SYDNEY: A briefing for this year’s Sydney to Hobart race began Wednesday with a minute’s silence for the two sailors who died in last year’s event.

It ended with hopes that the catastrophic weather conditions will not be repeated in this year’s race starting Friday.

The mandatory briefing from the Bureau of Meteorology predicted the scheduled 129 starters in the annual race from Sydney harbor to Hobart on the island state of Tasmania will face strong southerly winds of up to 25 knots (about 46 kilometers per hour, or 28 mph) after leaving Sydney Heads.

Those winds are likely to slacken across the New South Wales state and Tasmanian coasts across the weekend. The fleet has still been warned there is some chance of strong winds.

But the forecast is much different from last year, when boat-breaking conditions caused two sailors to die on the first night in storms. Nick Smith and Roy Quaden were the two sailors who died in 2024 — the race’s first fatalities since six died in 1998.

CYCA Commodore Sam Haynes said the sailor deaths will not be forgotten.

“This will be something that is very much on our minds, and the families of these two sailors,” said Haynes, who is also the skipper of reigning overall winner on handicap Celestial V70.

Organizers also announced Wednesday that a group of 15 yachts will scatter rose petals off the coast of Bondi Beach in memory of the 15 lives lost during the Bondi terror attack on Dec. 14.

“Going past Bondi, 15 boats will spread some petals into the ocean at the point,” said Haynes.

LawConnect, a 100-foot super maxi skippered by Australian tech millionaire Christian Beck, won line honors in last year’s race. It had an elapsed time of 1 day, 13 hours, 35 minutes and 13 seconds for the 628-nautical mile (722 miles, 1,160 kilometers) race.

The race record set by LDV Comanche — 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds — has stood since 2017 and only appears under threat in very strong downwind conditions, which are not expected this year.