sydney hobart 2010

[mainemike]

the sydney hobart is kind of the paris roubaix of yacht racing. conditions can be very tough to say the least. i believe it was 1998 when a weather bomb, like the perfect storm, exploded on the race and lives were lost. breaking waves of 60 feet and 1 mile long were reported. boats were tossed and wrecked like balsa toys. i believe a 38 footer crewed by amateurs won on correction, they just kept sailing. its one of the few races where amateurs compete against the pros. in australia and new zealand sailing is definitely a working man's sport, and this race is their holy grail. takes place every year on boxing day, the day after xmas. in this video from that race, this is an 82' maxi, note how on one of the waves the boat is out of the air all the way to the keel. thats roughly 40' of hull out of the water. very cool. this year: Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2010.. Gale force conditions take out five yachts within an hour

[robin3mj]

I’m guessing they don’t stick to the cyclists’ refrain of “don’t race what you can’t afford to replace”…
That is crazy stuff- no one can accuse those guys of not living life to the fullest.

I was in Auckland in 2001 right after the Kiwis defended the Cup on their home soil. The boat was in the harbor- totally bad@ss.

[R.Liverman]

woah.

[RIHans]

Yeh, you got that right, Mike...
1998 was the year the fleet ran into a typhoon, 70 knots, massive seas. A yacht racing disaster.
6 hands lost, many boats dismasted/damaged. A flustercluck.

This is a racing yacht in distress, getting blown sideways in big seas. No fun on deck there!

[C.Dyer]

That video is amazing, but terrifying to me. I can't even imagine...