Organisers of the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race adamant race would continue, despite the deaths of two sailors overnight.
Vice Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia David Jacobs said they had been asked the question about cancelling.
“And the answer is no, we would not cancel the race,” he said in Hobart.
Vice Commodore Jacobs said it was a fundamental principle of yacht racing that once the race starts, the skipper has the right and the obligation to decide whether it’s safe to continue.
“So, it’s the skipper’s decision whether he or she wishes to race or to retire. The skipper is able to look at the conditions, their local conditions,” he said.
“Because, as you appreciate, over a race of 628 nautical miles, there are different weather patterns all around so the skipper can decide whether the weather pattern that they’re in is too dangerous and they want to retire, whether it’s safe to retire.”
Vice Commodore Jacobs said the race conditions were not particularly worse than previous editions.
“We’ve got, at the moment, 21 boats that have retired. In 2021 we had 29 retired (and) in 2004 we had 59 retired,” he said.
