Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney to Hobart yacht race, officials said on Friday, as a string of yachts retired in powerful winds and high seas.

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.

Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney to Hobart line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital.

Two people taking part in Australia's annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race have died in separate incidents, according to police. Both crew members died in separate incidents after being hit by a boom - the large pole attached horizontally to the bottom of a sail.

Australian yacht Celestial V70 won the overall trophy for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Sunday after a blustery race overshadowed by the deaths of two sailors.

There have been plenty of “firsts” in the history of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race which was first held in 1945.

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 in separate boom accidents during the first night of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race, marking the event's first fatalities in 26 years.

Families embrace on the Hobart waterfront at a service in memory of two men who died competing in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

Family, friends, fellow sailors and members of the public paused to remember Nick Smith and Roy Quaden at a memorial in Hobart on Tuesday.