Melbourne Osaka record safe

by Di Pearson on 21 Apr 2007 Grant Wharington/Scott Gilbert’s 1995 Melbourne Osaka race record came and went at 09.47.06 hours AEST this morning, and while the Japanese schooner, COCORIN interland continues to hold on at the front of the fleet, Gusto and Alex, sailing faster, continue to make inroads into her lead, reducing it to 77 and 71nm respectively.

At this morning’s 8.00am (AEST) sked, the Japanese schooner, COCORIN interland, has only 991 nautical miles to reach the finish line in Osaka, putting in a 213nm run in the past 24 hours. A finish is likely early to mid next week.

Positioned in the in West Mariana Basin in the Philippine Sea, with Manila to the west, it remains to be seen whether COCORIN’s Itaru Matsunaga/John Bankart have enough in the bank to keep both Victorian entries at bay.

Gusto and Alex are sailing in the South Honshu Ridge in the Mariana Islands. Brian Pattinson, racing single handed, put in 220 miles in the 24 hour period, while Jock and Hamish MacAdie on Alex are becoming a real threat to the top two, with 226nm sailed.

Little separates the latter two yachts which are 73 and 77nm behind the race leader.

John Bankart reported from COCORIN: 'We are OK, all onboard fine. We are doing our best to stay in front.'

Tamagomalu and Dekadence are the next two on line, this morning in the vicinity of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, some 356 and 376nm behind the leader, both having sailed 187nm over 24 hours. Makoto Hisamatsu/Jimmi Doherty this morning have a 20nm advantage over Victorian’s Phil Coombs/Peter Walsh and are likely to increase due to the reaching conditions that Dekadence does not enjoy.

The only other yacht in the fleet making up miles on the leader is RYU-JIN – fgi. Sixth in the line honours standings, Murray Bucknall/Jon Sayer sailed 222nm, making a 9nm gain on COCORIN.

While not nearly enough to make any real impact on the front pack, it nevertheless proves what a good all-round yacht the Sayer design is. Her Queensland crew are in the Caroline Islands on track for an eastern passing of Guam.

Guam is the western most edge of the USA where the culture and language is a unique blend of Spanish, Micronesian, Asian and western influences over the last 300 years. It has a land area of 212 square miles, with a population of around 154,000. The official language is English, but the local dialect, Chamorro, is also spoken.

Back in the race, Asadori comes next, and is sailing away from Hullabaloo; both positioned in the Caroline Islands, 154 and 215 miles behind RYU-JIN, with South Australia’s Southern Light next, 305nm behind the Queenslanders.

The Japanese crew on Asadori reported yesterday: 'We had a big blow again last night. We have had squalls for four consecutive nights and have had to reef the main very quickly.

'We expected tropical sunny weather sailing on the green water with easterly trade winds, but what we got instead was clouds and squalls. Where has the tropical weather gone? We need winds from the NNE. We will be sailing into the Coral Sea along the Caroline Islands today.'

In the back pack, Ingenue (David James/Rosie Colahan), Wild Boar (Shozi Yoneda/Jun Kanda) and Esoterica (Campbell Reynolds/David Best) had the least mileage with 79, 95 and 86nm respectively.

Just 25nm behind Ingenue, Yoneda/Kanda are making better gains and look likely to overtake the Victorian couple if they can keep the mileage up.

Weather:
Guam – Wind: Easterly at 9 knots
Visibility 11 miles
Conditions: mostly cloudy, heavy rain, mist
Temperature: 26 C
Relative Humidity 88%

Micronesia – Wind: North-East at 12 knots gusting to 19 knots
Conditions: Overcast, towering cumulus clouds observed
Temperature: 28.3 C
Relative Humidity: 73%

Argos tracker positions at UTC 22.00.00 (8am AEST & 7am JPN Saturday April 21):
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).