Two deaths in this year's Sydney to Hobart yacht race mark the first ...

Over the nearly 80-year history of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, 13 competitors have lost their lives.

Until Friday morning's deaths of two sailors in separate incidents, the most recent tragedies had been in 1998.

In that disastrous race, six sailors died, five yachts sank, and more than 60 retired.

Veteran sailor John Stanley was one of the 55 competitors rescued by helicopter during the 1998 race.

John Stanley was on board the 55-foot Winston Churchill during the 1998 Sydney to Hobart yacht race. (ABC News)

He had been on board the 55-foot Winston Churchill, with the nine crew members abandoning ship and taking to two life rafts, after the boat was hammered by wild winds and 20-metre high waves.

Three of his crew mates, John Dean, James Lawler, and Michael Bannister, died after losing contact with the life raft.

Two competitors on board Tasmanian yacht Business Post Naiad, Bruce Guy and Phil Skeggs, also died, as did Glyn Charles, who was swept overboard from the Sword of Orion.

Twenty-eight-hours after leaving the Winston Churchill, Mr Stanley was spotted by a helicopter and rescued.

The Business Post Naiad, on which two crew died, being cut up for disposal. (Supplied: Chris Timms)

Mr Stanley told The World Today that the conditions coming out of Sydney Heads in 1998 were very similar to what they were this year.

"[There was a north-easter] blowing, so it was a spinnakers up, and going down the coast," he said.

"We had a big thunderstorm light show that night, the wind swung around to the north-west.

"We knew there was a southerly coming, and really what we ended up in as it developed, was a cyclone in Bass Strait, 90 foot waves, so they were the ones that took people out of play."

He called Friday's tragic deaths a result of a "fresh north-easter", compared to the cyclonic conditions in 1998, and called for sailors to take part in more night sailing.

The 1998 tragedy didn't blunt Mr Stanley's love of sailing, heading to New Zealand in 2003 to deliver an America's Cup competitor.

"I've sailed all my life and it's been a great part of my life," he said.

"After that race I've just got a lot more respect for the ocean.

"And when it wants to change its mind and show its ugly side, you've got to know how to deal with it."

John Saul has competed in several Sydney to Hobart yacht races but says he's never experienced weather like the event in 1998. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)

Tasmanian general practitioner John Saul also took part in the 1998 race, with his yacht Computerland able to navigate the wild conditions and make its way to Hobart.

"We found ourselves in a pretty hairy situation in the middle of the storm, but thankfully got through it OK and made it through to Hobart a bit worse for wear, a lot of gear broken but we were relatively intact," he said.

"If there was a nice bit of land a mile away we would have stepped off the boat gladly … but we were in the middle of Bass Strait, we had no choice but to run away with it.

"I've never seen that sort of weather before and hopefully never will again."

Dr Saul said he was "extremely sad" to hear that two sailors, 65-year-old South Australian Nick Smith, and 55-year-old West Australian Roy Quaden, had died in this year's race.

"It's terribly sad to lose anyone like this, but especially people having a crack and trying to do something different," he said.

"Unfortunately there are times when it can get pretty tough in a Sydney to Hobart race, and with a bit of bad luck or extreme conditions, unfortunately we've had some terrible tragedies in this year's race."

Dr Saul, who has taken part in about 12 Sydney to Hobart races, said technology and race rules and regulations had improved significantly since 1998, and it was too early to suggest whether lessons needed to be learned from this year's tragedies.

"Until we digest what's actually happened, we won't be able to comment on what learning there is from it," he said.

Bowline retired from the race after an onboard fatality. (Supplied: Richard Bennett)

Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Vice Commodore David Jacobs said he was "sure the conditions played a part".

"The weather was weather that these boats and these crews are used to, they train for, the boats are prepared for, but they are challenging conditions," he said.

"In the case of one of those boats, probably both, the winds were running between 30 and 38 knots, the seas would have been between two and three metres, they're challenging conditions, you only need to be hit broadside by a wave and it will knock you across."

Vice Commodore Jacobs said the race would not be cancelled.

The deaths of Mr Quaden, struck by his yacht's sail boom, and Mr Smith, who hit his head on a winch after being hit by his yacht's main sheet, mean three sailors have died following head strikes throughout the race's long history.

Peter Taylor died in 1989 after being hit by the runner block of BP Flying Colours.

Four sailors died after suffering heart attacks, including Guy in 1998.