Knockdown: A True Story of Sailors and the Sea - Softcover

Dugard, Martin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671038796 ISBN 13: 9780671038793

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2000

Synopsis

In the extreme sport of blue water, or open ocean, yacht racing, the Sydney to Hobbart challenge is considered one of the most treacherous races in the world; 1998 proved why. Slammed by a sudden freak storm that unleashed ninety-mile-per-hour winds and enormous waves, twenty-four boats were abandoned at sea as sixty-three sailors fought for their lives. Amazingly, fifty-seven were rescued, but six died, including two who were never found. Premier adventure writer Martin Duggard takes us down 725 miles of Australia's eastern coast, and across the Bass Strait (known among sailors as 'Hell on High Water', as he re-creates the nightmare voyages of several ill-fated crews. Through interviews with racers, survivors, and devastated family members, he chronicles the emotional saga of the windswept sailors whose skill and daring were futile against the massive waves and unrelenting winds. He also probes the motivations of those unique individuals, including CEOs and Billionaires, who risk all to challenge nature's indiscriminate fury.

About this title

Review

On December 26, 1998, 115 boats sailed out of Sydney Harbour at the start of the Sydney to Hobart race. The Syd-Hob is a gruelling, 735-mile race down the east coast of Australia, across the Bass Strait and down the length of Tasmania. Known as the toughest blue- water (open ocean) race on earth, it is also something of a rite of passage for sailors around the world--especially Australians. Aussie landlubbers also follow the race closely, greeting the winning boat with fireworks and a city-wide celebration.

But the 1998 Syd-Hob was no party. Prior to the race, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning for 55-mile winds in Bass Strait, later upping the severity and describing coming conditions as "atrocious." Atrocious proved an understatement. The first storm hit the fleet around midnight, causing many boats to turn and sail for home. At 2 p.m. on December 27 a rare phenomenon called a "weather bomb" hit Bass Strait as three massive weather systems collided. Over the next 24 hours mammoth waves of 90 feet and more combined with 100-mph winds to batter the remaining boats. By the end of the day on December 29, the results were in: six lives lost, five boats sunk, many more boats--and sailors--seriously damaged.

In Knockdown, Martin Dugard captures the excitement--and horror--of the doomed race and its participants, though he does indulge in melodramatic foreshadowing at times. Dugard is quick to name heroes; he lays honours at the feet of the men and women of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority for their valiant efforts in rescuing more than 50 sailors. He also praises Iain Moray and the crew of the Siena, who turned around to help save the crew of Stand Aside. Explaining his actions afterwards, Moray said simply: "I certainly hope someone would do the same for me if I were in trouble." Glyn Charles and the men of the Sword of Orion are not so lucky; Charles is lost overboard and the Sword sinks while another ship, the Margaret Rintoul II, sails within 150 metres, ignoring their maydays. This cowardly act, however, gets little mention in the book; for Dugard the real villains are the wind and the waves: "Together, they hunt for the fleet. Together, they hunt for a victim."

Though Dugard raises important questions--Why are sailors willing to take such risks? Why didn't more turn back as the storm hit? Why didn't the race organisers call it off when the weather reports came in? Should the public be responsible for paying the $650,000 price tag for the sea rescues?--he provides few answers beyond platitudes such as "The history of Syd-Hob is about storms as much as sailing" and the "brotherhood of the honour" of finishing the race. That said, Knockdown is compelling reading for those who like their adventure stories served raw. --Sunny Delaney

Review

"BookPage" The reader can olny watch tensely as the sailors approach disaster....Dugard's book tells a thrilling tale of survival.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0671038796
• ISBN 13: 9780671038793
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320