In short:
The opening days of the 2025 Sydney to Hobart yacht race were marked by violent waves, widespread seasickness and teams retiring because of injuries and equipment failure.
One sailor likened the bruising conditions to being trapped in a "washing machine", while another said the start of the race "wasn't fun for anyone".
What's next?
Relieved crews are gradually arriving in Hobart to celebrate, including sailors from retired boats who have flown down for finish-line festivities.It is the race sailors from around the world dream about competing in — a nautical sprint along scenic Australian coastlines.
But as they vomited into buckets, repaired broken masts and slammed down off towering waves, some may have questioned that dream.While conditions have now eased for the remaining yachts in the Sydney to Hobart, the first two days of the famous race were defined by punishing seas.
As of Monday afternoon, 34 of the 128 yachts had retired, with issues ranging from hull damage to seasickness — meaning more than a quarter of the fleet had pulled out.
Marine Rescue NSW was called to two medical incidents and multiple sailors have reported injuries, including suspected broken ribs.
Like being inside a drum'Kevin Le Poidevin was racing on his yacht Roaring Forty in the double-handed category, which started being smashed by 2-metre waves shortly after leaving Sydney.
Those waves built as high as 6m as the fleet pushed south, causing water to crash over the top of his vessel.
Le Poidevin said the current, swell and wind were all coming from different directions, creating some "pretty wild cross seas".
"What you end up with is literally like a washing machine, where the boat is getting thrown off waves and landing down hard — it's boat-breaking stuff," he said.
"The shockwaves are incredible and when you're inside [the hull] … it is like being inside a drum."The situation worsened when the only other crewmate on Roaring Forty became seasick about four hours into the race.
Le Poidevin warned seasickness could create dangerous situations, even for very experienced offshore sailors, which he said "armchair critics" may not realise.
"They're not coherent, they lose their balance easy, the boat jumps off waves, launching into the air — that's where the real worry starts," he said.
"If they can't keep themselves safe then there's only one alternative, which is to retire."
After eight hours battling seasickness, Roaring Forty turned around near Jervis Bay and returned downwind to Sydney.
'Vomit comet' no fun at all
Three other boats have retired due to seasickness, but illness has been widespread — with nausea striking sailors on almost every boat during the opening stretch.
In a social media video, First Light skipper Elizabeth Tucker described the opening night of the race as "rather unpleasant".
She said six of the seven sailors on her boat were impacted by seasickness.
In a later update, Tucker said "all bar one of us have stepped off the vomit comet now and things are looking up".
Oroton Drumfire during 2025 Sydney to Hobart race. (Rolex: Andrea Francolini)
Even big boats bear the brunt
The impacts of the bruising conditions were not limited to the smaller boats, as even the large yachts leading the race occasionally struggled to manage.
Jono Clough was a pitman on Lucky, an 88-footer that crossed the line in fourth place as it arrived in Hobart on Sunday afternoon.
He said the front of the boat was regularly "going up and down probably 10m" as it smashed through waves.
Clough said."The first two days were pretty rough — pretty horrendous for us,"
"When you're in your bunk, sometimes you're levitating because you're slamming so hard."
'It was pretty bad'
Nick Bice was a crew member on Celestial V70, the reigning overall handicap champion in the Sydney to Hobart.
He said the opening day "wasn't fun for anyone" due to the rough conditions.
"If anyone thinks about the Sydney to Hobart and thinks about having fun — it wasn't that for a day and a half," he said.
"The last day was pretty nice and that kind of makes you forget about all the badness, but it was pretty bad."
URM Group pictured at sea before announcing their retirement. (Suplied: Rolex/Andrea Francolini)
Retired sailors fly south for celebrations
Not wanting to miss the celebrations, sailors from boats that retired before crossing the Bass Strait have flown to Hobart.
On Monday morning, many were already gathered at the Customs House Hotel, sharing sea stories over bloody marys.
Anthony Nossiter said."The silver bird of freedom got me here — thank goodness,"
He was crewing on URM, which pulled out of the race due to damage to the yacht's hull.
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