Press Releases

-Press Releases-

May 14, 1999 Press Release
OSAKA CUP 1999 No.16 Sayernara to finish shortly

November 13, 1998 Press Release
OSAKA CUP 1999 final number of entries: 33 from 5 nations
Coca Cola has joined the race as an Official Sponsor

September 22, 1998 Press Release
OSAKA CUP 1999 Racing Ahead!

July 14, 1998 Press Release
Number of entries is now eleven

January 20, 1998 Press Release
Entry No.1 is Mr. Koujiro Shiraishi
PR poster completed

May 14, 1999

The race fleet of 20 started in Melbourne on April 17 heading for Osaka over 5,500 n.m. away. So far, seven boats retired and 13 boats are making their way to the finishing line in the Port of Osaka.

The leading “Sayernara” from Australia is sailing around 25 27N 139 21E along the Bonin Islands, Japan. “Sayernara” is a 13 m sloop designed by Jon Sayer, launched in February, 1999 and crewed by Rob Drury (53) and Jon Sayer (42).

The Race Committee expects “Sayernara” to pass Kii Suido Channel on Sunday, May 16 and finish in the Port of Osaka within 6 ? 12 hours form Kii Suido. At the finish, they will be welcome by local yachts and color water spray by a fire boat if it is daytime finish.

At the Welcome Ceremony, the crew will be gifted with a commemorative pottery plate made of the clay from Osaka Bay.

The Race Organizer will provide Press Boats at the finish and those who wish to cover the finish are advised to contact us in advance. For further information, contact:Masumi Yamaoka, Race/PR Coordinator OSAKA CUP 1999 Tel:+81-6-6467-1520 Fax:+81-6-6467-1521 E-mail:osakacup@gol.com

November 13, 1998

*OSAKA CUP 1999 final number of entries: 33 from 5 nations
*Coca Cola has joined the race as an Official Sponsor

Applications closed for Osaka Cup 1999, with a total number of 33 entries from 5 nations. The race which will start on April 17, 1999, has 18 entries from Australia, 8 from Japan, 5 from New Zealand, one from Russia and one from Papua New Guinea.

Entries from Japan include Tokuko Niwa (62), who with her late husband, finished 4^th in Racing Division Class A in the inaugural OSAKA CUP 1987. This time she teams up with a J/24 lady sailor, Tomoko Terakawa (26). From Osaka Hokko Yacht Club, based in Osaka, Makoto Hisamatsu (20) will race aboard “Priscilla” (12m) and Masaru Matsuura (44) will skipper “Naniwa” (12.6m) the old name of Osaka. Sumiyo Kaneko (37), a lady sailor from Kanagawa Prefecture who participated in OSAKA CUP 1991, will join the race with Akira Maeda (39) from Tokyo.

An entry from the host club in Melbourne, Sandringham Yacht Club, is Nick Moloney (30) teaming with Daniel Fong (28) from New Zealand, with both having participated in the Whitbread Round the World Race 1997-98. Another entry from Melbourne is Malcolm Hart (34) who won the class in OSAKA CUP 1995 aboard “Priscilla” with Paul Scholten (36) from Sydney. They will race on separate boats this time.

The Melbourne/Osaka Double-Handed Yacht Race Promotion Council has been seeking Official Sponsors for the race and Kinki (Osaka region) Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Ltd. recently agreed to be one of them. Also, KDD Group will support the race as an Official Supplier providing Inmarsat Marine Mini M terminals to the competitors, enabling the Race Organizer to obtain live information through voice, e-mails and images which can be conveyed to the audience through various media. Telstra, Australia will also support the race in this regard.

September 22, 1998

OSAKA CUP 1999 Racing Ahead!

*17 from 6 nations as of today
*ABC, Osaka's local TV station to produce race documentary
*Satellite voice communication device allowed for race communication

The OSAKA CUP Melbourne/Osaka Double-Handed Yacht Race 1999 which will start on April 17, 1999 has now 17 official entries from 6 nations: Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia and USA.

This is the first time an entry has been received from Papua New Guinea since the inaugural 1987 race. Elizabeth Wardley, Skipper, is only 18 years old but has covered 12,000 n.m. in delivery cruise and 4,000 n.m. in racing. Sergey Sipotenko (37) from Vladivostok, Russia competed in 1991 and 1995 OSAKA CUP. He will sail aboard "Veter" which means "wind" in Russian. From Seattle, USA, Gerald Hood (71) entered with sailing career of the circumnavigation of the globe twice.

Other entries include David Pryce (27), a naval architect/adventurer with Teresa Michell (27), a naval architect from Sydney. David completed three voyages to the Antarctica in 1995, 96 and 97 on board an aluminum cutter expedition yacht and will sail to the Antarctic area again later this year and early next year. The first lady pair this time is Lorrel Chapman (34) and Yvonne de Gruyter (29) from New Zealand.

In the past three races, communication during the race was only through radios. However, the Race Organizer has recently decided to accept a satellite communication device that is capable of voice communications from any part of the race area. Devices suitable for this purpose at this stage are Inmarsat Marine Mini M and Iridium (satellite phone scheduled to commence service in November, 1998). These devices will make it possible to receive voice messages from competitors during the race.

A more than 90-minute race documentary will be produced and broadcast by Osaka's local TV station, ABC: Asahi Broadcasting Corporation. The program will cover the start and the finish of the race, as well as providing viewers with the information during the race. On air time is scheduled around June, 1999.

July 14, 1998

OSAKA CUP Melbourne/Osaka Double-Handed Yacht Race 1999
Number of entries is now eleven

The OSAKA CUP Melbourne/Osaka Double-Handed Yacht Race 1999 which the City of Osaka hosts will start from Melbourne on April 17, 1998. The Race Committee has received eleven entries: three from Japan and eight from Australia as of today.

The entries include Simon Kellet (38) who participated all three past races winning the 1995 race in his class, and his co-skipper, Peter Bland (29) who is known for the first Australian walking to the North Magnetic Pole in 1998 shortly after an open heart surgery.

The inquiries to the race exceeded 70 from the nations in Asia, Oceania and those in Europe including France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, England, Norway and South Africa. Application for entries will be closed on October 30, 1998.

January 20, 1998

OSAKA CUP Melbourne/Osaka Double-Handed Yacht Race 1999
Entry No.1 is Mr. Koujiro Shiraishi
PR poster completed

The City of Osaka will host the OSAKA CUP Melbourne/Osaka Double-Handed Yacht Race 1999 which will start on Aril 17, 1999 from Melbourne. Recently, the Race Committee received the first entry from Koujiro Shiraishi, a 30-year-old sailor from Kanagawa, Japan, and the second entry from Alby Burgin (82) and Jock Wylie (64) from New South Wales, Australia.

Koujiro has completed a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe in 176 days from October, 1993, which is the youngest record in the world. He also raced from the Russian Far East to Japan in 1988 and from New Zealand to Japan in 1989. His other interest is "Adventure Races," in which 5 members of a team including women finish a 500 km course by namely trekking, canoeing, rafting, rock-climbing, and mountain-biking. He finished 11th in the Raid Gauloises of 1997, the highest record for a Japanese. Yacht and crew are yet to be decided.

Alby has participated in the inaugural Melbourne/Osaka race in 1987 and the second one in 1991. His sailing career totals 71 years with 420,000 n.m. cruising and 350,000 n.m. racing.

The first PR poster of the race has been completed with the catch copy "In 1999, a magnificent gift will be given to the 21st century." The poster shows a small boy standing at a power grinder with the race start from 1995 in the background. Copies will be distributed to yacht clubs and marinas throughout Japan and overseas. Application for entry will be closed on October 30, 1998.