Swept overboard: Sydney to Hobart sailor’s struggle to survive alone in the ocean at night

Porco Rosso sailing out of Sydney head. Crew member Luke Watkins was washed overboard off the coast of Green Cape in NSW. Photograph: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

The first mayday call came late on Boxing Day.

Just before midnight, there had been an incident onboard the Flying Fish Arctos, a vessel competing in Australia’s most iconic boat race, the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.