Fatal Storm (35 page)

Going sideways as fast as forward, the pocket maxi
Bobsled
is trapped by the worst of the storm. The ferocious wind was blowing the seas flat, yet every so often a breaking wave more than 60 feet high would arrive on the scene.

Breaking waves play Russian roulette with
Aspect Computing.
If the yacht had been only a few metres ahead it would have been hammered by this breaking wave.

So little sail is almost too much.
Secret Men’s Business
experiences the business end of the storm.

Winning form. The eventual race winner – the yacht that won on handicap – was
Midnight Rambler.
Even when the storm was at its worst crew members still perched on the windward side to help keep it upright.

The race’s first major casualty,
Stand Aside
(circled left)
is abandoned and the helicopter carrying its crew
(circled right)
heads for the coast. In the foreground is a wave calculated to be in excess of 80 feet high. It broke over the yacht and sent it surfing down its face at more than 20 knots.
Stand Aside
is believed to have sunk soon after.

HMAS
Newcastle
on Sydney Harbour. “Warship”
Newcastle
is a guided missile frigate and the most modern in the fleet. Commissioned in 1993, it travels at around 30 knots, has a crew complement of 192 and can carry two helicopters.

A Sea Hawk helicopter being launched. The Sea Hawk is an anti-submarine chopper; carries three crew; travels at around 333km/h and has a range of 700 nautical miles.

Young Endeavour
, radio relay vessel for the race

Aboard
Nokia
at the height of the storm in Bass Strait. At one stage a wave went close to sending 16 crew over the side. Marty Malka is at the wheel.

A savage sea sends water cascading towards the companionway aboard
Nokia.
Most crews experienced these conditions for more than 30 hours.

Fear and exhaustion are etched on the faces of two crew aboard
Stand Aside
while they await rescue. The photograph, taken by a fellow crewmember, shows how the cabin top was ripped apart when the yacht was rolled over by a mountainous wave.