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CNN Saturday Morning News

Yacht Race in Australia Threatened by Storm

Aired December 29, 2001 - 08:57   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we got some spectacular video into CNN this week from one of the riskiest races in a risky sport. It's from the Sydney to Hobart yacht race off the coast of Australia. The weather forecast for this race was ominous. It didn't take long before some people, experienced sailors, or some very experienced sailors, rather, found themselves bracing for a violent storm.

CNN's Michael Schulder has been following the story since the countdown on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four seconds, three, two, one. Gone! And the 57th Sydney to Hobart yacht race is under way at a very slow pace in a very, very light breeze.

MICHAEL SCHULDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Very slow pace, very light breeze, famous last words. Keep your eye on a boat named the Nicorette.

(voice-over): The Nicorette's skipper is the defending champion in this race. His name is Ludde Ingvall of Finland. He and all the others here know that the 600 mile race from Sydney to Hobart down Australia's east coast goes through the most treacherous stretch of water in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ludde Ingvall, could you hear us?

LUDDE INGVALL, SKIPPER, NICORETTE: Yes, I can.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you make of that start? It was very difficult for you.

INGVALL: That was very tricky. And we thought we'd stay in the middle of the line and we had two different wind directions at the same time. We pulled it up a little bit coming off to the east shore, but then we slipped over to the other side and it was just very difficult.

SCHULDER: But he had no idea what he was in for this time. The Nicorette did pick up speed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nicorette now really starting to stretch out. SCHULDER: It did move into first place. But as night began to fall far from land, suddenly on the horizon a most terrifying sight. It was a tornado at sea, water spouts, they're called, and this one was heading right for them. Captain Ingvall tried to outrun it but there was not enough time. So as the water spout closed in, the Nicorette's sails were taken down, most of the crew was sent below deck and the Nicorette passed right through the middle of the water spout.

Captain Ingvall and two of his mates stayed outside on the deck.

INGVALL: As we went into the center of it, the boat was thrown on its side, on its port side first and then as we went through it in the middle of it you could just see this massive tube going up. It actually took the sails that were on there and lifted them up in the air. It basically grabbed my feet and lifted me off the deck, too. I was hanging on to the steering wheel.

SCHULDER: Captain Ingvall said he was so scared, felt so hopeless and was so shaken up by this incident that if his crew had said let's get back to land and have a cup of coffee, he would not have argued with them. In the end, the crew wanted to press on, so did Captain Ingvall, and so they did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Wow. Well, the Sydney to Hobart race finished up today. Defending champ Nicorette was beaten by the Swede Assa Abloy. The winning time in the 630 nautical mile race, two days, 20 hours and 46 minutes.

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