Two crew members participating in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race in Australia are dead after separate accidents at sea, police announced late Thursday.

Organizers said Friday that two Sydney to Hobart sailors have died at sea amid wild weather conditions that forced line honors favorite Master Lock Comanche to withdraw among mass retirements.

The blue-water classic was overshadowed by the deaths of two sailors in treacherous, blustery weather. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Race organisers say both crew members were hit by the horizontal pole that holds down the sails and swings depending on the wind’s direction.

For the first time in 26 years, competitors in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race have died. For veteran sailor John Stanley, it brings back memories of a 28-hour ordeal in the tragic race of 1998.

The supermaxi has claimed back-to-back line honours in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race in an event marred by the death of two sailors.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney said Friday that one sailor each on entrants Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline were killed after being struck by the boom, a large horizontal pole at the bottom of the sail.

Two sailors died in separate boom accidents during the first night of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race, marking the event's first fatalities in 26 years.

LawConnect took line honours at the Sydney to Hobart race for a second straight year early on Saturday in a race marred by the deaths of two sailors, the first loss of life in the prestigious ocean race since 1998.

Two sailors on separate boats have died in boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the annual Sydney to Hobart race, adding to the event’s long history of deaths at sea. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney,

Sydney to Hobart organisers are hoping to hold tributes to the two sailors who died at sea on the opening day of the 2024 yacht race.