RYU-JIN and Gusto on the rampage

by Di Pearson on 22 Apr 2007 Those cool Queensland speedsters on RYU-JIN – fgi are at it again – clocking up a massive 244nm in a 24 hour period, yesterday afternoon waving bye bye to the Japanese entry Asadori – and Dekadence, 130nm ahead, is next on their hit list in the Melbourne Osaka double-handed yacht race.

Bucknall and the Sayer 12m designer, Jon Sayer, don’t know the meaning of the word ‘slow’, as they keep us spellbound with the miles they are able to put away compared with the rest of the fleet. In an eight hour period yesterday, the two put away 78nm, their three larger counterparts at the front of the fleet mustered up 60nm.

In an email received yesterday titled ‘S**t you ought to be here’, Sayer said: 'Busy last night, blew up a bit, and a bit rough. Charged up the deck with the No.4 in hand, winds stronger than I thought.

'Went head first through the life lines, but managed to get my pinkies hooked in. It was nearly me or the sail, but all was well. At least I gave my hair and teeth a good wash at 12 knots.'

Good news for Tamagomalu and those behind her, with good east and north-easterly winds of up to 18 knots expected in the region, whilst lighter airs are predicted in the area of the top three.

At the front end, Gusto (Brian Pattinson) and Alex, Jock and Hamish MacAdie, continue to take miles out of the race leader, COCORIN interland (Itaru Matsunaga and John Bankart).

In an incredible turn of events, Pattinson sailing his Open 60 Gusto single-handed, and the 40ft RYU-JIN covered the most ground in the fleet; 244 miles each sailed in 24 hours. Pattinson also widened the gap on third placed Alex, which racked up the next best mileage with 235nm. The two big boats have cut the gap to COCORIN to just 62 and 76 miles respectively.

The leader is 758 miles from the finish line, with Taiwan well to the west, having travelled 233nm in the past 24 hours. The Pacific Ocean’s difficult currents on approach to Japan will have a big effect out the final outcome, which should play out by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Brian Pattinson describes the conditions he found himself in last night: 'I am in the middle of a big storm, its taking my mind of what’s outside. I saw it coming before dark, so I am very happy. I have now set the boat and its handling it OK. Down to third reef in main and No 3 headsail.

'Gusto getting knocked around- and so am I. It’s like being inside a beach ball being thrown around at the beach.

'The last three days have been great. Steady winds and making lots of miles - over 700 in three days. I have been taking it easy; reading and sleeping. I’ve run out of books to read, but have had lots of time to rest so I feel good.'

Alex skipper Jock MacAdie also finally dropped us a line yesterday afternoon: 'Sorry not to have contributed earlier, but we have been busy trying to catch everyone after breaking our boom and losing nearly four days in Bundaberg. We got a quick fix with the help of Jeff Casely (Blue Marine) and Keith of Bundy Fibreglass, who responded admirably. It is rough and very agricultural, but at least it got us back in the race.

'We were lucky with the winds that got us to the Loisiades and getting us back in touch with the main fleet. ‘Huey’ was also kind through the doldrums, courtesy of the many rain squalls, although we did have two VERY slow days, and one where we went backwards for a few hours. Luckily, we were one of the early ones out of the doldrums and have generally had good breeze since.

'The last couple of days we’ve had 15-22 knots from the East and ENE - great reaching conditions. We’ve been clicking up around 230 miles each day. It’s still been hard work, as we’ve had to keep changing gears with every change and every little storm.

'The new sail plan developed with Ross Lloyd and North’s has been great. We can be fully powered up in the light with our 150 plus percent AP roller furler, then change to the No.1 roller furler as the breeze moves above 8-10 knots, and then down to the No 4/5 roller furler on the inner forestay when the breeze is up in the high teens. Finally, we have a great little roller furler storm jib that goes on the inner forestay when the breeze gets in to the mid to high 20’s.

'We supplement our headsail wardrobe with two masthead asymmetricals and a fractional asy. Fortunately we have not had too much need for the Asy's. The new main has great shape and is made from the very durable North Gatorback fabric. Two reefs are OK, but on a redesign we would make each reef bigger.

'We still found we had too much main in some of the heavier conditions. On the other hand, in the drifter conditions, we found it better to just drop the main and sail with the windseeker AP only. The new handling systems developed with Harken have all been working well.

'Life aboard has been consistently busy with sail changes, the never ending boat maintenance, and a bit of sleep and some food occasionally. We never miss out on the grog though!

'The wine is holding out well, although perhaps a few more whites would be appreciated in the hot conditions. The G&T with fresh lime and lemon has been a good tropics drink and the Bundy & Coke is never amiss.

'The most popular meal of the day is breakfast; cereal with packet fruit. A bit of a worry. We have also been known to have baked beans bacon and eggs for brekkie. Lunch is a light affair, just kippers or herring by themselves. Hamish (his son) does, however, seem to munch on a lot of other things, the lolly jar contents included! Dinner is bit hit and miss, depending on how we’re feeling.

'We have lots of food; lamb shanks, lamb casserole etc. just not the appetite to eat - I think it’s the hot weather. We have lots of soups and noodles as well as other snack foods. I am looking forward to fresh fruit and veg in Japan, not to mention fresh meat and poultry.

'It’s been 33-36 C degrees for some time now. A little relief would be good, although I’m not sure how much I’m looking forward to a cool spring in Japan. As I mentioned earlier, lots to do day and night, although I did catch Hamish out sunbaking on the fantail trying to get an all-over tan the other day!

'He’s become a bit of a mast monkey. Prior to the start, we found two of our new halyards had been crossed with other halyards, which resulted in a few trips up the mast in the space of an hour, and hence our late arrival at the start.

'We still seem to have a problem with our masthead halyards. Chewed through five so far, so have to keep a close watch on them and shorten the ends before they chew through, resulting in many trips to the top of mast.

'For Hamish, two of the key points in our day are just after 0800hrs, and 1600hrs, where we check the fleet’s progress via the Argos stats to see how we’ve done. Argos has been a great facility for us and I understand all watching have also found it extremely informative.'

Further down the track in the North Mariana’s, with Sierra Madre well to the west, Tamagomalu’s Makoto Hisamatsu/Jimmi Doherty continue to take miles out of Dekadence, doubling the distance between them to 42nm since 8.00am yesterday and today. The frustration felt by Coombs and Walsh as they continue reaching, Dekadence’s worst point of sail, is tangible, particularly as RYU-JIN is sailing like the devil possessed.

Jim and Joe O’Keeffe on their Adams 13 Hullabaloo had a much better 24 hours with 209 mile run, cutting the distance between them sixth placed Asadori (186nm) to 23nm, giving the Yamba pair some hope again. The two, along with Southern Light, have Guam in their sights.

Seventy six miles behind, Adelaide’s Adams 11.9m, Southern Light, also had a fantastic 24 hours, sailing 223nm to move away from Ingenue, Wild Boar and Esoterica with 146, 139 and 131nm apiece. The latter three are in the East Caroline Basin area.

On Ingenue, Rosie Colahan gives a synopsis of l