Details have emerged of a "terrifying" incident off Sydney to Hobart yacht Porco Rosso, which had to recover a crew member swept more than one kilometre overboard on a deadly night of racing. Two sailors were fatally struck by booms on their respective boats overnight, as the race's death toll threatened to rise to three when an as-yet-unidentified crew member fell off Porco Rosso around 3.15am.
The sailor was blown overboard as the 2013 handicap winner, formerly known as Victoire, made her way past Green Cape on the NSW Coast in the strong winds that had been forecast. "That is one of the most terrifying experiences that you can have," said David Jacobs, vice-commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, which administers the race. "(And) it was at night, which makes it tenfold more scary.
"Fortunately there are developed systems and procedures to cater for that situation to retrieve the person." The incident triggered the crew member's emergency position-indicating radio beacon, a safety device that must be worn by all sailors in the race. As a result, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority was automatically notified of the incident and contacted the Sydney to Hobart's race committee.
AMSA also deployed an emergency aircraft to begin searching for the crew member. "They had, we believed, been washed about 1.2km away from the boat," Jacobs said.
Four-time line honours champion Master Lock Comanche, which had retired earlier in the race, was diverted to assist Porco Ro.
