The plaintiff was injured during a yacht racing collision and brought proceedings against the defendants, who argued that yacht racing was a 'dangerous recreational activity' such that no duty of care was owed under the Civil Liability Act.
The Court rejected that defence, finding that while sailing involved obvious risks, the low statistical likelihood of serious injury meant it was not 'dangerous', with liability instead determined under ordinary negligence principles.
In issue
- The Court was required to determine whether the plaintiff, who was injured while participating as a crew member in a yacht race, was engaged in a 'dangerous recreational activity' as contemplated by s 5K of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) (CLA), such that the defendants could rely on the statutory defence in s 5L of the CLA to exclude liability. This raised the question of whether competitive yacht racing involves a 'significant risk of physical harm', and whether that assessment turns on the mere
