Each Boxing Day, as Australia shakes off its Christmas stupor, we turn our eyes from Melbourne’s MCG to Sydney’s harbour to watch a fleet of carbon-fibre titans tear toward the heads. Within 48 hours, they will enter Bass Strait, a stretch of water so treacherous it has the power to turn an elite sport into a primal fight for survival.
In the final days of 2025, the Sydney to Hobart yacht race marked its 80th anniversary. But for some families, the year that matters most is 1998. That was when a violent east coast low – essentially a southern cyclone – collided with the fleet. It generated freak waves, sank five yachts and claimed six lives. Among those lost was John Dean, a sailor with a big smile and a relentless love for the ocean. He left behind a traumatised wife and two suddenly rudderless teenage sons, Nathan and Peter.
