A “sombre” LawConnect has tempered celebrations after claiming back-to-back line honours victories in a Sydney to Hobart race marred by the death of two sailors.
The Christian Beck-skippered supermaxi was first across the River Derwent finish line at 2.35am on Saturday in a time of one day 13 hours 35 minutes 13 seconds.
The usual champagne and trophy presentation were absent, in respect to the two men who died at sea during rough weather on Thursday’s first night of sailing.
South Australian Nick Smith, 65, was aboard Bowline when he was thrown across the yacht and hit his head on a winch.
In a separate incident, Roy Quaden, 55, from Western Australia was struck by the sailing boom while on Flying Fish Arctos.
“We’re not doing any celebrations on the boat. We’ll be doing that quietly later on,” LawConnect crew member Tony Mutter said.
Mutter spoke to the media instead of Beck, who was knocked about by food poisoning in the final few hours of the race and rushed to a hotel.
Mutter said he was told about the fatalities the morning after.
“We were pretty busy. We were 100 per cent focused on the race,” he said.
“Our navigator knew and he had to just pick the right moment to let us know.
“(The mood onboard) absolutely became more sombre. We were absolutely surprised and just felt for the other competitors.”
Organisers have pledged an investigation into the fatalities – the first deaths in the event since 1998 when six sailors perished in wild storms.
Sam Haynes, commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia which organises the race, skippered Celestial V70 to second across the line, about 2.5 hours behind LawConnect.
Haynes said he wasn’t aware of the details of the deaths and would be briefed.
“We take a lot of responsibility for these races. It’s a race with a massive amount of challenges, we all know that,” he said.
Haynes, who has sailed 13 Sydney to Hobarts, said conditions were up there with the toughest he’d faced and were “nuclear” across Bass Strait.
Celestial V70 is in the box seat to claim overall honours in 79th edition of the 628-nautical mile event but it could take days to be finalised.
Mutter described the conditions as the worst of his 11 Sydney to Hobart races.
“I know my wife appreciated my texts from the boat, as did my adult kids,” he said.
“They were very grateful to hear that we were okay.”
LawConnect’s hopes were boosted when rival and fellow supermaxi Master Lock Comanche retired with mainsail damage early on Friday morning when leading the fleet.
Strong winds forecast pre-race prompted some to predict the record time of one day nine hours 15 minutes 24 seconds would fall, while Beck tipped yachts would be damaged.
At 11am on Saturday, 29 of the 104-strong starting fleet had retired, citing problems including electrical issues and crew injuries, while 72 remained at sea.
The vast majority were battling it out across Bass Strait, with just a handful expected to finish on Saturday.
Mutter said LawConnect escaped sail damage, with his crewmates only picking up “bumps and bruises”.
LawConnect was the first yacht out of Sydney Heads on Boxing Day, but Comanche powered ahead down the NSW coast in a blustery north-easterly.
After finishing second in three consecutive races, LawConnect pipped Comanche by just 51 seconds last year in a battle up the River Derwent.
It is the third time LawConnect has claimed line honours, after initial success in 2016 as Perpetual Loyal.
