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"... 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 RU-vid channel with class.
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 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.
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.
En route to perform one of the rescues, the Victorian Police air WING helicopter was flying at 420kmh, with a tailwind. When performing winch rescues, into the head wind, they were flying at 160kmh....just to remain stationary.
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.
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
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...
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.
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
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.
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."
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 🙂
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. 😉😉
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!
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.
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
@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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
@@PurpleEnzo 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.
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.
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.
02:00 Sailing right on the lee isn't as comfy as you would imagine, the boat rocks and an accidental gybe and consequent broach is always on the cards!
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!
Great work by the rescue services and as far as I know, there were no complaints about the cost of the rescue. Contrast this with the year before, when Brit Tony Bullimore was racing solo in the Vendee, when there was a storm and he capsized. He was left in a pocket of air with only a bar of choccy. He was found by HMAS Adelaide who tapped on the hull and he swam out and was saved. OMG, the whining from the Aussies about the cost of the rescue was unbelievable. I wonder how many Aussies, over the years have been saved by the RNLI. I’ve never heard a Brit complain about rescue costs. (Until this dinghy lot started arriving uninvited)
I think people just get upset when it’s a dangerous situation and people decide to go anyway. It’s not only a steep financial cost but a serious safety risk for the rescuers.
I don't know why it is expected that rescuers will put their lives at risk to rescue people who put themselves in dangerous situations. It makes no sense to me.
@@johnnunn8688I am 81 years old. However, I use to ride motorcycles in the mountains here in Montana and Wyoming. You don't know anything about me. I enjoyed adventures in the mountains. However, I didn't expect rescue if I had broken down.
Offshore yacht racing has always been a dangerous business, hence its allure. Some would complain that all the safety stuff has made it boring, but the sea will always outwit the technology. Old Poseidon is one wily guy.
@scomo532 I can see both ways, one being people should be allowed to have a high risk/reward lifestyle/sport/whatever just like the good old gladiator days. Another part says that there should be some sort of safety measure/information allowed to be broadcasted so people can make their own informed decisions. We could have both and I'd be fine with it. But this accident there wasn't any such option without repercussions.
Sailing isn't safe. Especially not in the southern hemisphere where the wind can scream around the planet without a landmass to obstruct it. There's a reason man learned to fly.
Those that take on severe weather especially being pinched between to opposing extremely strong fronts are risking everything as this video presents. Jim Rodgers
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:((((
If they had just turned around and headed back, they would not have to make any call because everyone would see and find out. I have had to turn around and go back in some pretty crappy weather and not wanting to beat into it.
All due respects but I feel strongly about my next message: Hearing the safety rule changes at the end of this really staggers me that they weren't standard practice for many years prior. A pity it takes multiple deaths to make common sense improvements. Tassie waters can be brutal.
Well let's be honest here people have always been lost at sea since ancient times and most of those weren't doing it for pleasure so my advice is don't push the boat out to far if you want experience and excitement you take a risk
sounds really irresponsible of the race organizers to not monitor the weather, and at the least radio updates to boats and call off the race when the weather became deadly.
