Ingenue and Wild Boar finish – one to go!

by Di Pearson on 5 May 2007 Ingenue (Vic) and Wild Boar (JPN) finished the Melbourne Osaka double handed yacht race in the early hours of this morning, nearly five hours apart, and despite the early hour, Ingénue’s David James said this morning he and his wife Rosie were overcome by the welcome they received.

James and Rosie Colahan’s Ingenue, a well appointed Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 40, crossed the line in 10th place, finishing at 01 hours 31m 44s May 5 AEST, (15h 31m 44s May 4, UTC) with an elapsed time of 40 days 12h 31m 44s.

Wild Boar, at 10.76m, the smallest yacht in the race (Shozi Yoneda/Jun Kanda) followed at 06h 12m 38s AEST (20h 12m 38s UTC) with an elapsed time of 40 days 17h 12m 38s to take 11th place on line.

Only Campbell Reynolds/David Best (Esoterica) remain at sea. At 8.00am AEST this morning, they were 251 miles from their Osaka destination, positioned off Miyazaki in Japan’s south.

This morning James told how he and Colahan had not yet been to bed and were looking forward to some sleep. 'The Welcome Ceremony was quite something else,' he said.

'In the hour leading up to the finish, an Escort boat guided us, as there is a lot of shipping here. Then we saw yachts and power boats - they had come out to greet us. All were hooting and people yelling to us, excited to see us finish. It was totally unexpected at that hour of the morning. When we got ashore, there were a number of people there waiting and we were welcomed soundly.'

James described their battle to the finish with the Japanese entry Wild Boar: 'We raced hard against Wild Boar. It was quite exciting – they kept us on our toes the whole time. It was a friendly rivalry and we enjoyed speaking with them at various times.'

Of the race, the 66 year old says: 'It was challenging - all those different weather patterns. I enjoyed practicing my celestial navigation and Rosie and I have finished the race with our marriage and friendship intact! We had a wonderful time – we are living our lives to the full.'

Prior to starting the Melbourne Osaka, James had said: 'We look forward to enjoying the sailing, navigation and weather challenges along the way and arriving safely in Osaka with the boat and the marriage intact!' So his mission was successful.

His wife of 10 years agrees. ''It was a fantastic race, I loved it, every bit of it, even when we were in the doldrums with no wind and very hot. I loved the range of different weather. I can’t believe it was a yacht race – it was so much fun!

The bubbly 53 year old tells of having to climb the mast to fix a shredded halyard two days ago. 'It had to be done and the boat kept rolling from side to side – I have the bruises to prove it!

Her favourite part of the race? 'Definitely the start, because we led for a little while and were very focused,' she laughs.

Colahan says she would love to do the race again. 'Yes, I wouldn’t hesitate. Now we are going to enjoy a cruise back. Family will join us along the way. We’ll leave Ingenue in Port Douglas, because we’re going to do Airlie Beach Race Week and then go on to race at Hamilton Island in August.

Before the Melbourne Osaka, she and James competed in two-handed in ocean races to test the boat and themselves in preparation.

A qualified RYA and YA Yachtmaster Instructor, delivery skipper and charter operator, James, who has sailed for 56 years, loves boats and the sea, and it’s a passion Colahan shares with him.

Bringing their comfortable to Melbourne in 2004, the couple, from the Melbourne suburb of Brighton established Yachting Port Phillip Charters, providing match racing and skippered charters with Ingenue’s sistership Avanti.

Colahan, a doctor, advised on Medical Kit requirements for the race and was on hand to provide radio medical support to the fleet should it be needed. She and James also kept all informed of daily life at sea through their descriptive emails. The two were also very supportive of their fellow competitors.

In finishing 11th on line, Shozi Yoneda and Jun Kanda fulfilled their wish of not finishing the race in last place. Yoneda’s yacht Wild Boar, at 10.76m, was the smallest boat in the fleet.

On stepping ashore, a happy Yoneda told: 'What I learnt from the race is patience. I had set the goal to finish the race in 40 days and that’s when we finished.

He also spoke of celebrating his pinnacle 60th birthday at sea: 'We celebrated my birthday right after the equator. Kanda cooked curry with rice and pancakes as a substitute for a birthday cake. I am now planning a party ashore.'

That’s not all the 60 year old celebrated. 'I haven't done any long ocean races before - this is my first time. My only ocean experience was to join a delivery cruise of a 72ft yacht from Japan to Hong Kong. It was winter and not a very pleasant time to be in the East China Sea.

The Japanese skipper also said: 'Ingenue was very close to us a few times, but not close enough so we could see them.'

Yoneda, who lives at the home port, Osaka, got the urge to contest the race after visiting co-host Sandringham Yacht Club in support of friends in the 2003 race, the Aoyama's on Naniwa. Unusually, the Japanese yachtsman only took up the sport seven years ago at the age of 53!

Prior to starting the race, he said he was appreciative for help given to him by family and friends once the decision was made to enter.

And while Yoneda may not have done the race before, his co-skipper, Kanda contested the previous 2003 race on Salaku. 'It took us 41 days, almost the same time as this year – and I finished second in Cruising Class C and 13th overall.

'I felt the race took longer this time, as it became difficult to maintain my motivation and morale around the equator. But we tried to boost it by having a commemoration of passing the equator and Yoneda's birthday together – and that refreshed in mind.'

Kanda also compared his jobs he took on in the two races: 'In this race, I cooked meals that my partner did in the last race. I found that thinking about the menu and cooking meals was refreshing and I enjoyed it very much. I even looked forward to doing this job.

'This is my second experience of the race, which meant I could stay calm and be objective. Before the start, I spent almost one month in Melbourne. Those people I came to know from the last race took care of me warmly and were very very helpful.'

Kanda, who had not done any racing with Yoneda before, confesses he would like to do the Melbourne Osaka again. 'I wish to enter with a genuine racing boat and improve my racing skills.'

From Nagasaki, Kyushu, in Southern Japan, Kanda has been involved in sailing for the past 15 years.

Weather from Roger Badham:

070504 0520Z
Winds are average winds at 10m – no gust.

GALES
SUNDAY 06-MONDAY 07
S-SW wind of 30-40 knots expected north of 28N, ahead of a front to cross the rhumb line by early Monday 7th May.
Wind on Monday 7th will turn W/30-35 and then ease below gale strength (NW/30-20) later Monday.

Argos tracker positions at UTC 04.00.00 (2pm AEST & 1pm JPN Friday May 4):

Alex (Jock and son Hamish MacAdie) FINISHED 07H 12m 02s (AEST) April 27
COCORIN (Itaru Matsunaga/John Bankart) FINISHED 14H 51m 22s (AEST) April 27
Gusto (Brian Pattinson) FINISHED 03H 52m 13s (AEST) April 28
RYU-JIN (Murray Bucknall/Jon Sayer) FINISHED 17H 58m 44s (AEST) April 29
Dekadence (Phil Coombs/Peter Walsh) FINISHED 09H 56m 03s (AEST) April 30
Tamagomalu (Makoto Hisamatsu/Jimmi Doherty) FINISHED 16H 16m 12s (AEST) April 30
Southern Light (Tom Crabb/Trent Justice) FINISHED 01H 43m 41s (AEST) May 2
Hullabaloo (Jim and son Joe O’Keeffe) FINISHED 12H 51m 59s (AEST) May 2
Asadori (Shinsuke Nishi/Kyojun Fujita) FINISHED 14H 54m 51s (AEST) May 2
Ingenue (David James and wife Rosie Colahan) FINISHED 01H 31m 44s (AEST) May 5
Wild Boar (Shozi Yoneda/Jun Kanda) FINISHED 06h 12m 38s (AEST) May 5