Osaka Cup 2007 -

27 April 2007

Day 34: Alex takes Melbourne Osaka line honours   

Melbourne father and son duo Jock and Hamish MacAdie have sailed their Jones/Hart 14m yacht Alex - Team MacAdie to a line honours win in the 5,500 nautical mile Melbourne Osaka double handed yacht race this morning, April 27, finishing at 07 hours 12 minutes 02 seconds (AEST) and 21h 12m 02s (UTC) in the elapsed time of 32 days 18 hours 12 minutes 02 seconds.

Contesting their first ever Melbourne Osaka, the two might not have broken the race record of just under 27 days set by Grant Wharington in 1995, but they did steal race from under the nose of the Japanese 16m schooner, COCORIN interland, taking the lead in the final stages of the race, shortly before 8.00pm (AEST) last evening.

It is a remarkable achievement for the MacAdies who extended their lead bit by bit through a long and arduous sail last night and this morning, the last 75 miles taking nearly 24 hours to complete.

Their win is even more notable, as a broken boom forced the 55 year old and his 22 year old son to head into Bundaberg in Queensland on the afternoon of April 2 for repairs. They returned to the race in the early hours of April 4.

“I thought it was over when we broke the boom. The repair was rough, but it did the job,” Jock, who steered Alex to the finish line, said this morning.

“Little by little we clawed our way back into the race. Luckily, we got a fairly good run through the doldrums. We had two days of no wind and after that we chased every storm cloud.

“It was almost wipe-out conditions for the last three days. The wind was going around the dial causing confused seas; the seaway was awful. I thought the boat would break.”

The two did not choose their course to the eastern entrance to Osaka. “We were told to go to the west shore actually, but did not have that option; west was going to lose us time so we were forced east. The current split at that point and worked in our favour.”

Not knowing where COCORIN was at that stage, Jock, who has undergone one hip replacement and is about to have the other replaced tells: “She appeared out of the mist around 6 miles in front of us heading west. We caught her and played all the shifts all the way up the bay and protected ourselves from COCORIN.

“Hamish and I worked hard to catch and pass both Gusto and COCORIN, we literally haven’t slept for five days. “

The Melburnian admitted: “Like all races, this one had its good points and its bad. We tried to make the best of every current and every bit of wind. We made a mistake early on in the race, went to far south, but we worked hard to get back into it.

“Coming into Osaka in the dark very early this morning, the traffic was extraordinary. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s absolute chaos – little ships, big ships, ferries, fishing boats – it was like lit up ants everywhere.

“At one stage Hamish was steering and got squeezed between three ships. Then I took the helm and thought ‘we’re going to be killed before we reach the finish line. It’s the most dangerous finish to a yacht race I’ve ever seen!”
A member of co-host, Sandringham Yacht Club in Melbourne, this is the longest race Jock and his son have contested. After making the decision to compete in the Melbourne Osaka, the two had entered many shorter two handed races in the lead up to the big event.

Jock, a former Victorian Sydney 38 champion, purchased the former Kontrol, the second placegetter in the 2003 Melbourne-Osaka and renamed her Alex.

Despite already being set up for two handed sailing, the MacAdies, from the Melbourne suburb Brighton, spent long hours updating the yacht to suit their two-handed style, including changing the rig to incorporate wide swept back spreaders, adding a bigger roachier main and non-overlapping headsails and a torpedo bulb keel.

A brand new sail wardrobe from North Sails in Melbourne has held them in good stead. Only a few days ago, Jock said: “The new sail plan developed with Ross Lloyd and North’s has been great.”

Jock’s dream to contest the race came about whilst watching the start of the 1991 race with his family. “I promised my youngest son Hamish that one day we would do the race together,” he said prior to the start.

“I also wanted to do it because it is probably one of the more challenging two handed races in the world – and it starts from the world’s best city, Melbourne.”

A sailor all his life, Jock’s father and grandfather were Master Mariners and so he grew up in sailing boats in the Pacific Islands and in Australia. Hamish has continued the family tradition.

Apart from the pact he and his father made, Hamish says he wanted to compete in the race because: “It is the longest non stop two handed race in the world and I’ve grown to love two handed sailing.

“I hope to learn, gain experience, have fun - and with the right luck – win,” he said prior to setting out.

COCORIN’s Itaru Matsunaga and John Bankart were around 10nm behind Alex at the time of her win and are expected to finish shortly.

Skipper Matsunaga and Bankart had taken the race lead on April 2 after the previous leader, Queensland’s RYU-JIN – fgi, suffered rudder damage and made a pit stop for repairs in Bundaberg. They briefly lost the lead to Gusto on the afternoon of April 24, but retrieved it again the next afternoon.
Matsunaga from Tokyo, and contesting his first Melbourne Osaka and Bankart, who co-skippered the 2003 line honours winner Maverick II, will be bitterly disappointed to have lost the race in the final stages. It is believed a dig taken from the eastern shore and away from Alex to the western shore near the entrance to Osaka yesterday afternoon lost them the race.

Gusto, Brian Pattinson (Vic) remains third on line, 121nm from the finish, positioned off Tanabe at the eastern entrance to Osaka.

Further updates, including other finishers and interviews will be brought to you when news comes to hand.

Pic is of Alex coming up to finish line.

Weather from Roger Badham:
070426 0510Z
Winds are average winds at 10m – no gust.

GALES
SUN 29-TUE 01
A region of gale force SE-S winds are likely with a front crossing from west to east.

AREAS AND WIND
SUN 29 28N to 32N and west of 133E SE/30-35
MON 30 29N to 33N and 133E to 139E SE-SW/30-40
TUE 01 north of 31N and east of 137E SW/30-40

Weather: Saipan, Northern Mariana’s – Wind: ENE at 15 knots, gusting to 22 knots

Weather: Guam: Wind: ENE at 15 knots, gusting to 21 knots
Conditions: Partly cloudy, light rain.

About The Race:
Staged every four years, the Organising Authority for the Melbourne-Osaka Yacht Race is made up of City of Melbourne, City of Osaka Promotional Council, Osaka Hokko Yacht Club, Sandringham Yacht Club and in association with Yachting Australia.

The event was first held in 1987 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the opening of the Port of Osaka and celebrates the sister city relationship between Melbourne and Osaka.

Race Record:
Grant Wharington and Scott Gilbert on the 50ft Wild Thing in 1995, in the time of 26 days 20 hours 47 minutes 6 seconds, with an average boat speed of 8.5 knots.

See Argos tracker positions at UTC 22.00.00 (8am AEST & 7am JPN Friday April 27) on this site.

Di Pearson