Qld yachtie Luke Watkins opens up on 2024 Sydney-Hobart race rescue

A former Queensland yachtie who was dramatically swept overboard in wild seas during the Sydney to Hobart race says the terrifying ordeal won’t stop him sailing again.

Porco Rosso sailor Luke Watkins recounts his rescue during Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Picture: ABC News

A former Queensland yachtie who was dramatically swept overboard in wild seas during the Sydney to Hobart race says the terrifying ordeal won’t stop him sailing again.

But Luke Watkins says he will take a break from the sport after almost becoming the third casualty of this year’s tragedy-marred race.

Mr Watkins, 37, was recovering in Eden on Saturday after being thrown overboard from the Tasmanian yacht Porco Rosso in the early hours of Friday morning off the NSW South Coast and spending 45 minutes alone in the cold, pitch black ocean.

The experienced yachtsman told The Courier-Mail of seeing the stern light of the boat disappear into the darkness as he was tossed by 4-5m swells.

“It’s certainly not a nice feeling watching the boat sail off into the darkness - it makes you realise how big the sea is and how small you are,” he said.

Luke Watkins was thrown overboard from his yacht. Picture: ABC News

“I was tossed around a lot and swallowed a fair bit of water.

“After about 10 minutes, I was really starting to shiver and hypothermia started to kick in pretty quickly.”

Mr Watkins said his life jacket inflated automatically and he immediately set off his Automatic Identification System (AIS), which alerted the Porco Rosso crew to his whereabouts, as well as a Personal Locator Beacon, which sent a distress alert to marine rescue authorities.

“I basically tried to tuck up my elbows and pull my knees in a bit to try and keep some body warmth in,” he said.

Asked if he feared being lost at sea, Mr Watkins said he was “pretty confident” in the safety equipment and thoughts of his young family back in Hobart kept him fighting for survival.

“Obviously those (negative) thoughts do try and sneak their way in sometimes but I did my best to try and keep that at bay and try and think positively and keep the morale up,” he said.

“I just tried to concentrate on what I could do to keep myself going.”

He said it was a “massive relief” when he saw the navigation lights of the Porco Rosso coming to his rescue.

“I actually didn’t know which boat it was,” he said.

“I just presumed that it was Porco Rosso and that the boys had managed to sort the boat out pretty quickly and get back to me.

“I had my head torch on and on the second attempt going past, the crew managed to get a rope to me and drag me back to the boat.

“It was certainly a happy feeling getting back on that boat.”

Porco Rosso sailor Luke Watkins recounts his rescue. Picture: ABC News

Although relieved and grateful for his rescue, he said it was “terrible” that two fellow sailors had lost their lives during the race.

“It’s very unfortunate,” he said.

“It is quite a dangerous sport we do, especially this race, but definitely our thoughts go out to the families and friends of the two men who lost their lives.”

But Mr Watkins, who lived in Brisbane for about a year when he was in charge of 2018 Sydney to Hobart winner Alive and has raced the event six times, said his own near-death experience had not deterred him.

“I don’t see it stopping me from sailing,” he said.

“But it’ll be nice to have a little bit of a break, spend some time with the young family at home and just sort of reset a little bit.”

Originally published as Qld yachtie Luke Watkins opens up on 2024 Sydney-Hobart race rescue