Fatal Storm Read Free

realised what Meikle had meant when he said it was the sort of yacht that would get them to Hobart. He took his bag below to be stowed and the dark timber interior, just like the exterior, said “solid”. This was a sea-boat. He noted the sturdy bunks, the sensibly-sized navigation area and the compact overall layout. There was always something within arm’s length to hang on to in rough weather. Even the toilet – the “head” in nautical terms – was as comfortable as it was well designed.
    Seventy-four-year-old Melburnian Peter Joubert was taking part in his 27th Sydney to Hobart. Around mid-morning he and his crew guided Kingurra away from the dock and headed for a secluded bay on the harbour. Once the yacht was at anchor Joubert disappeared below to the galley and began preparing the massive roast meal he had been planning the previous two days. While the crew relaxed on deck and absorbed the peaceful surroundings – a tree-lined bay dotted with impressive terracotta-roofed homes – they talked about the great race that was set tocommence in just over 24 hours. The forecast suggested it would be a bit rough the first night out, but that was nothing unusual.
    Wonderful aromas wafted from the galley reassuring the regular crewmembers that this would once again be a memorable Christmas feast. John Campbell knew that it would be a heck of a lot better than airline food.
    A few miles from where the Kingurra crew was enjoying Christmas lunch and praising their chef, another Hobart race crew was enjoying a similar day afloat. Bruce Guy’s Business Post Naiad , a 14-year-old Farr 40-footer from Port Dalrymple Yacht Club in northern Tasmania, was one of many yachts at anchor in bushy Quarantine Bay, just inside North Head at the entrance to Sydney Harbour. The yacht had arrived a few days earlier and Guy had been joined by regular crewmembers Rob Matthews, Phil Skeggs, Peter Keats and Jim Rogers. Greg Sherriff, brother of crewman Matt, hooked up with them for the passage across Bass Strait and up to Sydney.
    “We had a southerly buster on the way up. It was a great ride,” said Matthews. “We hit 20 knots a couple of times. At one stage we were going so fast that Bruce, who was up forward in the toilet, was hit by a fountain of water that was being forced up the spout in the vanity basin. For a second he couldn’t work out where it was coming from.”
    It was the first trip to Sydney for 34-year-old Phil Skeggs, an athletic former footballer who worked as a locksmith in Launceston. He and wife Stephanie were back-fence neighbours to Bruce and Ros Guy. The Skeggses had been married 14 years and had two children – Joshua, aged six, and nine-year-old Kirsty. Skeggs had been sailing for only five years but his fitnessand sporting prowess made him a valuable member of the experienced Business Post Naiad crew. The local Launceston media was abuzz with the news that one of their own boys had entered the Sydney to Hobart. The stories that had appeared were accompanied by photographs showing the crew on deck and Bruce and Ros Guy at home in front of the Christmas tree preparing for the adventure.
    “Phil was ecstatic about being in such a big city,” said Matthews. “He had an absolutely fabulous few days. He went around taking ‘happy snaps’, as he called them, of the Harbour Bridge, the ferries and Darling Harbour. We just plonked him on the train and let him go off by himself sightseeing for the day. He loved it.”
    Christmas Day was a chance for family reunions for some of the Tasmanians. Bruce Guy had his nephew, his wife and his children aboard. Crewmember Peter Keats, whose children Karen and David were living in Sydney, grabbed the opportunity to treat them to something special.
    “It was a great day,” said Keats. “Lots of laughing. Everyone really enjoyed it. We all jumped in the water and swam around. It was beautiful and warm – a bit different to home. We even gave the bottom of the boat one last