Yacht drama in Sydney harbour

2004-10-26 10:59

Sydney, Australia - Sydney Opera House was the backdrop for a maritime drama on Tuesday when a former America's Cup racing yacht slammed into underwater rocks near the landmark, tipped onto its side and threw some of its passengers overboard.

The 22-metre yacht FT Spirit hit the rocks around noon on Tuesday, ripping the keel and ballast off the yacht and sending some on board - most of them experienced sailors - into the water, said deckhand Benny Mawson.

The FT Spirit was formerly known as the Spirit of Australia and contested the 1992 America's Cup in San Diego, California.

"It sounded like a large boom," Mawson told reporters at the scene.

"We came in too close and hit the bottom and as we did the boat pivoted on the keel and it ripped the big 20 tons of lead that keeps the boat upright, right off," he said, adding that none of the 12 people on board were injured.

Water police and local maritime authorities rushed to the scene and pulled the passengers out of the water, the New South Wales state Maritime Authority said.

One witness, Graham Ellis, said he was walking around the back of the Opera House, which sits on a headland jutting into the harbour, when the crash occurred.

"The boat was sailing up and down about three or four times," Ellis told reporters. "Then I heard a huge expansive crash which lasted for about two or three seconds. It seems to me they just went too close (to the edge)."

A tug boat dragged the yacht, still lying on its side, away for repairs.

- AP