Yacht crash: Andrew Short, Sally Gordon dead

By Caroline Marcus and Manuel Mitternacht
Updated November 5 2012 - 10:56pm, first published October 10 2009 - 10:55pm
Wreckage from the maxi-yacht Shockwave. Inset, skipper Andrew Short and navigator Sally Gordon. Photos: Andy Zakeli, Dallas Kilponen.
Wreckage from the maxi-yacht Shockwave. Inset, skipper Andrew Short and navigator Sally Gordon. Photos: Andy Zakeli, Dallas Kilponen.

Two veterans of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race were killed and 16 crew members had to be rescued yesterday after a multimillion-dollar maxi yacht ran aground off the Wollonong coast.Shockwave skipper Andrew Short and its navigator Sally Gordon died when the boom swept them from the deck into the choppy ocean after the vessel hit rocks off Port Kembla.The 80-foot yacht was taking part in a 92-nautical-mile lead-up race to the Sydney to Hobart classic when it struck rocks during rough conditions at Flinders Islet about 3am.

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  • SLIDESHOW: Two killed in yacht race crashAfter the yacht's four-metre keel hit the rocks, the boom smashed into Mr Short, 48, a Sydney marina owner, and Ms Gordon, 47, of Darling Point, and a third person. The trio were knocked overboard.The yacht began sinking quickly, taking water through its fractured hull, forcing the remaining 15 on board, including a 14-year-old boy, to abandon it. The crew scrambled onto the rocky island – the man knocked off the deck by the boom remained in the 20-degree water, tossed by the large swell.Other yachts in the race, between Sydney Harbour and Flinders Islet, rushed to rescue those in the water.Australian yachting great Syd Fischer, 82, the skipper of Ragamuffin, said his crew saw a yellow object in the water which turned out to be Ms Gordon."It was really dark. We saw that it was a person. We tried to [revive her]."His crew gave CPR to Ms Gordon for the short journey to Port Kembla harbour where they handed her over to paramedics. The crew of another yacht, Quest, fought to save Mr Short. He could not be revived.Mr Fischer said he would not speculate on how Shockwave came to hit the rocks, but described Mr Short and Ms Gordon as careful sailors."I've never seen them do anything stupid. I didn't think they were aggressive. They weren't as aggressive as some of the yachters."Surviving crew members managed to fire three flares alerting other yachts to the unfolding drama. Other skippers also alerted police, ambulance and rescue authorities. A police launch from Wollongong rushed to the scene, but rough conditions forced it to call in a helicopter to winch the survivors from the island. An ambulance spokesman, David Morris, said a rescue helicopter was called after rough conditions hampered the police boat rescuing those on the island. It managed to save the man knocked off the deck by the boom. "We had to winch them because water police couldn't get them all on board because the water conditions were too rough," he said.All crew members were eventually taken to Wollongong Hospital to be treated for a variety of conditions including hypothermia.Mr Short and Ms Gordon were well-known in the ocean racing scene. Both had competed in 15 Sydney to Hobart races. As recently as last month, Ms Gordon was honoured at a Cruising Yacht Club of Australia function for becoming one of only four women to have reached the milestone."I'm in shock," Mr Fischer said. "They brought a body on board. We don't like to see this kind of thing."The yacht club's vice-commodore, Howard Piggott, said Shockwave had a mooring in Sydney Harbour and was berthed in Rushcutters Bay for races.The Flinders Islet race started near Point Piper at 8pm on Friday before the 24 starters went through the Heads and turned south to Flinders Islet.Shockwave kept the island on its left while heading south and circled it in an anti-clockwise direction before striking the rocks as it began its push north.One sailor who was on the starting boat on Friday night, but who did not want to be named, said the race began in a dramatic fashion."It was pouring with rain. It was a spectacular start in the rain and we all got soaked. The boat [Shockwave] was probably one of the fastest boats in the race, so it got to the island first."The Ragamuffin crew berthed at Rushcutters Bay just before 9.30am, with Quest pulling in minutes later.Quest's skipper Mick Green said that Mr Short and Ms Gordon had thrown lights into the water to identify their route of drift.Will Oxley, the navigator on Yendys, said its crew saw three flares as they approached the island. "We saw torchlight in the water, too, and people on the islet. We knew something was wrong, so we tacked towards them to see if we could give assistance."Police are preparing a report for the coroner.
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