On 1 June 1999 the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia released the "Report, Findings and Recommendations of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race Review Committee". The report listed a multitude of recommendations and resulted in changes both for future Sydney to Hobart races and yachting events worldwide. A coroner's inquest into the deaths was critical of both the race management at the time and the Bureau of Meteorology. The results of the inquest were released on 12 December 2000, NSW coroner John Abernethy finding that the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia had "abdicated its responsibility to manage the race". He wrote: "From what I have read and heard, it is clear to me that during this crucial time the race management team played the role of observers rather than managers and that was simply not good enough." But he acknowledged the club's actions to upgrade safety precautions and sailor qualifications. Abernethy also criticised the Bureau for making insufficient efforts to inform race officials of a dramatically upgraded weather forecast about the severe storm developing south of Eden, when it was common public knowledge the race was scheduled to begin. As a remedial measure, he required the Bureau to add maximum wind gust speed and wave height to its forecasts. The day after the coroner's findings, the club's race director, Phil Thompson, resigned his position. According to the coroner's report, "Mr Thompson's inability to appreciate the problems when they arose and his inability to appreciate them at the time of giving his evidence causes me concern that (he) may not appreciate such problems as they arise in the future." 115 yachts registered to begin the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht race. They were: