It had competed in only two Sydney to Hobart races but the maxi yacht Shockwave - that had been racing under the name PriceWaterhouseCoopers - was built to revolutionise ocean racing.
Launched in Sydney in 2000, the 80-foot, high-tech, carbon-fibre yacht was leading the fleet into Bass Strait in that year's Boxing Day classic. But instead of going on to win the race it hit a sunfish, forcing it to retire.
Last year it earned line honours in the St David's Lighthouse Division of the 2008 Newport Bermuda Race. It raced in the 2008 Sydney to Hobart - under the name ASM Shockwave 5 - and in offshore races around Australia.
Boasting a four-metre draft, the vessel with a skiff-like design was set to dominate the yachting world. But in the early hours of yesterday morning, during a Sydney to Hobart preparatory race, it was destroyed.
Skipper Andrew Short, killed in yesterday's tragedy with navigator Sally Gordon, had travelled to the US last year to buy Shockwave from Hasso Platner.
smh.com.au
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