By Jasper Bruce in Sydney

Two Sydney-to-Hobart sailors have died at sea amid wild weather that forced mass retirements overnight, but organisers say the race will continue, denying conditions had been unsafe for the fleet.

A sailor aboard Flying Fish Arctos and one on Bowline were both fatally struck by their respective boat’s boom, the large horizontal pole at the bottom of the mainsail.

The boom helps crews control the angle of the mainsail but can swing violently in strong winds – a risk well-known to sailors who are not required to wear helmets in the Sydney to Hobart.

The deaths were the first in the 628-nautical miles race since the tragic 1998 Hobart, which claimed the lives of six sailors in storms and triggered mass reforms to safety protocols.

Both yachts have since retired from the race – two of the 17 that had pulled out by 8.45am (AEDT) on Friday after a west-southwesterly change brought strong winds to the southern NSW Coast and Bass Strait.

Three boats were dismasted in the brutal conditions and another, Porco Rosso, had to recover a crew member swept overboard.

But David Jacobs, vice-commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, said the ongoing race would “absolutely” continue, with the first boats expected to arrive in Hobart later on Friday or early Saturday morning.

He was adamant the weather forecast did not warn organisers of fatal conditions.

“We had the Bureau of Meteorology come in for two race briefings – one a few days before and one on the day of the race. The forecast was strong winds to gale force winds,” Jacobs said.

“These fleets can handle those conditions. They are ocean racers, they are used to those winds. It was not extreme conditions.”

The incident aboard Flying Fish Arctos occurred around 30nm east-south east of Ulladulla on the NSW south coast late on Thursday night.

Crew members attempted CPR but could not revive their teammate, notifying the Australian Maritime Safety Authority of the incident around 11.50pm.

Flying Fish Arctos has since altered her course to arrive at Jervis Bay on Friday morning.

The crew member aboard Bowline was struck approximately 30nm north east of Batemans Bay around 2am and fell unconscious, with CPR also unsuccessful. A police vessel escorted the boat to Batemans Bay.

Flying Fish Arctos, a NSW-based 50-footer, has contested 17 previous Hobarts since being built in 2001.

She was designed for round-the-world sailing and is currently used by Flying Fish, a sailing school that operates in Mosman, a suburb on Sydney’s north shore.

The crew this year comprised 12 members, a mix of Hobart veterans and internationals, and was skippered by seven-time Hobart sailor George Martin.

Bowline had been racing in her third Hobart when tragedy struck her crew of seven.

One of only four South Australian yachts in this year’s race, she placed 33rd and 79th on handicap in the 2021 and 2022 editions of the bluewater classic, respectively.

She has been skippered by Ian Roberts on all three occasions and is a previous winner of the Haystack Island Race in South Australia.

The deaths came as line honours favourite Master Lock Comanche withdrew from the race 63nm off Green Cape in the early hours of Friday, having sustained damage to her mainsail while leading the fleet.

Her retirement has rocketed rival 100ft supermaxi LawConnect into favouritism for back-to-back line honours titles.

As of 8.45am, Christian Beck’s boat was 8nm ahead of second-placed Celestial V70 sailing through Bass Strait.

Four-time line honours champion Comanche, one of the most impressive monohull yachts in the world, has never retired before in eight previous runnings of the bluewater classic.

She had been chasing atonement for last year’s race when LawConnect ambushed her in the River Derwent to claim line honours victory by only 51 seconds.

The fleet stands at 87 competitors as of 8.40am, reduced from 104 starters, after URM Group, Zeus, Bacchanal and Alive were among the leading handicap contenders to have retired.

URM Group had enjoyed a dominant lead-up to the race and placed second overall last year behind Alive, which succumbed to engine issues only three hours into the race.

RETIRED BOATS AT 7.30AM ON FRIDAY:

• Alive (26/12, 16:10) – engine issues
• Transcendence Ruby Project (26/12, 18:20), dismasted
• Ciao Bella (26/12, 20:14), steering issues
• URM Group (26/12, 22:15), dismasted
• Philosopher (26/12, 23:14), dismasted
• Flying Fish Arctos (26/12, 23:50), fatality
• Master Lock Comanche (27/12, 00:30), mainsail damage
• Wild Oats (27/12, 01:10), rigging damage
• Calibre 12 (27/12, 02:15), mainsail damage
• Bowline (27/12, 02:15), fatality
• Centennial 7 (27/12, 03:15), mainsail damage
• Porco Rosso (27/12, 04:45), man overboard – since recovered
• Mayfair (27/12, 05:00) broken gear
• Zeus (27/12, 06:03) foil damage
• Rum Rebellion (27/12, 06:26) TBA
• Bacchanal (27/12, 07:30) broken boom
• Pretty Woman (27/12, 08:40) damaged forestay