Sydney to Hobart LIVE: Tragedy strikes as two die; 17 yachts retire
I’ve just got off the phone with LawConnect owner and skipper, Christian Beck, who’s currently contending with a fierce westerly on the Bass Strait as he leads the fleet towards Hobart.
Beck said conditions were “pretty fast and pretty rough. We’re sort of lucky because we’re about to get out of it. We’re getting close to the Tasmanian coast … I think the other boats will be in for a lot more punishment.”
LawConnect and Master Lock Comanche in lockstep at the start of the Sydney to Hobart.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
LawConnect was hot on the tail of Master Lock Comanche when its main sail was damaged, forcing it to retire. Beck said the Comanche crew had called him as they were so close together they were concerned about a potential collision.
As Beck looks set to take line honours later today, he spared a moment for the crews who had lost sailors overnight.
“It’s obviously terrible. I really feel for those people and their families. I think it is a disaster, really,” said Beck, “but I don’t think you can really stop the race because [for] a lot of these boats, like in our case, the safest passage is to Hobart”.
