Violent seas and gale-force winds forced 11 yachts out of the Sydney to Hobart ocean race down Australia’s southeast coast yesterday, as Wild Oats XI looked set to take line honours for the fifth time.

The drama-filled day followed thunderstorms and hail overnight, and two crewmen on the YuuZoo falling into the swell on Sunday.

Strong southerly winds and steep waves have already ended hopes of a record time for the 628-nautical mile dash from Sydney to the Tasmanian capital Hobart and crews reported that winds reached up to 50 knots in the Bass Strait.

Adrienne Cahalan, navigator on the Lahana, said the seas had been “violent and awful”.

“We have spent the entire day trying to protect the yacht from damage and the crew from injury,” she said, adding that all crew had been “roughed up” by the conditions.

Yachts were facing four-metre waves and high winds as they worked their way down the coast, a media spokeswoman for the race told AFP.

“When you’ve got the two together it’s like a washing machine,” she said.

But she said the conditions had been expected and, while difficult, were unlike those during the deadly 1998 race, in which five yachts sank and six people died.

Jazz Player pulled out on Sunday after tearing her mainsail in strong winds and organisers said they were pleased with how the yachts handled the challenging overnight conditions.

But the situation changed yesterday afternoon when five boats retired within an hour as the fleet struck fierce winds, and six more later withdrew.

Another vessel, the 66-foot She had a crew member taken to hospital for treatment after he suffered a head injury while another man who had been on the Dodo reportedly suffered a broken arm.

The race got off to a dramatic start on Sunday when Australian maxi Wild Thing hit a spectator boat in the opening dash but the damage was limited and the boat was among the leaders late yesterday.

Wild Oats XI led the pack out of Sydney Harbour and held the lead as the front-runners hit the notorious Bass Strait crossing.

Closest behind were Investec Loyal, lagging by some 20 nautical miles, and Lahana, a further five nautical miles behind.

Wild Thing, Ichi Ban and Ran were in the next grouping.

Winds are expected to moderate today, with the first boats set to arrive in Hobart late in the night.