The 80th Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race for 2025 started as usual on Boxing Day, with a spectacular run to the heads by a fleet of 128. Given the forecast of strong southerlies for at least the following two days, it was never going to be an easy voyage for sailing vessels having to tack upwind into increasingly heavy seas. Soon, winds topping forty knots sent large waves crashing into boats, causing injury, damage and the debilitating effects of good, old-fashioned seasickness.

At the time of writing, exactly three days since the starting gun, six boats have finished, with Master Lock Comanche taking line honours, 88 are till racing and 34 (or just over a quarter of the fleet) retired. Of those boats, three sheltered in Bermagui Harbour (often described as the last civilised port in southern NSW) and one dropped off an injured crew member before continuing the race.

Chancellor and Unicoin both came into harbour on their own about 32 hours after the race start. Santana had a crewman suffering concussion after a head knock from the boom and Marine Rescue Bermagui was tasked to take three paramedics offshore to transfer the patient from Santana to Bermagui 30 and bring them back to a waiting ambulance. Later that same day, Bermagui 30 towed in Titoki, with a damaged sail that couldn’t be lowered making entering the harbour difficult.

Unicoin owner and skipper Peter Bremner

However, in talking to Peter Bremner, the owner and skipper of Unicoin, the true challenge of facing such heavy weather and enormous seas became apparent. Unicoin was 30 nautical miles east of Bermagui in gale force winds of 45 knots and rogue waves six to eight metres high, when they were hit with a monster that smashed the pulpit at the front of the boat, causing all the safety lines that run along the sides to go slack. With the lines no longer fulfilling their essential role, the vessel was not safe to sail and had to retire. Despite nursing suspected cracked ribs from being thrown around the cabin, Peter was philosophical about the mishap, although he wistfully noted they had been leading Division 3 and, on handicap, were just behind Master Lock Comanche. When named Assassin, Unicoin won the 1992 race on handicap and Peter had made many speed modifications since then to enhance its competitiveness. In the end, he was glad no one was seriously hurt and that the boat hadn’t lost a mast or suffered more serious damage. Ever the racing sailor, he was already turning his thoughts to the 2026 event.

Jeff Donovan

Photo above: Unicoin undergoing repairs in Bermagui Harbour.