The sailing community is mourning the loss of two seasoned sailors who tragically died from head injuries during the opening night of the Sydney to Hobart race. The victims have been identified as 55-year-old Roy Quaden from Western Australia, navigator on the Flying Fish Arctos, and 65-year-old Nick Smith, a crew member aboard the Bowline.
On Friday afternoon, police reported that both men sustained fatal head injuries in separate incidents occurring just hours apart amid challenging maritime conditions.
Mr. Quaden was struck by the boom of the Flying Fish Arctos while the crew was attempting to change sails. A boom, a long pole extending horizontally from the mast, can move rapidly and unpredictably, making it a dangerous component during high-seas racing.
“Just before midnight, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority received a mayday call from the Flying Fish Arctos requesting urgent assistance for a crew member who had been struck in the back of the head by the boom,” Superintendent Joseph McNulty explained.
Despite immediate medical efforts, Mr. Quaden succumbed to his injuries at sea. Another crew member on the same vessel sustained a shoulder dislocation from the incident.
This marks the first fatality in the Sydney to Hobart race since 1998, when six sailors lost their lives and more than 50 others were rescued by helicopter. Tragically, just hours after Mr. Quaden’s death, another incident claimed a life.
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