On December 26, 1998, Shirley Bannister stood on the coastline, waving goodbye to her husband, Michael, as he set sail in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race aboard the Winston Churchill. Little did she know, this would be the last time she would see him alive. The Sydney to Hobart is a prestigious event in Australia, known for its challenging conditions. The Winston Churchill had a storied history, having participated in the inaugural race.

Michael Bannister was an avid sailor and part of a nine-member crew, which included skipper Richard Winning and crew members Paul Lumtin and John Stanley. "I understood the passion because it had been in my family," Shirley said. "I knew I would never change him, and if I did, he wouldn't be the man that I married, so I married for better or sailing."

As the race commenced, the crew was unaware they were heading into a severe storm that would disrupt the event and result in six fatalities. Out of 115 boats that started, only 44 reached the finish line. The pre-race briefing had warned of potential gales, but the crews decided to proceed with the race.

The race began with excitement, as Paul Lumtin described the atmosphere: "There's a 10-minute warning gun and everybody's trying to get a favorable position for the start." John Stanley noted the chaotic scene in the harbor, where yachts and speedboats maneuvered around each other.

By Friday morning, the yachts were making good progress, with some entering Bass Strait less than 24 hours after the start. Paul sensed a change in the weather, describing it as a "calm before the storm." He recalled, "It was like a calm before the storm. I don't even know how to explain it, but it's something that you feel without looking at instruments; the pressure drops."

As the storm approached, the crew shifted from racing to survival mode. Paul was resting when he was jolted awake by a loud explosion. John was at the back of the boat when a massive wave struck, flooding the vessel with water. "I think that moment was when it really hit me that we were in a bit of trouble here," Paul said.

The Winston Churchill sent out a distress call, with Ed Psaltis, skipper of another yacht, recalling the chilling message: "We are sinking. Our pumps aren't working." The crew lost all communication with the shore when their radio batteries died. Paul reflected, "At that moment I realized that we were alone."

With the boat taking on water, John took charge, preparing the life rafts for evacuation. The crew split into two rafts as the Winston Churchill began to sink. Shirley, watching the news, was initially reassured when she learned her husband was in a raft, but she did not grasp the severity of the situation.

The storm was relentless, and the rafts were tossed about violently. Paul described their raft as feeling like a "kiddies pool" in the ocean. "Every time we got hit by a wave, we got flipped over. And these were violent hits. Our heads would crash together inside the raft. And it was really, really terrifying."

Separated by waves, the rafts drifted in opposite directions. After 25 hours, Paul spotted a rescue helicopter overhead. "Because we'd been hallucinating about airplanes and boats for the last sort of five hours, nobody said anything," he said. The helicopter crew rescued Paul and three others from his raft, bringing them to safety.

However, when John's raft was found, only two men were aboard, revealing the tragic fate of the others. Michael Bannister, John Dean, and James Lawler did not survive. Shirley received the devastating news when Michael's body was recovered from the ocean on December 29. "When they discovered his body, I had to go and view it to make sure it was him," she said.

Shirley described Michael as looking "absolutely beautiful" despite the circumstances. The 1998 Sydney to Hobart race remains a somber reminder of nature's power and the risks faced by sailors in extreme conditions.