Melbourne Osaka Cup: A small divergence as the fleet clears Wilson Promontory
by Melbourne to Osaka Media 17 Mar 23:14 PDT
18 March 2025
Melbourne Osaka Race Tracker 18 March at 7.30 am © Melbourne to Osaka Media
Day 2 sees the main fleet taking a small divergence on their route as they round Wilson Promontory.
Three key factors come into play: the transition from westerlies to northerlies, the East Australian Current, and the potential for strong northerly winds as they turn north.
The northern fleet may opt to stay further north to catch the new breeze first, cut the corner, and then head northeast to hook into the northerly set of the East Australian Current.
Meanwhile, the southern fleet might take advantage of the stronger existing breeze with fast sails up, aiming to slingshot into the large current eddy guarding the eastern side of Bass Strait—setting themselves up for a favourable angle into the East Australian Current.
We are our resident weather expert, Rod Smallman points out the areas of weather for consideration using the image above when deciding which strategy to use:
- Wind transition
- East Australian Current
- Strong northerlies
Meanwhile, those in the Coral Sea are enjoying champagne conditions, charging north with glamorous, broad-reaching, and downwind sailing!
Check back in and keep an eye on the tracker as they settle into a good pattern and the reality that this is an endurance race where pacing yourself and getting rest will be critical.
We invite you to watch the tracker or keep a close eye on our social media pages.
Follow the fleet as they race towards Osaka via the race tracker race.bluewatertracks.com/2025-melbourne-osaka-cup-double-handed-race
Learn more about the race and competitors via the Melbourne Osaka Cup website