"... 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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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:((((
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 🙂
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 😉😉
Great video, just like all your others! Please keep them coming....I would love to see many more sailing stories, even if they only have a single sailboat or single sailor!
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
@@tgmrsch 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.
The total disregard for safety measures is beyond comprehension, and the shaming for radioing help or to give advice is a complete disregard for human life by the rule makers and enforcers.
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!
@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.
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.
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!
0:05 There is an excellent podcast by John Silvester wher he speaks with one of the crew members who was in the air on a Police Rescue helicopter ... its an amazing story! John Silvester, Naked City- a Needle in a haystack in a giant washing machine.
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.
Do you need organizers to tell you not to drink arsenic? It’s up to the sailors/captain of each boat to decide to quit or not. Also, What he didn’t mention here was one of the boats (possibly Sword of Orion) actually turned around and the captain later said it was a mistake because they ended up sailing into weather that was deteriorating behind them and capsized them about an hour after coming about. When the race began they had no idea the storm would be anywhere near as powerful as it became. By then, there was nothing they could do other than report the weather and leave it up to the sailors to make the best decision for themselves.
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.
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
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.
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.
This was great though I wonder why I'm watching these things because I can't swim. They didn't teach you that in Hungary because they knew you weren't getting away and it wasn't so much that you will landlocked as that they had you trapped. Then it's like "hey kids we're moving to the American East Coast" and we're like " shit we don't know how to swim!" I'm 49 I'm still waiting for them to take me to swimming class.
No race is more important than safety information ! If a captain sees dangerous conditions that will put vessels and crew in imminent danger they have a moral duty to report it. Rules be dammed . No race is worth a persons life.
Theres gotta be a way to design a ship that is entirely self-righting after capsizing. There must be. Right? Physics dictate this should be entirely possible.
the irony of this rich boy's escapade being the largest and most expensive rescue operation FUNDED by the Australian taxpayer is not lost. considering that larry ellison could just buy the whole race and rescue package with his little finger. i very well remember this shameful and ridiculous episode. respects to the passed.
@@EffYoInfo I am not saying that it is not a fair statement however this argument could apply to many situations take the recent sinking of the the mega yacht and the superb rescue effort this is the rule of the sea anyone who can will help outhers no matter who they are I’m sure the sailors and rescue teams would feel the same
Just be glad you didn’t have to foot the bill for the Titan Sub SAR effort. These guys made a mistake, the early weather reports drastically underestimated the coming weather had they known what was in store I doubt any of them would have chosen to start as opposed to the people who paid hundreds of thousands to board that known to be derelict sub with a sociopath at the helm. (All due respect)
Me & Dan Bilzer did this 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-hj on the skipper. They didn't call him Captain Girthday for nuttin'. His dismay turned to convenience on the horizon, as I glazed on in, mid 3-way, atop a Persian Water Stallion named DeeBiztits (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.
I thought people got yachts when they got tired of wiping their asses with their hoards of money, and typically did so when they were elderly. Why on Earth would you want to do something so strenuous when you could seek calmer waters and just chill? It's weird..
Don't racing yachts use carbon fiber wing sails and can plane off their keels?? I don't think any of that is radically new in the last 30 years... Sounds like the vessel never should have been allowed to be underway?
Though I like other videos you have shared I am sorry to say that I feel you gave a somewhat confused and erroneous account of the events for the 98 Sydney to Hobart. Though I was not there (either) - multiple other documentaries convey the extreme conditions that occurred. You go into detail on wind directions and sail shape exiting Sydney harbor like it had anything to do with the events. You glossed over the knockdowns and even with dismasted yacht images on screen continue with stories of what people were thinking. Not sure if you have seen it - but this is more real and humbling - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AEC6DQn6AZI.htmlsi=PHdco_xgUNhjZ0UW
that was one nut az yatch club . race rule- no sharing weather info (including hazards) , but that race rule is contra to general maritime/safety laws of Aus. and everywhere else too. Cutting a hole in your life raft is a bad idea.
Better this and better that. Now, dear racers: rescue swimmers are jeopardizing their own lives in order to save you. Helicopters flying and SAR cruisers sailing in high seas causes costs, injuries, pain and distress. Not only for those working there, but their families and friends. The costs were, to put it moderately, high. And here, a studio hero is explaining how a skipper of a yacht is thinking wether he should announce the horrific weather or continue racing and explaining how the gear has improved. Now: even if you have epirb transmitters and such, someone has to come and pick you from the sea within those moments your live in those conditions will still endure. Dozens of feet high waves will exhaust you fast, and then, when a wave brakes over you, you inhale water. Rest in piece! Because hot blooded sailors cannot use their brain, someone else has to do it. I don't know how, but this is not the first time people who are basically sane and healthy, cannot make crucial decisions because they are racing. For that very reason, teams climbing the highest mountains have their leaders on the base camps. And if the leader orders the team stop climbing, they really stop it. That's why we have air traffic control, vessel traffic service, military officers, you name it. In the heat of the situation, making reasonable decisions can be hard of impossible for several reasons. To be a cry baby: if their moms could have decided, the victims would have survived.
I wonder if "Policeman Gary Shipper" felt like a bad ass with no life vest, no teather, man he is so cool. These people are idiots. It is offensive listening to this. So they got rules making sure everyone is unsafe with no phone calls, but no rules about life vests, these people are stupid.
Bro, the right answer is warning EVERYONE of the storm. Always. Give them your coat. Be kind to people, ruthless to systems. Best to you all. Anyone's got a deathwish to not head home than face into a squall. Worth what? A fisherman's tale?
I get that people enjoy dangerous hobbies, but... goddamn, man, when you're a _parent,_ that's just profoundly irresponsible. Spare a thought for your family and take up whittling or something.
I wonder how much such a huge search and rescue operation cost the average Australian taxpayer. Perhaps the people rich enough to own yachts should be responsible for the costs incurred by their own decision and actions rather than socializing the expense of their leisure activities. Hopefully Australia went after the the yacht owners on a vacation adventure for the services they used... and didn't just leave the average blue collar taxpaying families stuck with the bill. I'm glad as many people as possible were saved of course, but there's something distinctly unwholesome happening in society if the average struggling blue collar worker fighting against rising costs is stuck with the bill for yacht owners' vacation screwups.
