PORTLANDER Michael Doherty took part in this year’s Sydney To Hobart and despite plenty of carnage it’s been an experience he’ll remember for a lifetime.

The Sydney To Hobart is considered one of the most difficult yacht races in the world for a good reason and on Boxing Day, the difficulty of the sailing conditions were on display for the world to see.

Dozens of yachts were forced to retire on the opening day of sailing due to the brutal weather out on the open water.

Doherty and the crew on board Extasea, skipped by Geelong’s Paul Buchholz, managed to survive the first night of racing but were forced to retire from the race as the sun rose on December 27.

“It’s definitely been an experience I’ll remember forever,” Doherty said.

“The conditions were just brutal, a huge amount of boats haven’t been able to make it down to Tasmania and unfortunately we were one of them.

“When we took off from the harbour, I was actually wearing shorts and a shirt, the weather was lovely, but once we got out on the open water the conditions struck also immediately.

“On that 50-foot boat, you’re just smashing into waves relentlessly, there’s no break in it, the small boats sort of go up and over the whole way whereas we would crash through one wave and straight into the next one.

“I’ve been sailing pretty much my whole life and I’ve never felt sea sickness like this before in my life, we had thunderstorms to deal with during the night and I couldn’t move for about six hours I was so sick.

“It was a really rough 30 or 40 hours, and a tough way to make my debut in the Sydney To Hobart, but I’m still glad I did it.”

The eventual winner via line honours – Supermaxi Black Jack – completed the course in two days, 12 hours and 37 minutes, which is the slowest winning time since 2004.

The 50-foot long Extasea abandoned the race due to engine issues, falling well short of the 600 nautical mile target as diesel leaked throughout the boat in the early morning hours of the second day.

“I’m definitely happy to say I’ve taken part in a race that big for sure, but at the end of the day you do take part in something like this aiming to reach the end,” Doherty said.

“I’m most thankful that we a really great crew assembled and that everyone worked well together making sure no one was seriously hurt.

“There was a couple of really close calls, particularly with people getting launched out of their bunks while trying to rest, and other crew members on other boats weren’t as fortunate as us, so I’m glad no one was hurt on our boat.

“It is disappointing though not to finish and I think that will hopefully give me some motivation for the future, hopefully I get the chance to take part again.

“The atmosphere before the race began down the docks was incredible, everyone was buzzing with excitement and hopefully I get the chance to experience that again.”