The men were hit in the head by booms on their yachts in separate episodes, as participants faced challenging weather conditions, the police said.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney said Friday that one sailor each on entrants Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline were killed after being struck by the boom, a large horizontal pole at the bottom of the sail.

Two sailors died after being struck by sail booms in separate incidents during the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race as crews grappled with treacherous conditions across the notorious Bass Strait.