against the ocean current. So any sailor going overboard without a tether had little chance of swimming to safety bar a miracle.
Enthralling is not the word I would use. I was shocked to the core by his descriptions and now realize that the 20 knot winds and 3m waves I've had to sail in occasionally don't begin to compare with those conditions.
The events described starting at 12m 13s most likely describe the classic MOB maneuver known as the "Williamson Turn." This rescue alone deserves an entire video because the odds of achieving it under those conditions were literally astronomical. Having practiced it in calm weather, it's never easy.
Pshh, me & Dan Bilzer did it thrice in one week. Though, he left me behind to drown, along with 4 busty Puerta Ricans & a teenage bengal tigress. Selected to shed weight, from the sheer volume of their upper ledges alone, and the tonnage of my hefty draining sac. Wasn't even mad-Told Danno to finish his summer shandy mid-handy on the skipper. They didn't call him Captain Girthworm for nuttin'. His dismay turned to convenience on the horizon, as I glazed on in, mid 3-way, atop a Persian Water Stallion named D-Biztits (named after his liege) and navels deep on those busty chicitas. Even the tiger was aroused, but drowned himself in terror from fear of pure dominance alone. Swapped with me for a shot on the gram and called it. Alpha day that was.
@@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017 He probably had the same thought. By rights, he should have been. His odds of being recovered at all, much less alive and kicking were slim to none. On returning to land he should have immediately bought himself a few lottery tickets. He'd likely have hit on all of them. None other than the great Eric Tabarly was lost over the side off Wales, in relatively moderate conditions and his body wasn't recovered for months.
@@frankmiller95...add to that NO safety gear. Buddy and I were throwing life vests into the boat when a game warden walks up; starts running down the safety list...life vests we point to the boat, whistle...I pulled mine out of my vest and blew it, how long is the boat...me, 14 feet(knowing the next item on the safety list is flare gun & 3 flares). You be careful now. Yah screw you you officials young and probably new hire.
As a US Navy vet, son and nephew of WW2 USNavy men, and an avid lover of history, your channel keeps me enthralled... there are other historical genres I watch... But nothing beats this channel... Well researched, well narrated and incredibly interesting material... Thank you...
Brutal. The ocean can be a savage place. There was a triathlon in Cork this year were two people died during the swim. They went ahead with the swim despite being warned about the conditions
I remember this race well. When I was younger, I used to go on Christmas holidays with my parents at a town called Narooma, which is about 100km north of Eden in NSW, where a boat known as Loki retired from the race after it had been knocked down and damaged. I remember the captain of it saying that he had considered making a run to New Zeland so he could move with the wind as the conditions were so bad. I can also remember stopping at a town called Lakes entrance in victoria on boxing day on the trip up and struggeling to stay standing as the wind was so strong. I can strongly recommend a book known as Fatal Storm by Rob Mundle to anybody who wants to lean more about the race, and the incredible rescue mission that took place.
That is a great book. Lots of details not mentioned in this video. I’ve done a lot of “around the buoys” racing and a little offshore racing. At one point the Sydney to Hobart was on my bucket list. But I’m in the US and age 65 now. A little too old and too far away to make this a reality.
Thankyou for this info, I actually had a family member on a sailboat named "Kickatinalong" during the 1998 Sydney to hobart and they were listed as missing at sea for a full 24hours, until they later established communication with the race coordinators.
Closed course racing, example The America's Cup. All kinds of feints and blocking moves. The start has been nicknamed 'the dance of the lead bottomed money gobblers
En route to perform the first of many rescues, the Victorian Police air wing helicopter was flying at 420 km/h (260 mph) with the tailwind. When performing winch rescues into the headwind, they had to fly at 160 km/h (100 mph) just to remain stationary.
The Bass Strait is fun to take baby sailors into. They learn really fast to respect the ocean, and that it doesn't matter how good of a swimmer you are, if the ocean wants to take you it'll be the fight of a lifetime. That tribute at the end was beautiful!
This race and the Fastnet that went pear shaped are the two sailing events that are used in safety classes/sea survival courses. One point that was rammed home is stay with your yacht until it actually sinks. In both races many drowned after abandoning ship but only a couple of yachts actually sunk. It can be unnerving but the reality is that survival after leaving the yacht are 5% at best.
Correct. Always stay with the boat until it's actually sinking. Being inside a capsized boat in a storm is almost infinitely safer than being alone in open water in the same storm. First and foremost, it's almost impossible to see people in the water in even small waves.
@@LoanwordEggcorn Agreed, but that's a relatively recent conclusion. Until a few years ago, sometimes even now, there many highly trained and well respected rescue experts who insist that an orderly, early(ier) evacuation is preferable to the alternative. According to all reputable analyses, those involved in the loss of the "Bounty" replica off the Virginia Capes in 2012 waited too long to abandon ship, with two otherwise, likely avoidable deaths. ln the case of the captain, Walbridge, there's speculation he might have deliberately chosen to go down with the ship, due the recognition of his easily predictable, catastrophically, stupid blunder in deciding to put to sea in a leaky, old unseaworthy vessel, directly into the path of a well known, extra tropical cyclone. Obviously a clearly unseaworthy, even-alongside-the-pier, replica, 18th century square rigger is a very different animal than a modern yacht. Those will generally stay afloat, even after catastrophic damage other than uncontrollable flooding, aka, "free communication."
I started fishing the Norwegian sector at 16yrs old and I was always taught that your best lifeboat is your vessel. Never abandon ship until the last minute. That boat sank in a storm late 80s and thankfully we were all airlifted before she actually went down...although it was a bit touch and go. I can still remember being so glad we didn't have to go into the rafts that day.
Just one course in a river during winter taught me,NEVER get into a life raft unless you have to.That wasn’t the point of the course but it sure taught me a lesson.The name (life raft) fools people into thinking it’s their saviour.In time of panic,it’s time to just calm down and reevaluate the situation.Worst I’ve been in is 60 knots with huge seas at night.Thankfully these days with STARLINK,you should never be caught out .Thank you Elon .
I'm Australian. Watching this race start is a tradition in my house. I was 10 when this happened. It is one of the few things I remember from that long ago. The understanding of just how dangerous this race actually is. I think it gave me a whole other level of respect for the ocean. In brighter news in the 2023 race there was a four legged sailor. A cat called Oli. Look him up. He is cute af.
This was no ordinary storm. Bugger winning raising the alarm in these conditions saved lives. The fact so many survived is a testament to the skills of the sailors on each boat.
If i remember correctly, rescue choppers went out, but didn't have cables long enough to stay above the waves, and had to time a drop between waves! When Bass strait gets angry it is one of, if not the most dangerous passage in the world, being relatively shallow, but open to seas and wind coming directly from the the Antartic region!
I just found your channel and love the content. The narration, and description of details is top notch. I haven't sailed in years. When I was in my 20's I got a chance to crew on a 156' Windjammer adventure. Ill never forget that summer. I currently own a 53' Hatteras motor yacht and love the sea. I'm currently working my way through all your videos.
Another exciting video from my favourite storyteller. You kept me at the edge of my chair. You always do. I very much, look forward, to your next story. Thanks Paul. 😉😉
As a Veteran of the U.S. Navy, my condolences to the families of those Sailors that are part of the Seas eternal Watch. Either on a yacht or an Aircraft Carrier, the sea can chew you up.
Great presentation of a tragic year for the Sydney to Hobart race . We traditionally sit out on my mates front deck and watch the yachts go past heading south . I distinctly remember this race . As a surfer , I was on holidays and had looked at the 4 day weather map ( MSLP ) . I could not believe the race was going ahead . I sat there and a thought of dread flashed through my mind .
What you didn't mention was that Larry Ellison never went offshore racing again. The big problem was that the Australian ego thinks that man can beat mother nature. The BOM upgraded their forecast to a full storm warning 2 hours after the start, and that was the time for the CCA to notify all racers to return to Sydney and restart the race when the weather improved. There will be another tragedy one day when they find out all of the new equipment will no stand up to those conditions. Other race organizers postpone starts, even for around the world racers.
Maybe that's of times gone by, I would say the opposite now, we're constantly reminded of what mother nature's like, but we don't chose to let it drag us down every time we're confronted against it. If it's not fires it's floods, if it isn't those it's drought, throw in a few cyclones here and there for kicks, it's just the cycle of life Down Under.
Thank you for a fantastic video. I used to race myself, ironically on a yacht that had survived the 1979 Fastnet race disaster. But as an amateur, I knew we were taking unnecesary risks. One time we had a nighttime broach under spinnaker with 40 kts. We could have lost crew overboard but blessfully we didn't. That was the last time I raced. I still sail, but not competitively.
I know what you mean. I used to race my yacht around Sydney Harbour, and crew on a more competitive basis in Botany Bay. If I'd wanted to, I could have crewed on that Sydney to Hobart, but I don't have the guts. That broach sounds nasty - spinnaker/night/force 8 gets your attention. I'll wave to you when we're back in cruising season 🙂
I was the pilot of Southcare 1, a Bell 412 out of Canberra. We pulled the last 4 crew off Offshore Stand Aside, the skipper was the last one to be winched up. Next day we tracked a distress beacon to Business Post Naiad. The snippet of red just visible in the cockpit at 5:36 is the body of a crewman. Another was down below, also deceased.
Living a board of my cabine cruiser and being a former member of the French sea rescue as chief medic and rescue swimmer I can't understand the unnecessary risks some take just for a race... And apparently a few without the bare minimum equipment!
Then you've got a narrow mind. People take the same risks when they climb Mt Everest, parachute off a building and so on. Once upon a time Leonard Nimoy narrated a program called Thrillseekers, but you wouldn't understand any of it. Stay in your cocoon and feel safe. That's your comfort zone. Do NOT lecture others.
Really old posts, I know, but a version(or many) of this shows up on all disaster discussions. "You can't possibly understand what it is to be as alive as us fearless he men". Always assume no one has ever been in life and death "fun" but themselves. Lots of people are just more capable of learning and rational thought than the self glorifying "he men".
This was a tragedy for Australia. I sailed from Fremantle around to Port Melbourne but we hit a storm 300 mile off the bite , by this time we were already in the roaring 40s. We were in 55 foot yacht and the storm lasted 36 hours. We had all the sailes down and deck lights on but no one could be on deck. We were all scared shitless for near 2 days. The storm blow us that far off course we ended up on King Island. We stayed for a week as we decided to check it out, but looking back I think that trip just took that much out of us. The yacht is called Moonstar. Last I herd she is docked back in Fremantle. Go check her out anyone in Fremantle that boat has been around the world twice. It was refurbished around 2014. Still a nice boat👍
We Aussies love watching the iconic Blue Water Classic, Sydney to Hobart (and the Melbourne to Hobart) after Christmas - the start is stunning with all the Spinnaker Sails against the backdrop of Sydney Harbor. The serious sailing takes place as they head down the coast and some of the roughest sailing is across Bass Strait as they head for Tasmania. It’s exciting to be in Hobart as the yachts arrive. I remember watching that year on TV and as the terrible news kept coming and the missing and the death toll rose, we just couldn’t believe it! It’s still talked about despite being almost 30 years ago…….
Great video, just like all your others! Please keep them coming....I would love to see many more sailing stories, even if they only have a single sailboat or single sailor!
"east coast low" is essentially the same mechanism that causes tornadoes to form in the US. It's a lobe of cold air that swings down into moist warm air travelling northeast from the gult.
I was the pilot of Southcare 1, a Bell 412 out of Canberra. We pulled the last 4 crew off Offshore Stand Aside, the skipper was the last one to be winched up. Next day we tracked a distress beacon to Business Post Naiad. The snippet of red just visible in the cockpit at 5:36 is the body of a crewman. Another was down below, also deceased.
From docos and PBO sailing magazine, I know that the RNLI do a fantastic job, often in horrendous sea conditions, but the area they cover is a tiny fraction of the area of ocean Australia is responsible for when it comes to search and rescue. Same goes for New Zealand. The Sydney to Hobart boats were close at hand. Tony Bullimore was not. In checking I see he was 2500 km (1350 nautical miles) south of Australia, and 1500 km (800 nautical miles) from Antarctica. Think, nearly half the distance from the UK to Canada and then think about how much it might cost to search that area. I recollect people being astounded and relieved Tony Bullimore had survived and was found in his upturned hull, but you can hardly be surprised if some questioned the cost.
A family man has no business risking his life to prove he can do something else. Like the wife or children aren’t really a consideration.Then just before death, wish they had stayed home:((((
Every man has a choice and can decide as he wishes as long as he's prepared to accept the consequences. People I knew died in this race, my brother survived. They all made choices of their own free will, you may not understand it but please respect their right to do so..
@@stevehunt4660 Children have no choice in the matter. My dad taught me as I taught my sons: Live a moral,life and take risks when young. But once you have a child, you owe them your life since you created theirs. Once they are adults, take some risks if you want. Sorry but fathers are selfish if they risk making their children orphans so that they can seek thrill.
@@stevehunt4660 This so much. Every man, especially you and people you know, have the right to abandon children for random ego bullshit, and the right to abandon other sailors to try and get a win.
It was a horrible time. I was in England trying to get updates from the CYC. B52 had not been heard from but was eventually spotted under power heading for Eden. Don Buckley did not go overboard at any time.
Read Larry’s biography, he describes the 98 run and how lucky they were to survive themselves. His boat was delaminating throughout the entire hull but it was too late to turn back.
Love your content. The explanations about sailing were really helpful for a desert rat! I will say that my experience is that you can no longer use Express VPN to watch the Netflix library from another country, at least in the US. Netflix blocks any VPN and you cannot connect to Netflix while using a VPN. That's not to say a VPN is not useful, it absolutely is a good thing to have, just not for watching Netflix.
My mums partner has done 16 Sydney to Hobart's. He been sailing st a professional level his whole life and says they're still scary AF. He's seen and done it all in sailing and rarely bats an eye at any adverse situation but always describes the Sydney to Hobart as scary.
Going through the Bass Straight on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry can be scary enough. My heart races and I struggle to breathe thinking about doing that journey on a small yacht.
Low pressure air is always warmer than high pressure air. That’s why the low in your graphic is in red (warmer) and the high is in blue (colder). The presence of any low pressure area is an invitation to colder high pressures to fill in. That’s where the wind comes from. Low pressures are only associated with wind because of the high pressure air that will inevitably fill in behind it, creating lots of wind.
Was out surfing the morning before this cold front hit. Started out a decent day, cold front came through early and nasty. Always remember seeing that cold front and saying to my dad when arriving home that sailors were going to die today.
I was involved in the search & rescue efforts on this disaster! I was driving a C414, found one boat (Buisness Post Niad) pretty much stripped of anything above the deck! Dumb idea going in the first place!
Hi, I:m a sailor.... Personally going to Tasmania at this time of year is really asking for trouble. It:s like your giving the finger to mother nature and saying, bring it on.... I lost friends that day from Winston Churchill... RIP guys
Serious question, since l'm personally unfamiliar with the area, what time of year IS good for that stretch of ocean? lt's now midsummer down under? Granted, it's in the Southern Ocean, so probably no time is ever really good.
@@frankmiller95 Pretty sure bass strait can be one of the roughest bits of ocean in the world. I don't think there's really ever a good time to go through it
@@tgmrsch Thanks for the confirmation. That has always been my impression. A boat l knew well, the "Nina" was lost in the Tasman Sea with all aboard in 2013. "My" old boat (l was the captain), "Holger Danske" is down somewhere in Taz and seaworthy as she is, or was, l'd still be extremely careful about the weather forecast before taking her offshore. Having crossed the Bay of Biscay, in January aboard a mid sized Swan, en-route to the West lndies, it's not difficult to imagine how bad and they can be and how quickly the conditions in the Bass Strait can south. No pun intended.
I'm a boater my whole life, not a blow boater, but a boater non the less. Growing up in Miami I have run my boats to the Bahamas multiple times. Talking about a multi engine center console boat no smaller than 28', currently have a 40'. Anyway, as a born and raised boater it is almost an obligation to warn other boaters over radio of hazardous conditions. Not only that, if you hear of someone in distress it is a duty of a captain to assist if possible without putting your own vessel and crew in danger. Being in a sanctioned race should be no different. I would certainly feel better saving lives and getting DQ'd than winning and having lost sailors in my wake.
Sadly, two more deaths this year 2024 "Two sailors, from the yachts Bowline and Flying Fish Arctos, were killed in separate accidents on the night of December 26-27."
I remember mucking about on a yacht in Sydney harbour with a few mates. We had heard things were getting rough for the fleet, but, of course, we had no real idea of what was happening at that stage. On hearing the blast of the horn of the destroyer docked at Naval Base - signalling crew members an urgent return to ship - then smoke start to billow out of its stacks as it worked itself up, did we start to realise how bad it all was. We hoved to and watched in silence as the destroyer (I wish I could remember its name) quickly picked up speed and steamed through the Heads. You could tell they were bending rules to just get out as quickly as they could. And they did. Eventually, as we got underway, the silence was broken by one of the boys' state, "sh1t, its suddenly all got a bit real, hasn't it"
The book Fatal Storm by Rob Mundle is Amazing especially the part where the mastless racing sailboat catches a wave like a surfer and becomes deep in the tube and comes spitting out!! The lucky ones who started out in first place the winds of the storm sucked them way ahead making record time to Hobart.
I’ve never been sailing in my life, but I was about 11, and although I am from Sydney originally, this is the first year I really became aware of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. And I remember this being on the news and everyone talking about it for weeks afterwards. It’s kind of why I always assumed sailing was an unappealing extreme endurance sport. Only now in my thirties do I understand not all sailing is extreme sport stuff. You can, and people do, do leisurely relaxing and long distance blue water cruising and it’s a pleasant experience. But because news coverage of the 98 Sydney to Hobart disaster is what formed my idea of what all sailing must be like, I never understood why fancy posh rich people would like sailing. (Not than I’m fancy, posh or rich myself - I just couldn’t square the circle between the stereotype of fancy, upmarket cocktail-set people who love sailing, with this kind of high octane dangerous Sydney to Hobart stuff, which what I thought all sailing was).
If you get your competent crew, you can sail on someone else's boat, and he's paying for it. Many yachtsmen "race", without being fiercely competitive. If you own and skipper a yacht, you need to have reliable crew. You'll be shouted at, it's nothing personal. You learn about working as part of a team, taking responsibility, and meet all sorts of people. It's physically demanding, and makes you fit. My boss took me sailing when I was in my early 30s. I was scared to buggery, and instantly addicted to it. Give it a shot!
Dont mean to make light of this but.. You doing those inperson ship depictions are really a great helpnto visually see what happened. Like when you used that model sail boat to show the boat being turned by the wave an rolling over.
@10:30, it's not giving up. It's knowing the ocean is always trying to kill you and this time it's got more than enough time and energy to do so. Winds of 50+ knots are insane. Combine that with the massive swells of the Bass Strait and you're literally fucked. Calling it should have been an easy choice - saving one's crew from madness - and the rest of the fleet is more important than winning any race. That was a good call. --- Learning about the changes is good. I'm glad to hear that weather reporting is mandatory. Safety is always my priority. Never lose a sailor. Never.
Told a friend arriving to Aus around Xmas 98 that the Syd to Hobart race was on. But was pretty boring to watch even from the headland, unless there was a storm too!
Thank you very much for sharing the knowledge, you are really the most interesting nautical channel because you teach the real dangers, thank you very much
The total disregard for safety measures is beyond comprehension, and the shaming for radioing help or to give advice is a complete disregard for human life by the rule makers and enforcers.
The efforts of ambulance paramedics and police on the end of a helicopter winch to the point of physical exhaustion, being dunked and catapulted in the wind and sea, and the pilots and crews skill saved many lives… Themselves fortunate to return given the conditions.
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So proud of fellow South Africans doing well on UA-cam and abroad, keep on trucking!
@saffakanera thanks. Feels good to represent.
"... the landmass pushes back, forcing the cold air into the upper hemisphere..." by god you talk some utter bullshit. You clearly have some basic knowledge, but your stretches are utterly painful. Please stop pretending to be what you are not. You KNOW what I am talking about. Your general format is nice enough, and the stories you cover are well researched, to a point, but honestly you are so far out of your depth at some points it makes me cringe.
You make great videos man always solid content. Thank you for all of your research and effort you put into these presentations and videos. It's good to see a UA-cam channel with class.
I was on board a 56 foot yacht called Future Shock in the 98 Hobart, we finished in 6th place (over the line). Conditions after the first 14 hours were brutal, highest windspeed was 92 knots with waves over 20 metres.
Larry Ellison was on one of the largest yachts with a fully professional crew and ahead of the worst of the weather. It would have been terrifying on the smaller yachts.
I can’t even imagine how terrifying that must have been. I’m glad you made it through it.
Fair winds, and following seas.
Mind messer upper.
When i was 16 i went on a trip to England from Belgium across the channel with liner ship.... 9Bft.. This is the North Sea... i swear i thought i saw high hills everywhere around us consisting of water.. When in the troughs this ship felt like it was a small fishing boat. I gotta tip my hat to you and all sailors going into such conditions with a yacht.. of all things. lol.
"Future Shock" is the most 1998 name for a boat
This is a horror story from end to end..... It is amazing that more sailors did not perish.
Sailing here in Hawaii some years back, I suffered a broken back inflicted during a pitchpole in heavy weather while over rigged.
In general, bad things happen fast. Be smarter than I was.
As an Aussie, only 7 at the time, I recall this well, it was all over the news, my parents were talking about it. People couldn't believe an Olympic swimmer could drown, but then you saw the chopper footage and immediately understood. There is no skill that will avert 10-20 meter high waves, in gale-force winds. One guy got super lucky, as his yacht was being battered about, he was flung into the freezing water, he said he knew he'd die as the sea was ferocious but suddenly a chopper appeared and spotlighted him the whole time (he said if the spotter has lost sight of him in the waves, he'd of drifted off and drowned too, or if the chopper had arrived a few seconds later, he'd of never been seen). Basically, the biggest ships survived (and won, outrunning the storm; the largest ship won the race) while the littler, quaint pleasure yachts (if they didn't pull out or didn't hear the call) were obliterated. It made the race more professional, but more corporate, kind of a shame, but not worth dying over.
Was that Tony Bullimore?
@@deathbycheese850 No, but good memory! Just looked it up, Tony's story is also incredible, but he was doing a solo round-the-world yacht race in 1997, not the Syd to Hobart, he was transiting through the Southern Ocean when his yacht capsised but, he knew to sit by the boat, actually within the hull of his overturned yacht (as it was only partially flooded), he ate just a little chocolate and some fresh water for 4 days before he was found by the HMAS Adelaide.
@@skullsaintdead
Bullimore was rescued by the Australian navy. They used a sonar to find him. They discovered his boat just at the very end of the sonars range.
The printed circuit board for that sonar was laid out by David Jones, who is a well known youtuber in the electronics and hacker/maker space. ( EEvBlog.)
Sorry. If I hear something once, it sticks.
Thanks for your perspective.
❤
When the SS Atlantic sank men who’d spent decades at sea drowned within a stone’s throw of dry land. In calm weather you’d look at the distance they needed to cover and think a small child could do it no problem. The way the sea can turn from something calm, simple and seemingly understood to a horrifying monster is amazing.
I was there. We were in a Jock Muir built 52' cruising Yacht and weathered the storm and made it to Hobart. We were all experienced and had completed many Hobarts over the years. We had on board a guest, an experienced sailor from The USA. We measured one wind gust at over 100 knots and we experienced many seas over 80 foot. We took all the sails down and strapped the boom to the deck and rode it out below. I do know we rolled 360 degrees at least 3 times. But we had taken precautions. All we had was our experience to not panic.
An RAN guided missile destroyer was deployed to assist with the rescue. It was 440 feet long. A colleague of mine on another boat saw this destroyer climbing up a giant swell with 30 feet of breaking water on the crest. He said that he saw the destroyer half way up the face off the wave at an angle of 45 degrees. One can figure out how big it was. The only ocean that produces this is the Southern Ocean and the Hobart race pokes into it. Its never easy.
Holy crap!!!! I cannot even imagine being in a boat that size, and looking at waves that size, and would rather not, because they could come to a nightmare near me, soon. I remember reading about the guys that crossed the Atlantic on a large purpose modified Hobie Cat, with a double decker trampoline and some other mods. They hit a major storm, and reported the boat being fully UPRIGHT with the top of the mast 30' below the surface at times. They said if they had been overturned, it would have been guaranteed permanent lights out, but that it never happened. Talk about skating the edge.
As a kid, one of my occasionally reoccurring nightmares was seeing a 1000' tsunami growing on the horizon, coming my way, with lots of time to predict the personal outcome. That one came from reading a story about 1000' tsunamis, on the West coast, generated by slides off the big islands in the Pacific, and the geological evidence that they not only occurred, but did so regularly, albeit on a very long time intervals. That, and living on a giant low level sandbar, Florida. Another was getting swallowed by the Earth, which seemed silly, until much later in life, when a HUMONGOUS sinkhole opened just mid single digit miles from where I live opened up, in Winter Park, and much more recently, a fellow swallowed up in a much smaller one, directly out of his bedroom, asleep, into what they termed "unsurvivable conditions". Geez, as if my imagination weren't bad enough.
Glad you survived your ACTUAL life threatening trial. The 'in head' nighttime video 'shows' are bad enough. Haven't had any nighttime sweats that I remember though, in decades, as an adult. I'm guessing you may have had a few, though, after that actual adventure.
@@MrJdsenior I got caught as a surfer in 10ft waves.. i am just a beginner. I swear these things do something to ya. I had half a year passing by that i almost couldn't watch a surf video because of fear triggers...lol. It's gone now luckily. The ocean can be such a creepy place.
@@alainvosselman9960 Nature is POTENT when it wants to be.
Well written. Terrifying.
@@alainvosselman9960
I love the ocean, not creepy at all, just respect it and it will give you joy. Lifetime of big wave surfing. 15 metre swell height at Margaret River means wave height much higher, was the only one in the water that day but only caught 2 waves from way out the back but they were big.
Pretty safe as long as you can hold your breath for a long time.
As far as that race goes. From experience spearfishing at The Fads 12klms off Sydney Heads on a mild day I had no chance of swimming against the ocean current. So any sailor going overboard without a tether had little chance of swimming to safety bar a miracle.
I don't participate in any water activities, yet I am enthralled by every video you drop. Phenomenal storytelling! Keep em coming!
👍🏻
I watch them just in case one day I end up at sea. However, I don't see that in my future at all but I can't predict the future.
Agree superb recounting of these events
I totally agree
Enthralling is not the word I would use. I was shocked to the core by his descriptions and now realize that the 20 knot winds and 3m waves I've had to sail in occasionally don't begin to compare with those conditions.
The events described starting at 12m 13s most likely describe the classic MOB maneuver known as the "Williamson Turn." This rescue alone deserves an entire video because the odds of achieving it under those conditions were literally astronomical. Having practiced it in calm weather, it's never easy.
Pshh, me & Dan Bilzer did it thrice in one week. Though, he left me behind to drown, along with 4 busty Puerta Ricans & a teenage bengal tigress. Selected to shed weight, from the sheer volume of their upper ledges alone, and the tonnage of my hefty draining sac. Wasn't even mad-Told Danno to finish his summer shandy mid-handy on the skipper. They didn't call him Captain Girthworm for nuttin'. His dismay turned to convenience on the horizon, as I glazed on in, mid 3-way, atop a Persian Water Stallion named D-Biztits (named after his liege) and navels deep on those busty chicitas. Even the tiger was aroused, but drowned himself in terror from fear of pure dominance alone. Swapped with me for a shot on the gram and called it. Alpha day that was.
@@Optable Great stuff, wherever TF it comes from. Definitely not Sterling Hayden, Conrad or Melville.
I thought for sure that guy was dead as soon as he went overboard.
@@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017 He probably had the same thought. By rights, he should have been. His odds of being recovered at all, much less alive and kicking were slim to none. On returning to land he should have immediately bought himself a few lottery tickets. He'd likely have hit on all of them. None other than the great Eric Tabarly was lost over the side off Wales, in relatively moderate conditions and his body wasn't recovered for months.
@@frankmiller95...add to that NO safety gear.
Buddy and I were throwing life vests into the boat when a game warden walks up; starts running down the safety list...life vests we point to the boat, whistle...I pulled mine out of my vest and blew it, how long is the boat...me, 14 feet(knowing the next item on the safety list is flare gun & 3 flares).
You be careful now.
Yah screw you you officials young and probably new hire.
As a US Navy vet, son and nephew of WW2 USNavy men, and an avid lover of history, your channel keeps me enthralled... there are other historical genres I watch... But nothing beats this channel... Well researched, well narrated and incredibly interesting material... Thank you...
Thanks, I really appreciate that
I was a member of St John Ambulance at the finish line. I remember going onboard some yachts to check on the injured. A very sobering experience.
Brutal. The ocean can be a savage place. There was a triathlon in Cork this year were two people died during the swim. They went ahead with the swim despite being warned about the conditions
Wow, that’s awful!
@@johnnunn8688 yeah, the 2024 event won't be going ahead while the organisers are being investigated
Liberty, I say. Let these people do their best lemming impressions 🤫
They take a warning as a dare to do it, happens all the time in Oz surf beaches are not to be taken lightly they are a wild animal in their own right.
I remember this race well. When I was younger, I used to go on Christmas holidays with my parents at a town called Narooma, which is about 100km north of Eden in NSW, where a boat known as Loki retired from the race after it had been knocked down and damaged. I remember the captain of it saying that he had considered making a run to New Zeland so he could move with the wind as the conditions were so bad. I can also remember stopping at a town called Lakes entrance in victoria on boxing day on the trip up and struggeling to stay standing as the wind was so strong. I can strongly recommend a book known as Fatal Storm by Rob Mundle to anybody who wants to lean more about the race, and the incredible rescue mission that took place.
That is a great book. Lots of details not mentioned in this video. I’ve done a lot of “around the buoys” racing and a little offshore racing. At one point the Sydney to Hobart was on my bucket list. But I’m in the US and age 65 now. A little too old and too far away to make this a reality.
I was in HMAS Newcastle when we rescued some of the sailors that year. Biggest seas I had seen.
Thankyou for this info, I actually had a family member on a sailboat named "Kickatinalong" during the 1998 Sydney to hobart and they were listed as missing at sea for a full 24hours, until they later established communication with the race coordinators.
I didnt know how complex sailing is. Thank you for explaining it.
Yeah. There's a reason we invented the steamship.
Closed course racing, example The America's Cup. All kinds of feints and blocking moves. The start has been nicknamed 'the dance of the lead bottomed money gobblers
Sailing itself really isn’t terribly complex, but successfully racing is an art form.
En route to perform the first of many rescues, the Victorian Police air wing helicopter was flying at 420 km/h (260 mph) with the tailwind. When performing winch rescues into the headwind, they had to fly at 160 km/h (100 mph) just to remain stationary.
Don't know any helo that have a VNE greater than 420kmh
@@LabiaLickervne is not a ground speed
Holy shit
Holy shit indeed!
I can't believe they're allowed out
The Bass Strait is fun to take baby sailors into. They learn really fast to respect the ocean, and that it doesn't matter how good of a swimmer you are, if the ocean wants to take you it'll be the fight of a lifetime.
That tribute at the end was beautiful!
Love the addition of the model boat to more clearly explain sail angle and travel.
I’ll second that. It allowed those of us who are visual people to fully grasp the explanation. Gracias!
This race and the Fastnet that went pear shaped are the two sailing events that are used in safety classes/sea survival courses. One point that was rammed home is stay with your yacht until it actually sinks. In both races many drowned after abandoning ship but only a couple of yachts actually sunk. It can be unnerving but the reality is that survival after leaving the yacht are 5% at best.
Correct. Always stay with the boat until it's actually sinking. Being inside a capsized boat in a storm is almost infinitely safer than being alone in open water in the same storm. First and foremost, it's almost impossible to see people in the water in even small waves.
@@LoanwordEggcorn Agreed, but that's a relatively recent conclusion. Until a few years ago, sometimes even now, there many highly trained and well respected rescue experts who insist that an orderly, early(ier) evacuation is preferable to the alternative. According to all reputable analyses, those involved in the loss of the "Bounty" replica off the Virginia Capes in 2012 waited too long to abandon ship, with two otherwise, likely avoidable deaths. ln the case of the captain, Walbridge, there's speculation he might have deliberately chosen to go down with the ship, due the recognition of his easily predictable, catastrophically, stupid blunder in deciding to put to sea in a leaky, old unseaworthy vessel, directly into the path of a well known, extra tropical cyclone. Obviously a clearly unseaworthy, even-alongside-the-pier, replica, 18th century square rigger is a very different animal than a modern yacht. Those will generally stay afloat, even after catastrophic damage other than uncontrollable flooding, aka, "free communication."
Interesting. I was not aware of that.
I started fishing the Norwegian sector at 16yrs old and I was always taught that your best lifeboat is your vessel. Never abandon ship until the last minute. That boat sank in a storm late 80s and thankfully we were all airlifted before she actually went down...although it was a bit touch and go. I can still remember being so glad we didn't have to go into the rafts that day.
Just one course in a river during winter taught me,NEVER get into a life raft unless you have to.That wasn’t the point of the course but it sure taught me a lesson.The name (life raft) fools people into thinking it’s their saviour.In time of panic,it’s time to just calm down and reevaluate the situation.Worst I’ve been in is 60 knots with huge seas at night.Thankfully these days with STARLINK,you should never be caught out .Thank you Elon .
I'm Australian. Watching this race start is a tradition in my house. I was 10 when this happened. It is one of the few things I remember from that long ago. The understanding of just how dangerous this race actually is. I think it gave me a whole other level of respect for the ocean.
In brighter news in the 2023 race there was a four legged sailor. A cat called Oli. Look him up. He is cute af.
i remember that race, there were bits of boats washing on shore for weeks, there were 3 yachts in Ulladulla harbor all their rigging was smashed.
I love your 'point of sail' examples and explanations, by way of graphics and your son’s little boat. Well done.
I love the visuals you show while talking, really helps me understand many aspects of a story ❤
This was no ordinary storm. Bugger winning raising the alarm in these conditions saved lives. The fact so many survived is a testament to the skills of the sailors on each boat.
If i remember correctly, rescue choppers went out, but didn't have cables long enough to stay above the waves, and had to time a drop between waves! When Bass strait gets angry it is one of, if not the most dangerous passage in the world, being relatively shallow, but open to seas and wind coming directly from the the Antartic region!
I just found your channel and love the content. The narration, and description of details is top notch. I haven't sailed in years. When I was in my 20's I got a chance to crew on a 156' Windjammer adventure. Ill never forget that summer. I currently own a 53' Hatteras motor yacht and love the sea. I'm currently working my way through all your videos.
Awesome. Welcome aboard
Absolutely love your channel. I know nothing about boating or any of the subject matter but the story telling is so good
Thanks. Welcome aboard
I really appreciate when you explore some of the technical know how involved in these subjects. It is fascinating. Merry Xmas Mate
Excellent video. How many people owe their lives to that one radio call and how tragic that the caller died.
I have to respect them calling in the weather to other boats. Seems nuts not to.
They do that, what might they do next, murder? Breaking the rules is a slippery slope
Another exciting video from my favourite storyteller. You kept me at the edge of my chair. You always do. I very much, look forward, to your next story. Thanks Paul. 😉😉
As a Veteran of the U.S. Navy, my condolences to the families of those Sailors that are part of the Seas eternal Watch. Either on a yacht or an Aircraft Carrier, the sea can chew you up.
Another fantastic video as always! And I really like the new style of shooting when you had the model boat! It’s a great personalized addition :)
Thanks. Yes trying to bring in more original work. Happy holidays
Agree! SUPER useful
Yes, there is something strangely familiar. Takes me back to sitting in the bathtub with all my toys LOL
I remember this like it was yesterday. Thanks for doing this one.
I really like your story telling style . Your detail is great so thank you 👍
😀👍🏻
Great presentation of a tragic year for the Sydney to Hobart race . We traditionally sit out on my mates front deck and watch the yachts go past heading south . I distinctly remember this race . As a surfer , I was on holidays and had looked at the 4 day weather map ( MSLP ) . I could not believe the race was going ahead .
I sat there and a thought of dread flashed through my mind .
Thank you for the demonstrations on how the winds affect sails and sailing.
What you didn't mention was that Larry Ellison never went offshore racing again. The big problem was that the Australian ego thinks that man can beat mother nature. The BOM upgraded their forecast to a full storm warning 2 hours after the start, and that was the time for the CCA to notify all racers to return to Sydney and restart the race when the weather improved. There will be another tragedy one day when they find out all of the new equipment will no stand up to those conditions. Other race organizers postpone starts, even for around the world racers.
Maybe that's of times gone by, I would say the opposite now, we're constantly reminded of what mother nature's like, but we don't chose to let it drag us down every time we're confronted against it. If it's not fires it's floods, if it isn't those it's drought, throw in a few cyclones here and there for kicks, it's just the cycle of life Down Under.
That's poofter talk.
Is what the Australian ego would say
@@MaxHeadbroom87Isn't Australia very woke these days?
@@Durnyful yeah. It is but also isnt
@@MaxHeadbroom87 I did wonder how the heck that could happen!
Thank you for a fantastic video. I used to race myself, ironically on a yacht that had survived the 1979 Fastnet race disaster. But as an amateur, I knew we were taking unnecesary risks. One time we had a nighttime broach under spinnaker with 40 kts. We could have lost crew overboard but blessfully we didn't. That was the last time I raced. I still sail, but not competitively.
I know what you mean. I used to race my yacht around Sydney Harbour, and crew on a more competitive basis in Botany Bay.
If I'd wanted to, I could have crewed on that Sydney to Hobart, but I don't have the guts.
That broach sounds nasty - spinnaker/night/force 8 gets your attention.
I'll wave to you when we're back in cruising season 🙂
When you used to race yourself, who would usually win?
@@alexsetterington3142Unfortunately not me.
Very well explained as per usual, thank you
I was the pilot of Southcare 1, a Bell 412 out of Canberra. We pulled the last 4 crew off Offshore Stand Aside, the skipper was the last one to be winched up. Next day we tracked a distress beacon to Business Post Naiad. The snippet of red just visible in the cockpit at 5:36 is the body of a crewman. Another was down below, also deceased.
fake
@@margarita8442 How much are you prepared to bet on it? I'll start at AUD 1 million.
You should have done the bathtub shot showing the yacht design sitting in a tub of bath bubbles, speaking in serious tone.
I love your technical acumen and story-telling skills. Good shit.
The even greater tragedy was the Australian tax payer fronted the bill for the rescue
Always interesting content, clearly explained. Keep up the good work. Happy Christmas to you and yours.
I know nothing of sailing ..but know this race...what an absolutely brilliant and informative video. Legend.
You're making the world a better place with your videos. Keep it up!
👍🏻 thanks, will do
Great content as always, love your channel. Merry Christmas ma bru! From New Zealand ❤
Living a board of my cabine cruiser and being a former member of the French sea rescue as chief medic and rescue swimmer I can't understand the unnecessary risks some take just for a race... And apparently a few without the bare minimum equipment!
Then you've got a narrow mind. People take the same risks when they climb Mt Everest, parachute off a building and so on. Once upon a time Leonard Nimoy narrated a program called Thrillseekers, but you wouldn't understand any of it. Stay in your cocoon and feel safe. That's your comfort zone. Do NOT lecture others.
Rescue swimmer on some comfort zone. I guess, you were writing your comment on a soft sofa.
Really old posts, I know, but a version(or many) of this shows up on all disaster discussions. "You can't possibly understand what it is to be as alive as us fearless he men".
Always assume no one has ever been in life and death "fun" but themselves.
Lots of people are just more capable of learning and rational thought than the self glorifying "he men".
This was a tragedy for Australia. I sailed from Fremantle around to Port Melbourne but we hit a storm 300 mile off the bite , by this time we were already in the roaring 40s. We were in 55 foot yacht and the storm lasted 36 hours. We had all the sailes down and deck lights on but no one could be on deck. We were all scared shitless for near 2 days. The storm blow us that far off course we ended up on King Island. We stayed for a week as we decided to check it out, but looking back I think that trip just took that much out of us. The yacht is called Moonstar. Last I herd she is docked back in Fremantle. Go check her out anyone in Fremantle that boat has been around the world twice. It was refurbished around 2014. Still a nice boat👍
Just want to say I love your content and this channel. Keep up the good work 👍
Amazing story For the rescue of the Cop (Gary I think) who went overboard with nothing but a Torch and pull off a text book rescue!
We Aussies love watching the iconic Blue Water Classic, Sydney to Hobart (and the Melbourne to Hobart) after Christmas - the start is stunning with all the Spinnaker Sails against the backdrop of Sydney Harbor. The serious sailing takes place as they head down the coast and some of the roughest sailing is across Bass Strait as they head for Tasmania. It’s exciting to be in Hobart as the yachts arrive. I remember watching that year on TV and as the terrible news kept coming and the missing and the death toll rose, we just couldn’t believe it! It’s still talked about despite being almost 30 years ago…….
my dad's friend woke up to his boat capsizing, the crew had to break their way out of the hull to escape
Great explanation of wind forces acting on a sail
Nice 👍
Great video, just like all your others! Please keep them coming....I would love to see many more sailing stories, even if they only have a single sailboat or single sailor!
Thanks. I do have other sailing ones in the list. 👍🏻
"east coast low" is essentially the same mechanism that causes tornadoes to form in the US. It's a lobe of cold air that swings down into moist warm air travelling northeast from the gult.
My dad Shayne was on business post naiad. How lucky we are that he is still here !
I was the pilot of Southcare 1, a Bell 412 out of Canberra. We pulled the last 4 crew off Offshore Stand Aside, the skipper was the last one to be winched up. Next day we tracked a distress beacon to Business Post Naiad. The snippet of red just visible in the cockpit at 5:36 is the body of a crewman. Another was down below, also deceased.
I hope you father still managed to love sailing despite his experiences..
I have ptsd from nearly drowning as a kid yet I can’t get enough of your videos!!
From docos and PBO sailing magazine, I know that the RNLI do a fantastic job, often in horrendous sea conditions, but the area they cover is a tiny fraction of the area of ocean Australia is responsible for when it comes to search and rescue. Same goes for New Zealand.
The Sydney to Hobart boats were close at hand. Tony Bullimore was not. In checking I see he was 2500 km (1350 nautical miles) south of Australia, and 1500 km (800 nautical miles) from Antarctica. Think, nearly half the distance from the UK to Canada and then think about how much it might cost to search that area. I recollect people being astounded and relieved Tony Bullimore had survived and was found in his upturned hull, but you can hardly be surprised if some questioned the cost.
Happy you found a channel sponsor ❤
Thanks
A family man has no business risking his life to prove he can do something else. Like the wife or children aren’t really a consideration.Then just before death, wish they had stayed home:((((
Every man has a choice and can decide as he wishes as long as he's prepared to accept the consequences. People I knew died in this race, my brother survived. They all made choices of their own free will, you may not understand it but please respect their right to do so..
@@stevehunt4660
Children have no choice in the matter.
My dad taught me as I taught my sons: Live a moral,life and take risks when young. But once you have a child, you owe them your life since you created theirs.
Once they are adults, take some risks if you want.
Sorry but fathers are selfish if they risk making their children orphans so that they can seek thrill.
@@stevehunt4660
This so much. Every man, especially you and people you know, have the right to abandon children for random ego bullshit, and the right to abandon other sailors to try and get a win.
This is such an iconic race in Australia. We were all shocked to the core when this happened.
Very Very Well Done , Thanks !
Eloquent, informative and entertaining.
Awh yeah new waterline stories video!!!!
It was a horrible time. I was in England trying to get updates from the CYC. B52 had not been heard from but was eventually spotted under power heading for Eden. Don Buckley did not go overboard at any time.
Read Larry’s biography, he describes the 98 run and how lucky they were to survive themselves. His boat was delaminating throughout the entire hull but it was too late to turn back.
Love your content. The explanations about sailing were really helpful for a desert rat! I will say that my experience is that you can no longer use Express VPN to watch the Netflix library from another country, at least in the US. Netflix blocks any VPN and you cannot connect to Netflix while using a VPN. That's not to say a VPN is not useful, it absolutely is a good thing to have, just not for watching Netflix.
You never could
Netflix has blocked VPNs in the US since like 2016
@@johncitizen5130They used to work. I used to use a VPN called Hola, this was back in 2014 then Netflix caught on and blocked them.
wind blows that way spinning off from Antarctica and channels thru the strait. Dark water that I nearly lost life into when was a kid
My mums partner has done 16 Sydney to Hobart's. He been sailing st a professional level his whole life and says they're still scary AF. He's seen and done it all in sailing and rarely bats an eye at any adverse situation but always describes the Sydney to Hobart as scary.
Going through the Bass Straight on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry can be scary enough. My heart races and I struggle to breathe thinking about doing that journey on a small yacht.
Low pressure air is always warmer than high pressure air. That’s why the low in your graphic is in red (warmer) and the high is in blue (colder). The presence of any low pressure area is an invitation to colder high pressures to fill in. That’s where the wind comes from. Low pressures are only associated with wind because of the high pressure air that will inevitably fill in behind it, creating lots of wind.
I noticed he had it backwards as well
@@RolfLongreachcold=dense, hence higher pressure.
My Saturday just got a whole lot better. 💙
Was out surfing the morning before this cold front hit. Started out a decent day, cold front came through early and nasty. Always remember seeing that cold front and saying to my dad when arriving home that sailors were going to die today.
I was involved in the search & rescue efforts on this disaster! I was driving a C414, found one boat (Buisness Post Niad) pretty much stripped of anything above the deck! Dumb idea going in the first place!
Hi, I:m a sailor.... Personally going to Tasmania at this time of year is really asking for trouble. It:s like your giving the finger to mother nature and saying, bring it on.... I lost friends that day from Winston Churchill... RIP guys
Serious question, since l'm personally unfamiliar with the area, what time of year IS good for that stretch of ocean? lt's now midsummer down under? Granted, it's in the Southern Ocean, so probably no time is ever really good.
March, where we have nice NE sea breezes, and following seas. @@frankmiller95
@@frankmiller95 Pretty sure bass strait can be one of the roughest bits of ocean in the world. I don't think there's really ever a good time to go through it
@@tgmrsch Thanks for the confirmation. That has always been my impression. A boat l knew well, the "Nina" was lost in the Tasman Sea with all aboard in 2013. "My" old boat (l was the captain), "Holger Danske" is down somewhere in Taz and seaworthy as she is, or was, l'd still be extremely careful about the weather forecast before taking her offshore. Having crossed the Bay of Biscay, in January aboard a mid sized Swan, en-route to the West lndies, it's not difficult to imagine how bad and they can be and how quickly the conditions in the Bass Strait can south. No pun intended.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I'm a boater my whole life, not a blow boater, but a boater non the less. Growing up in Miami I have run my boats to the Bahamas multiple times. Talking about a multi engine center console boat no smaller than 28', currently have a 40'. Anyway, as a born and raised boater it is almost an obligation to warn other boaters over radio of hazardous conditions. Not only that, if you hear of someone in distress it is a duty of a captain to assist if possible without putting your own vessel and crew in danger. Being in a sanctioned race should be no different. I would certainly feel better saving lives and getting DQ'd than winning and having lost sailors in my wake.
The guy gets back to the boat 40meters away!? That’s impressive in that storm. @12:50
Hey mate my father was a fisherman back then and he saved 6 people in that outside the port of Eden on the nsw coast
Sadly, two more deaths this year 2024 "Two sailors, from the yachts Bowline and Flying Fish Arctos, were killed in separate accidents on the night of December 26-27."
Great informative segment . Thanks boet ,
I remember mucking about on a yacht in Sydney harbour with a few mates. We had heard things were getting rough for the fleet, but, of course, we had no real idea of what was happening at that stage.
On hearing the blast of the horn of the destroyer docked at Naval Base - signalling crew members an urgent return to ship - then smoke start to billow out of its stacks as it worked itself up, did we start to realise how bad it all was.
We hoved to and watched in silence as the destroyer (I wish I could remember its name) quickly picked up speed and steamed through the Heads. You could tell they were bending rules to just get out as quickly as they could. And they did.
Eventually, as we got underway, the silence was broken by one of the boys' state, "sh1t, its suddenly all got a bit real, hasn't it"
As Australian, remember watching this tragic yacht race. In 98.
The book Fatal Storm by Rob Mundle is Amazing especially the part where the mastless racing sailboat catches a wave like a surfer and becomes deep in the tube and comes spitting out!! The lucky ones who started out in first place the winds of the storm sucked them way ahead making record time to Hobart.
I’ve never been sailing in my life, but I was about 11, and although I am from Sydney originally, this is the first year I really became aware of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. And I remember this being on the news and everyone talking about it for weeks afterwards.
It’s kind of why I always assumed sailing was an unappealing extreme endurance sport.
Only now in my thirties do I understand not all sailing is extreme sport stuff.
You can, and people do, do leisurely relaxing and long distance blue water cruising and it’s a pleasant experience.
But because news coverage of the 98 Sydney to Hobart disaster is what formed my idea of what all sailing must be like, I never understood why fancy posh rich people would like sailing.
(Not than I’m fancy, posh or rich myself - I just couldn’t square the circle between the stereotype of fancy, upmarket cocktail-set people who love sailing, with this kind of high octane dangerous Sydney to Hobart stuff, which what I thought all sailing was).
If you get your competent crew, you can sail on someone else's boat, and he's paying for it.
Many yachtsmen "race", without being fiercely competitive. If you own and skipper a yacht, you need to have reliable crew.
You'll be shouted at, it's nothing personal. You learn about working as part of a team, taking responsibility, and meet all sorts of people. It's physically demanding, and makes you fit.
My boss took me sailing when I was in my early 30s. I was scared to buggery, and instantly addicted to it. Give it a shot!
@@twentyrothmans7308 one of my fondest memories of childhood is being yelled at by my mate's dad on his yacht the few times we sailed Sydney Harbour
Merry Christmas Paul and A fantastic New Year. Hopefully more exciting video's for 2024 🍾🎉🍾🎉
Hey Beverly. Merry Christmas to you and yours. Thanks for the wishes.
Bro your channel is 🔥🔥🔥. Keep it up 🙏🙏🙏
Always pondered about yachts,sail boats and the direction of the wind.
I remember when this happened.
It broke my heart.
Dont mean to make light of this but.. You doing those inperson ship depictions are really a great helpnto visually see what happened. Like when you used that model sail boat to show the boat being turned by the wave an rolling over.
I was glad to hear at the end that the anti-safety radio silence rule was abandoned.
@10:30, it's not giving up. It's knowing the ocean is always trying to kill you and this time it's got more than enough time and energy to do so. Winds of 50+ knots are insane. Combine that with the massive swells of the Bass Strait and you're literally fucked.
Calling it should have been an easy choice - saving one's crew from madness - and the rest of the fleet is more important than winning any race. That was a good call.
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Learning about the changes is good. I'm glad to hear that weather reporting is mandatory. Safety is always my priority.
Never lose a sailor. Never.
You didn’t mention AFR Midnight Rambler the handicap winner small boat handled with outstanding skill, look it up
30meter waves.... terrifying.
Told a friend arriving to Aus around Xmas 98 that the Syd to Hobart race was on. But was pretty boring to watch even from the headland, unless there was a storm too!
As a sailor, I would like to think that weather prediction and safety culture have improved a lot since 1998.
That's what people said after Fastnet. This sounds exactly like that tragedy.
Thank you very much for sharing the knowledge, you are really the most interesting nautical channel because you teach the real dangers, thank you very much
I was asked to crew in that race, I still have mixed emotions about not going. RIP those souls that were lost.
The total disregard for safety measures is beyond comprehension, and the shaming for radioing help or to give advice is a complete disregard for human life by the rule makers and enforcers.
One blokes head is stuck in the steering wheel. Sounds like something from 'yachting mishaps' with Alan Partridge
The efforts of ambulance paramedics and police on the end of a helicopter winch to the point of physical exhaustion, being dunked and catapulted in the wind and sea, and the pilots and crews skill saved many lives… Themselves fortunate to return given the conditions.