KEY POINTS:
The dismasting of New Zealand yacht Maximus during the Sydney to Hobart race could easily have killed one of the crew, says a co-owner on board when the 40m pole came crashing down.
Speaking to the Herald from the maxi yacht, Bill Buckley said the mast snapped in moderate seas about 4am NZT yesterday.
He said the mast folded back and collapsed along the length of the 30m yacht in the pitch dark.
"It happened so fast. It fell from a great height and whacked into the deck - anybody could have been killed ... we had to do a roll call."
Maximus was one of seven yachts forced out of the 628 nautical mile race yesterday. Dutch-owned ABN Amro One, skippered by New Zealander Mike Sanderson, was also dismasted and the crew of Australian entry Koomooloo abandoned the yacht as it took on water.
Buckley said 14 of the 24 Maximus crew were on deck when the mast toppled.
"Everybody got knocked over by it but luckily it sat on the cabin roof and the floor and was right at the stern where it came down and no one was there. They were all in the middle of the boat trying to get ready to tack."
Six of the crew, including four New Zealanders, were injured and three were taken off by helicopter. Buckley said the worst injury was a suspected cracked pelvis. Other crew members had cracked ribs, bruising or bad cuts to the head.
He had slipped on the stairwell and cracked his knee but did not need medical attention.
Buckley thought the accident was by rig failure but it would be impossible to prove that now as all the sails had been lost overboard.
He said the conditions were not that bad - moderate seas and winds of less than 20km/h and added: "We can stand a lot more than that."
It would cost about $1 million to replace the mast and sails. Apart from that the boat, which was launched just two years ago, suffered little damage.
Buckley said he was devastated especially given he believed Maximus was in the lead of the 78-strong fleet at the time.
They had been about 20km off the coast, just entering Bass Strait, and were racing Wild Oats XI "line for line".
The same misfortune struck ABN Amro about the same time as race trackers had just placed it in the lead.
Sanderson, who took the yacht to victory in this year's round-the-world race, said gear failure, not the weather, was to blame. There were no injuries.
"This shouldn't have happened ... we've been let down by our gear failure," he told Southern Cross Broadcasting.
Sanderson said conditions were bigger than forecast but while the sea was rough it was all familiar territory.
"Then there were two big bangs and it all came tumbling down.
"[There was] a quick realisation that we weren't able to salvage too much of the mast and that it was on the roof still punching the boat."
No one had been hurt.
There was more grief out on the water late yesterday when second-placed Skandia lost its front rudder.
Skipper Grant Wharington and his crew heard a loud bang before noticing the 5m carbon fibre board - known as a canard - floating away from the super maxi.
"We have no idea what happened, we may have hit something, we really don't know at this stage," Wharington said.
"All we know is that we heard a very loud crack and then the guys saw it floating away.
"Although this is not fatal to our race, our performance will really suffer."
Casualties
Koomooloo: The 1968 winner sunk after taking on water. All eight crew rescued by fellow competitor Adventure
Maximus: Dismasted. Six crew injured, one remains in hospital
ABN Amro One: Dismasted
Endorfin: Steering problems
Chutzpah: Steering problems
Living Doll: Radio problems
Sailors with Disabilities: Rudder problems
Mr Kite: Rigging problems
Skandia: Lost rudder
- Additional reporting AAP
