“The stories started coming in, another boat is in trouble, another boat in trouble, it took a while to sink in how extreme it was.”

It is 20 years on since about half the fleet retired in Eden and six sailors died after an enormous low wreaked havoc near Bass Strait. 

However, Ms Malcolm, who was the Commodore of the Twofold Bay Yacht Club at the time, said the compassion and stoicism of the community is what has stuck with her over the years. 

“In a crisis Eden just pulls together and people came out of the woodwork to help,” she said. 

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Hundreds of sailors were not left stranded, but rather housed with people in the community, but many arrived in shock.

One crew who stayed at Ms Malcolm’s mother’s house illustrated the nightmare sailors faced.

“I recall one of the crews came in quite late in the evening, we asked them if they needed a doctor and they said ‘we don’t know’ – they were just running on adrenaline.”

It was only after a hot shower and a meal they could realise their injuries, which included a dislocated shoulder.

“They didn’t even recognise how much pain they were in until the adrenaline stopped”.

Two Eden Marine High School students were competing that year, Melissa McCabe with Team Jaguar and Pete Wilkinson on Atara, which added to local concerns. 

Mr Wilkinson’s crew made it to Hobart, but Ms McCabe’s boat joined many others in Eden after being de-masted. 

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Ms Malcolm said the deaths that year were tragic, but it had served as a catalyst to improve safety measures and solidified the Far South Coast as a safe-haven for sailors. 

“Eden has always done that [rallied to assist] ... and not just Eden, but people from Pambula and Merimbula  rushed to the wharf and said ‘how can I help?’,” she said. 

Ms Malcolm said she hates to dwell on that harrowing race, but felt some comfort in improvements in communication and safety.

“It’s been key to not dwell on it, but some very hard lessons have been learned.”

She said there were always safety measures in place, but those extremes forced a double take for officials and skippers – new rules on communication are enforced and stringent regulations to protect crews.

“People have had second thoughts when they’re out there and run into trouble ‘it’s just a race’ they remind themselves,” she said. 

“Many of the skippers [who come into Eden] say they think they could make it, but made the wiser choice to retire.

“That year just heightened the awareness you’re at the mercy of the ocean, I just hope all the improvements means that can never happen again.”