1998 Sydney to Hobart
On the afternoon of 27 December 1998, extreme weather conditions put the lives of may sailors in danger as they attempted to complete the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Snowy Hydro SouthCare was dispatched to assist with two vessels, Stand Aside and Midnight Special- both of which had sustained severe damage and were in danger of sinking.
The crew were first dispatched to help with the vessel Stand Aside in an area 65 nautical-miles south east of Merimbula. On arrival the crew could see that the yacht had been dis-masted, the cabin roof was torn off and there were four yachtsmen on a small life-raft being tossed about by the waves. Daylight was fading as the seas rose in 20-metre waves and the rain continued to fall in heavy sheets.
The Snowy Hydro SouthCare crew quickly went into action to rescue the men below. Without any stable visual clues to help him keep the aircraft steady, the pilot, Captain Ray Stone, had to lift the aircraft repeatedly to avoid the crest of the waves. Throughout the commotion, aircrewman Mark Delf assisted paramedic Kristy McAlister down into the raging sea on the helicopter's winch to rescue the men below.
On entering the sea, Kristy swam through the waves to the life raft which repeatedly overturned in the waves. She grabbed one of the men, secured him to the winch cable with the winch strop so Mark could winch them both aboard. Kristy was then winched into the sea a second time to rescue the second yachtsmen. Paramedic Michelle Blewitt then entered the sea and assisted in bringing the remaining yachtsman aboard the helicopter.
Rescues continued until the following morning when a second Snowy Hydro SouthCare crew was sent out to rescue sailors from Midnight Special. Due to poor visibility, the rescue crew was unable to see the yacht until they were within 1 kilometre of the vessel. When they did arrive at the scene of the mission, the crew could see that the mast of the vessel had been destroyed and the boat was continually swamped by huge ocean waves. Aircrewman Matthew Smith attempted to communicate with hand signals to the three yachtsmen standing on the deck.
The helicopter crew then saw one of the yachtsmen dive from the stern of the vessel, into the sea, and was immediately swept away from the vessel. While the pilot, Captain Simon Lovell, fought to keep the aircraft steady, Matthew assisted in winching paramedic David Dutton into the sea. Matthew kept steady control of the winch cable and assisted Simon in maintaining the hover position in treacherous weather conditions. As in the previous day's rescue, the pilot had to lift the aircraft repeatedly to avoid contact with the waves. While being swamped by waves, David managed to reach the yachtsman in the water who was then winched aboard the helicopter. Then, paramedic Stephen Mitchell was winched into the sea and after struggling against heavy seas, brought a second yachtsman aboard the helicopter. The helicopter crew continued operations until three more yachtsmen were winched to safety.
For their heroic efforts in the rescue of nine men, the eight Snowy Hydro SouthCare crew members received the American Helicopter Society William J. Kossler Award, the Leith Award (Scotland), Australian Bravery Decorations, and the Bravery Cross from the Royal Lifesaving Society, Australia.
