Things heat up in Osaka battle

by Di Pearson on 20 Apr 2007 Things are heating up at the front end of the Melbourne Osaka double handed yacht race this morning as Gusto and Alex slowly but surely eat away COCORIN interland’s lead.

Sailing east of the leader Gusto, the Open 60, put in 225 nautical miles during the past 24 hours and the Jones/Hart 14m Alex, 231nm, leaving the two just 79 and 90 miles respectively astern of the Japanese leader.

Wonder where both Gusto and Alex might be now, had it not been for unscheduled repair pit stops in Honiara and Bundaberg? We will never know.

Having left Guam to port yesterday, this morning COCORIN, which has put in 220 miles over 24 hours, is sailing along the Honshu Ridge on a course just west of north and west of the finish line in Osaka. The Elliot 16m schooner will be difficult to catch in the present trade wind conditions.

Itaru Matsunaga reported from COCORIN yesterday: 'Fine weather, boat speed 10 knots, sailing in 14 knot easterly with wave height of 1 metre, with full genoa, main and mizzen.

'We passed the north tip of Guam at 1000 EST. I feel we are sailing in our garden (home turf) and would like to keep the top position.'

From Brian Pattinson on Gusto last evening: 'Easy day, light 10-15 knot breeze, beam reach. Beautiful days; easy to read, sleep and eat. All maintenance is done and I’m taking it easy. We all know this will change!'

The Trades are where the top three larger yachts are increasing substantial mile separation on those behind them. Those who have suffered least are the Japanese entry Tamagomalu (loss of 19m) and the Queensland speedsters on RYU-JIN – fgi (14nm), who continue to make good speed.

The angst is evident in an email from fifth on line Dekadence skipper Phil Coombs yesterday: 'A tough couple of days, so close, yet so far! We are continuing to run a relatively conservative race, with the focus more about finishing rather than pushing the yacht till it breaks.

'We have had only three hours spinnaker work to-date; the only upwind was in Port Phillip Bay and the first part of Wilsons Promontory, the rest has been reaching - and this (a DK46) is NOT a reaching boat - arghhhhhh.

'Although a little frustrated, we are preparing ourselves for the last part of the trip. After Guam, there are still some interesting components to negotiate, as the weather systems flow from west to east with some alarming velocity to them. We’ll have currents on the approach to Japan, which sweep across the intended path, not dissimilar to the one which exists on the east coast of Australia.'

Yesterday, the Dekadence crew was experiencing 17-23 knots on a beam reach doing approx. 8-9 knots of boat speed.

Tamagomalu’s Makoto Hisamatsu and Jimmi Doherty would be having a ball. Sitting in a comfortable fourth place on line, the two finished in the middle of the 1999 Melbourne Osaka prize giving having suffered mast and rudder damage during that race.

Although the two fought to make the start line this time around, due to losing their mast on their way to the Melbourne start port, the two have sailed exceptionally well and both, particularly Doherty, who is on his fourth Osaka, know the race track well, and the young Japanese skipper is approaching his home waters.

Murray Bucknall and Jon Sayer are sailing RYU-JIN with pace, now on a mission to try and catch Dekadence some 221 miles ahead. Sounds impossible, but anything is possible for the Queenslanders who are positioned in the East Caroline Basin on a heading for Guam.

Seventh placed Asadori’s crew, 113nm behind the Queenslanders, reported: 'We encountered a squall with rain and 30 knot winds that forced us to reef the mail by three points and gave us a sleepless night.'

Along with Yamba’s father and son Jim and Joe O’Keeffe (Hullabaloo) they are in the Caroline Islands battling it out for honours in the Racer B division. The O’Keeffe’s have taken a leg out to the east, possibly hoping to emulate the good speeds Gusto has been able to muster up further east.

Next in line, Southern Light has chosen a more westerly course, 97nm ahead of nearest rival Ingenue (David James/Rosie Colahan) and 138nm ahead of Wild Boar. Esoterica’s crew has also opted for a more westerly course, 9nm astern of Wild Boar (Shozi Yoneda/Jun Kanda.

An elated Wild Boar crew said yesterday: 'We crossed the equator at 2230JST April 18!!'

On Esoterica, Queenslander David Best is celebrating his 46th birthday – let’s hope it’s smooth sailing for he and Campbell Reynolds on their comfortable cruiser, a Martz 46, today. Although last on line, it is a cruising boat and the guys are having a good time and are at least eating well, catching plenty of fish.

Weather:

Guam – Wind: ENE at 14 knots, gusting to 20 knots
Visibility: 10 miles, sky conditions: partly cloudy
Temperature: 30.6 C, Relative humidity: 56%

Micronesia – Wind: NE at 10 knots – showers
Visibility: 15 miles, Sky conditions: overcast, Cumulonimbus clouds observed
Temperature: 28.9 C, Relative humidity: 76%

Argos tracker positions at UTC 22.00.00 (8am AEST & 7am JPN Friday April 20):
COCORIN interland (Itaru Matsunaga/John Bankart), Gusto (Brian Pattinson), Alex (Jock and son Hamish MacAdie), Tamagomalu (Makoto Hisamatsu/Jimmi Doherty), Dekadence (Phil Coombs/Peter Walsh), RYU-JIN (Murray Bucknall/Jon Sayer), Asadori (Shinsuke Nishi/Kyojun Fujita), Hullabaloo (Jim and son Joe O’Keeffe), Southern Light (Tom Crabb/Trent Justice), Ingenue (David James and wife Rosie Colahan), Wild Boar (Shozi Yuneda/Jun Kanda), Esoterica (Campbell Reynolds/David Best), Cadi (John and son David Netherton, retired), Wasabi (Ken Down/Shane Gaddes – retired), Runaway (James Ryssenbeek/Andrew McCole – retired), Pippin (Roger Sayers/Anthony Bown – retired).