Nick Smith (left) and Roy Quaden have been named as the sailors who died during the race. (Supplied)
In short:
Two people have died in separate incidents during the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, one sailing on Bowline and another on Flying Fish Arctos.
The men have been identified as 65-year-old South Australian Nick Smith and 55-year-old West Australian Roy Quaden.
What's next?
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Vice-Commodore David Jacobs said support had been offered to the families of Mr Quaden and Mr Smith.
The Sydney to Hobart yacht race has suffered a double tragedy, with two sailors dying overnight.
Race organiser, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), named the two sailors as 65-year-old South Australian Nick Smith, and 55-year-old West Australian Roy Quaden.
The men died in separate incidents.
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An ambulance crew attends the scene where Flying Fish Arctos is moored in Jervis Bay, NSW. (ABC News)
Mr Quaden, onboard Flying Fish Arctos, died after being hit by the yacht’s sailing boom.
Mr Smith, onboard Bowline, was hit by the yacht’s main sheet and then thrown across the boat.
"Unfortunately he hit his head on the winch and that's what killed him," the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's Vice-Commodore David Jacobs said.
Vice-Commodore Jacobs said both boats were safely in harbour and support had been offered to the families of Mr Quaden and Mr Smith.
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In a statement, CYCA said Flying Fish Arctos was "sailing approximately 30 nautical miles [55 kilometres] east/south-east of Ulladulla when the incident occurred".
"Fellow crew members performed CPR but they could not revive their fellow crew.
"Bowline was approximately 30 nautical miles east/north-east of Batemans Bay and crew members administered CPR. A short time later, officers from the Marine Area Command were informed that CPR had been unsuccessful.
"As these incidents are being dealt with by the Water Police and all family members are yet to be contacted, we cannot provide further details at this stage.
"Our thoughts are with the crews, family and friends of the deceased."
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Flying Fish Arctos has a "crew of trainees" on board, race organisers say. (Supplied: Flying Fish Sailing)
Flying Fish Arctos is listed as "the flagship yacht in the Flying Fish offshore training fleet" with a crew of 10 plus "skipper and navigator".
"This year's crew will include a number of veterans from previous years, as well as an international crew of trainees competing in the race as a personal challenge."
Bowline has a crew of seven plus"skipper and navigator", race listings show.
The crew "have been selected for their experience and aptitude for offshore races, some with over 40 years' experience and others who have just begun to sail offshore, fulfilling the owner's commitment to stimulate offshore racing programs in local water".
Crews 'doing it tough'
New South Wales Police Superintendent Joe McNulty said crews on both boats were "doing it pretty tough at the moment".
"We've got police getting talking to them, doctors and counselling. They're assisting with our inquiries. They are shaken up by what they've seen … and they didn't give up.
"They kept going until it was it was obvious those two men had lost their lives."
Superintendent McNulty said detectives were "interviewing all the passengers, all the crew members, all the crew of those vessels so we can prepare two briefs of evidence for the coroner".
He added both boats had been "seized as evidence by police … both boats have crime scene investigators on board at this minute, doing their procedures to help us in our evidence".
Bowline moored in Batemans Bay, NSW, after last night's tragedy during the race. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)
Weather tough but 'not excessive'
CYCA Vice-Commodore Jacobs said "everyone's devastated".
"It's a terrible tragedy.
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"The conditions are challenging, but they're not excessive. We've got winds at about 25 knots coming from the north seas of round about 2 metres or thereabouts. They're conditions that most of the sailors would have would normally easily handled.
"I am personally surprised that we've lost a number of the super maxis."
Asked about safety regulations and the skill level of crew members, Vice-Commodore Jacobs said investigations were underway.
"Until there's an investigation and we find out exactly what happened, it's difficult to know. The club will do an investigation. We always want to improve safety wherever we can … if there's something that boats can do to try and prevent this happening, we will implement it.
"When you say they're an amateur crew, there are very specific safety requirements we have. Half the crew must do at least one category 1 race. Half the crew must do a sea survival safety course, and the boat goes through a full equipment evaluation.
"The race will continue."
PM sends condolences
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the thoughts of all Australians were with the loved ones of the two sailors.
Mr Albanese described the news as heartbreaking.
"We know that Sydney to Hobart is such an extraordinary tradition, but it is awful that we have this news that two sailors have lost their lives … and we just hope that everyone stays safe during the journey to Hobart."
The South Australian sailing club that is home to one of the vessels involved in the tragedies has conveyed its members' deepest condolences.
Bowline berths at the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron, which is based at Outer Harbor, and which posted a message on Facebook paying tribute to the lost sailor.
"As we hear this sad news we want the team of Bowline to know we are thinking of them all,"
it said.
The squadron's general manager Hayley Hunt said the sympathies of the entire local yachting community were with the families of the crews.
"We've gone from the elation of cheering them on at the start line yesterday afternoon to waking up this morning and hearing of the two deceased parties in different vessels and yeah, we're just coming to terms with it," she said.
"We send our deepest condolences to the family and all the crew on board."
Live Moment
NSW Police have spoken about two deaths in the 2024 Sydney Hobart yacht race
Boats now seized by police
Superintendent McNulty described the deaths of the two men as "two tragic accidents in one ocean going race".
"We believe, at this stage of the early investigation, those vessels may have been changing sails at the time, so they weren't actually sailing with the wind.
"So that creates a different set of circumstances. The sails are moving, the booms are moving, the technical change of sail at sea, so that may have impacted, contributed to the deaths."
He said detectives were "interviewing all the passengers, all the crew members, all the crew of those vessels, so we can prepare two briefs of evidence for the coroner".
He added both boats had been "seized as evidence by police now and both boats have crime scene investigators on board at this minute, doing their procedures to help us in our evidence".
Superintendent McNulty said both boat crews were "doing it pretty tough at the moment".
"We've got police getting talking to them, doctors and counselling. They're assisting with our inquiries. They are shaken up what they've seen … and they didn't give up. They kept going until it was it was obvious that those two men have lost their lives."
That concludes the police press conference.
Superintendent McNulty said Porco Rosso lost a crew member south of Eden, on the NSW coast.
"They lost a crew member into the ocean during during the night … very challenging sea conditions to affect the rescue situation.
"The yachts got together, conducted their own search and rescue, located that person, safe, well, cold, alive, and that 37-year-old male Luke Williams is safe and well on that yacht going back to Hobart as we speak.
"It has been a significant challenging period for search and rescue conducted by New South Wales Police.
Superintendent McNulty said the second incident occurred at 2.30 this morning.
"Bowline was positioned 30 north of miles east, north east of Batemans Bay. It had suffered similar in some to the first vessel, where a crew member had again suffered a head injury caused by the moving boom from the sailing vessel.
"The crew did a pretty substantial job of doing CPR, trying to keep that crew member alive but their efforts were unfortunately met with the death of that person in the early hours of this morning.
Superintendent McNulty said a "second member" on Bowline was "injured".
"He had a suspected broken shoulder, dislocated shoulder, who successfully medivac'd that person onto a police vessel, into a waiting ambulance at Batemans Bay about 8:40am this morning.
He said the two deceased sailors were a 55-year-old male from Western Australia (Flying Fish Arctos) and a 65-year-old male from South Australia (Bowline).
Sailor overboard rescued
Commodore Jacobs said there had been "one good story out of the race".
"So far, we had a person overboard, which is one of the most terrifying experiences that you can face when you're out to sea, on the boat Porco Rosso.
"That person was swept about 1.2 nautical miles from the boat, but all of the training and all of the safety systems that we've got kicked into place."
He said the sailor triggered their personal location beacon and boats were "diverted to help the search".
"Fortunately, the boat from which he went overboard was able to find him and retrieve him and he's well and healthy."
Master Lock Commanche was challenging for the lead but retired due to damage. (CYCA/Salty Dingo)
Sixteen boats have now retired, including 2023 overall winner Alive and race favourite, Master Lock Comanche, which has pulled out due to mainsail damage.
The super maxi, which is the race record holder and has claimed line honours four times, was leading the race off the far south coast of New South Wales, when the team announced they were pulling out.
In a post on social media, Master Lock Comanche said "sailing is a sport of incredible highs and challenging moments".
"Unfortunately, Master Lock Comanche has had to withdraw from the 79th Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race due to technical issues.
"While this isn't the outcome we hoped for, the team's resilience and commitment have been unwavering."
LawConnect, which won line honours last year by just 51 seconds from Comanche, is currently race leader.
NSW Police have spoken about two deaths in the 2024 Sydney Hobart yacht race
Boats now seized by police
Superintendent McNulty described the deaths of the two men as "two tragic accidents in one ocean going race".
"We believe, at this stage of the early investigation, those vessels may have been changing sails at the time, so they weren't actually sailing with the wind.
"So that creates a different set of circumstances. The sails are moving, the booms are moving, the technical change of sail at sea, so that may have impacted, contributed to the deaths."
He said detectives were "interviewing all the passengers, all the crew members, all the crew of those vessels, so we can prepare two briefs of evidence for the coroner".
He added both boats had been "seized as evidence by police now and both boats have crime scene investigators on board at this minute, doing their procedures to help us in our evidence".
Superintendent McNulty said both boat crews were "doing it pretty tough at the moment".
"We've got police getting talking to them, doctors and counselling. They're assisting with our inquiries. They are shaken up what they've seen … and they didn't give up. They kept going until it was it was obvious that those two men have lost their lives."
That concludes the police press conference.
Superintendent McNulty said Porco Rosso lost a crew member south of Eden, on the NSW coast.
"They lost a crew member into the ocean during during the night … very challenging sea conditions to affect the rescue situation.
"The yachts got together, conducted their own search and rescue, located that person, safe, well, cold, alive, and that 37-year-old male Luke Williams is safe and well on that yacht going back to Hobart as we speak.
"It has been a significant challenging period for search and rescue conducted by New South Wales Police.
Superintendent McNulty said the second incident occurred at 2.30 this morning.
"Bowline was positioned 30 north of miles east, north east of Batemans Bay. It had suffered similar in some to the first vessel, where a crew member had again suffered a head injury caused by the moving boom from the sailing vessel.
"The crew did a pretty substantial job of doing CPR, trying to keep that crew member alive but their efforts were unfortunately met with the death of that person in the early hours of this morning.
Superintendent McNulty said a "second member" on Bowline was "injured".
"He had a suspected broken shoulder, dislocated shoulder, who successfully medivac'd that person onto a police vessel, into a waiting ambulance at Batemans Bay about 8:40am this morning.
He said the two deceased sailors were a 55-year-old male from Western Australia (Flying Fish Arctos) and a 65-year-old male from South Australia (Bowline).