EXCLUSIVE
Eerie footage has emerged of a sailor who died in the Sydney to Hobart performing the same tricky move that led to his death.
Nick Smith, 65, was tragically killed while racing on Royal South n Yacht Squadron’s boat, Bowline, around 2am on Friday.
He was struck by the boom, a large horizontal pole at the bottom of the sail, approximately 30 nautical miles east/north-east of Batemans Bay and fell unconscious.
According to police, the vessel was moving down wind, which requires a zig-zag maneuver through the ocean called gybing – where the boom sweeps across the deck with every change of direction.
It is understood Mr Smith was operating the ropes, which help allow the sail to change direction, when he was hit.
Footage posted online in late November shows Mr Smith winching the ropes onboard the Bowline for the Hay Stack Island Race in Adelaide.
He and other crew members can be seen straining as they grapple with the equipment.
Mr Smith was an experienced sailor who had competed in the Sydney to Hobart four times.
He had also participated in various yachting races worldwide, including the Clipper Round the World, which saw him travel to the Whitsundays and Seattle.
Mr Smith was travelling onboard the vessel alongside Melanie Bushby, Reid Bosward, Paul ‘Banjo’ Greaves, Paul Senior, Anthony Pennington, Troy Mohler, and navigator Peter Hutchinson.
Last week, Mr Mohler shared a photo online of the crew members making their journey from South to Sydney ahead of the race.
‘2,000 kms done,’ he wrote. ‘We have arrived in Sydney. ‘
‘The last 48 hours were such a mixed bag, some beautiful sailing following by 12 hours of full on wind, consistently 30 knots, up to 38. We’ve done almost two Sydney to Hobarts to get to the start line.
‘Has been a blast.’
In a statement, the skipper and owner, prominent SA barrister Ian Roberts, and crew of Bowline, mourned for their friend, who they described as a valued crew member and an experienced sailor.
‘Today we lost a great friend and a very fine and experienced yachtsman in an accident aboard Bowline whilst competing in this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race,’ he said.
‘In very difficult sailing conditions, crew member Nick Smith was hit by main sheet in a gybe that threw him against a winch.
‘Despite immediate CPR administered by the crew, Nick was unable to be resuscitated.
‘Nick was a very valued crew member and a very experienced sailor. Having completed four previous Sydney Hobart’s, numerous yacht deliveries and the around the world ‘Clipper Race Yacht’ race. He was also a regular competitor in the Hamilton Island Sailing Regatta.
‘Having sailed many thousand miles with Nick, the Skipper and crew of Bowline are devastated with this loss.’
Mr Smith was the second sailor to die in the race after a 55-year-old Roy Quaden, from Western , was killed after also being struck by the boom onboard the Flying Fish Arctos around two hours earlier.
The incident aboard Flying Fish Arctos occurred around 30 nautical miles east-south east of Ulladulla on the NSW south coast shortly before midnight on Thursday.
Mr Quaden, who had been a sailor for more than twenty years, was the yacht’s navigator – tasked with steering, planning the route, and looking after the crew.
Around two hours later, Mr Smith sadly passed away. Crew members attempted CPR but could not revive him.
‘(Police were told that) crew members from a second yacht were administering CPR to a colleague who had also been struck by the vessels sail boom,’ NSW Police said.
‘A short time later officers were informed that CPR had been unsuccessful.’
The race will continue as the fleet continues its passage to Constitution Dock, with the first boats expected to arrive later on Friday or early Saturday morning.
‘Our thoughts are with the crews, family and friends of the deceased,’ the CYCA said in a statement.
‘Further information will be provided as it becomes available.’
Flying Fish Arctos was escorted to Jervis Bay by NSW Police vessel Nemesis, while Bowline was escorted to Bateman’s Bay.
The sombre crew members were pictured arriving back at shore on Friday morning.
Cruising Yacht Club Commodore David Jacobs said ‘everyone’s devastated’.
‘It’s a terrible tragedy,’ he added.
Sixteen boats have now retired out of a total fleet of 104.
‘Sixteen have retired, three were dismasted, two have main sail damage and the balance there were various equipment failures that caused them to retire,’ Mr Jacobs said.
‘But we still have 88 boats that are continuing in the race.’
The retirements include race favourite, Master Lock Comanche, which pulled out due to main sail damage.
Mr Jacobs revealed there was ‘one good story’ that happened overnight after one entrant who was flung overboard was rescued.
Porco Rosso crew member Luke Watkins ended up in the water around 3.15am on Friday as the 2013 handicap winner passed Green Cape on the NSW coast in strong winds.
‘We went down a rather large wave. The boat went into the trough bit the back of the wave in front (which) completely washed the deck,’ Watkins told ABC news.
‘Then we tipped over, what we call a Chinese gybe … and I got pinned to the … side of the boat underwater.
‘I somehow managed to unclip myself from the boat as I could feel I was on my last breath.
‘When I popped up above the water, the boat was probably 200m in front of me.’
Mr Jacobs said it was believed Watkins was washed 1.2km away from the boat.
Watkins said he activated his emergency position-indicating radio beacon, ‘cracked’ some glowsticks and turned on a head torch he found in his pocket.
After his life jacket automatically inflated, he tried to huddle up and keep warm.
‘After about 10 minutes, I could start to feel myself starting to get a bit cold, so I went into to a bit of a survival pose … kept my elbows in,’ he said.
‘It was pretty hard to keep yourself above water a lot of the time.
‘I swallowed a fair bit of saltwater. Just tried to keep the thoughts under control.’
Watkins was rescued by his Porco Rosso crewmates – an aircraft and four-time line honours champion Master Lock Comanche, which had earlier retired, had been sent to help.
The crew opted to retire at around 4.45am rather than continue into strong-to-gale-force winds in Bass Strait.
Mr Jacobs said the incident would have been ‘tenfold’ times more scary at night.
‘Fortunately there are developed systems and procedures to cater for that situation to retrieve the person,’ he said.
Mr Smith and Mr Quaden’s deaths have sparked calls for the race to be cancelled or at least postponed when there is treacherous weather.
The deaths come 26 years after six sailors were killed in storms during the tragic 1998 running of the race, which triggered a NSW coronial inquest and mass reforms to the safety protocols that govern the race.
A west south-westerly change was expected to hit the Bass Strait overnight, bringing winds up to 40 knots and possible showers – conditions that will be particularly challenging for the smaller boats in the fleet.
But even the four 100ft supermaxi yachts risk damage amid the wild weather, which could be race-defining and force more retirements from a fleet standing at 101 yachts.
Drama unfolded early on as fellow supermaxi Wild Thing 100 narrowly avoided a collision with Celestial V70 before recapturing her speed out of the Heads.
Wild Thing was at the centre of another incident in the harbour that left leading URM Group to complete a penalty turn.
URM Group had been required to keep clear of a cluster of boats on her starboard side but struggled to do so with Wild Thing so close leeward.
Just as Whisper flew a protest flag, claiming the mini-maxi had been too close, URM Group completed a penalty turn to absolve herself for the misstep.
Penalty turns for incidents that take place in the harbour must be completed early in the race, or else the offender risks a time penalty on arrival in Hobart.