Sydney to Hobart yacht race forecast to be cold, wet and bumpy as Australia’s west faces cyclone and bushfire threat | Australia weather
The regatta from Sydney to Hobart is expected to be cold, wet and bumpy, but there will be no repeat of last year’s deadly conditions as the rest of the country will experience a full range of weather events, including the threat of cyclones and bushfires in the west over the Christmas period.
The 129 racers racing from Sydney to Hobart this year are predicted to face strong southerly winds of up to 25 knots after leaving Sydney Heads on Boxing Day, a race briefing from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said on Wednesday.
“It will be cold, wet and bumpy, people will get seasick,” race committee chairman Lee Goddard said.
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Winds will weaken off the coast of New South Wales and Tasmania on Saturday and Sunday, BoM senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said on Thursday. “It will still be fresh at times, but we will slowly see them retreat along the east coast,” he said.
Downwind conditions mean a tough finish, but the race record is unlikely to be broken this year. These are a far cry from the challenging downwind conditions that claimed two lives on the stormy first night of racing in 2024.
Wednesday’s briefing began with a moment of silence for sailors Nick Smith and Roy Quaden, who died on separate yachts last year.
Race organizers Australian Cruise Yacht Club also announced that a group of 15 yachts will scatter rose petals on Bondi beach as they pass through the area in memory of the 15 people who lost their lives in the Bondi terrorist attack.
Line honors favorite Master Lock Comanche, co-captained by two eastern suburbs residents who were shocked to hear news of attacks on Sydney’s Jewish community two Sundays ago.
“Everybody was very concerned,” co-captain Matt Allen said. “Last Friday, we went with a large group of Jewish and non-Jewish Olympians and held a ceremony there, followed by a brunch to show our support for the victims and the entire community.”
In the west, Tropical Cyclone Grant was passing near the Cocos Islands, 2,750 km northwest of Perth, on Thursday. The Category 1 hurricane was expected to bring heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds as it moved westward.
Temperatures were expected to reach 40 degrees in Perth on Thursday, and extreme fire danger was being warned across much of Western Australia’s south-west for Christmas. A. watch and act alert It was located near Boddington in the Peel region, southwest of Perth, on Thursday morning.
Bradbury said the temperature will start to drop on Friday. “Today is the last day of intense heat for the west coast for now,” he said.
There was a flood watch for much of northern Australia on Thursday. Brisbane was facing a hot, dry start with showers, possible storms and high temperatures of 33 degrees. Darwin predicted that there would be up to 50 mm of precipitation and that thunderstorms and showers were likely.
Melbourne was predicted to experience its coldest Christmas Day since 2006, with a maximum temperature of 17C and showers in the morning and afternoon, while Hobart would also experience cool weather with a maximum temperature of 15C and the possibility of hail.
