Escapade in Io-Jima

Made it to Io Jima at day break 25 May. Rounded Kita Io (North Io) at mid-night and got a spectacular view thanks to the moon. The island rises several hundred metres but the sides are incredibly steep. I estimate that most of the sides rose from the water at 50-60 degrees. We spotted one shallower slope and estimate it at a miserly 40 degrees! Miserable weather then developed in the last 4 hours before dawn. Good news - the promise by the pilot book of moorings in behind point Kama (active volcanically) at Io SHima was a good one and we found 4 very substantial, well maintained moorings. Then the fun started - they are small ship moorings about 3m in diameter so no convenient rope hanging off to pick up and hook on but a shackle the size of a tractor wheel in the middle. Option 1 - pull up 5m upwind, drop Brian in the water with a line let him drift down climb aboard and attach the line. Brian voted against this one. Option 2 - nose up to it (they also have a very nice rubber bumper strip around the edge - nice these Japanese people) and hold station while Brian works out how to lasoo the shackle. All going well, so well in fact that Brian decides to climb on to the bouy to attach the line - Option 2 turns rapidly into option 1, if only he'd tied off to the bouy before he went for a swim. Good news - iPhone was in a brand new zip lock bag! NOT classified as Escapade's first MOB as he fell off the bouy, not the boat. SSSC students will note that the air trapped in his gear (in full oilies) allowed him to stay afloat long enough to swim to the boarding ladder and climb up without deploying his PFD.
Spent the day complaining about the rain and trying to enjoy the view of the island. Did do omelettes and pancakes for breaky and three course japanese lunch both courtesy of Vladimir avec la jocks (and not much else). 2230 now and the wind has finally started to abate, the rain stopped at about 2000. Should be off in a few hours now.

Morning of the 26th and at least it is not raining - touch wood. Pictures of the island,  you can see steam venting in the middle of the frame. Note the wrecks littering the beach.

Escapade on the slow road to Oz.

Escapade continue to send updates on their cruise home from Osaka.

Southern tip of Honshu, Friday morning 19th May, heading into what turned out to be 3.5 days of non-stop 1.5m chop from 3 or more different directions, occasional large waves.

Chichi-jima main street looking East- very busy work day - note the traffic

Harbour entrance is on the right of the big rock.

Main street looking West - the weekly ferry in the midground, traffic police (one each end) to handle the chaos caused by the cable works - yes, it looks like Chichi-jima is getting NBN too.

Dinner at Boudin restaurant (Mark and Ryan from Spirit of Downunder met some girls who worked there

Yes, the photo of Vladmir includes
Escapade: Vladimir, Ms Vladimir, Brian

Spirit of Downunder
Mike, Tim, Georgie, Mark from McKay (empty plate at bottom, no turtle for mark), Ryan (hands grabbing his piece of green turtle)

Spirit headed off this morning just after 9:00, headed for Saipan, expecting
to be there in about 5 days.

Escapade is heading out this afternoon, about 17:00, destination Saipan via
a number of stops on the way, 1st may be HaHa-shima, but weather conditions/night
time arrival may preclude and may end up further south instead.

Did washing today, sitting out on the boat, and now bucketing down and me in town. Oh well.
130524 Escapade pos 24may 1500 26 10n 141 43e cse 215 spd 6kt Next stop io jima shabu shabu for lunch Haha jima last night, beggs(bacon and eggs!) for bfast.Vladimir.

2013 Sayonara from Escapade to Melbourne House.

As the last of the Osaka entrants make their way home or onto other destinations, Max sent us this update from Hokko Yacht Club.

'Escapade left Hokko yesterday. Optimus Prime, Turbulence and Kiss Goodbye to MS are still
here and enjoy their life in "Melbourne House"
Olivia, daughter of Robert, left her drawing of Escapade and Melbourne
House with her message "Sayonara=Good bye".
This is really heartwarming and we are all happy to have it. We are
going to put it in the frame and put them on the wall of Melbourne house."
Max Yamashita

Escapade sails again... avec Vladimir

Escapade has set sail on her return voyage. First stop, some place called Chichi Shima which is a bit ironic since I'm not sure I've actually found it on the chart yet. Never mind, in the immortal words of Captain Ron "Its out there somewhere". I'll turn my attention to the charts shortly.
Time 1630 EST May 19. Position 28 56N 138 10E Speed 5.5 Cse 120ish.
ETA Chichi thingo First light/pub opening on Tuesday 21st.
Up until about Four hours ago the wind had been 14 - 20kts close hauled and even then we were 10 degrees off course. Would not have been too bad except for the very unsociable 1.5 metre seas - all three of them. Net result is the waves aren't that big but 20% of them have no backs so its "thump" as you go over and pitch and roll the rest of the time with the odd yaw for good measure. However we are now into proper cruising mode - Main only, engine running at 2500, crew asleep and a decent lunch - which is why I really sat down to drop you an update.
Vladimir has made a welcome reappearance in the galley (pictures available) After three weeks of intense training at the hands of Mr Nakumura and Mr Kondo, Commodore and Vice-Commodore of the Osaka Hokko Yacht Club, in Melbourne House, he has produced Tuna sushi on day 1 (Friday) and the piece de resistance today - Chabu Chabu, complete with the odd drop of sweat and a few body hairs, making use of the first pairs of the pack of 500 chopsticks and the provisioning which was conducted with no less than 3 club members helping push the trolleys around the supermarket. The shopping trip followed a general trend of " my recommendation" followed by me saying arrigato and tossing it in the trolley. Unfortunately the tomato beer was not one of their recommendations and following Felicity's first tasting, its not hers either. Pickled baby squid for happy hour tonight ( just remembered they're in the fridge somewhere, and we better eat them sooner rather than later along with the octopus). After that it's little yum cha pillows and those funny baby sausages along with umpteen packs of noodles.

... and wait til you see the size of the bottles the local whisky comes in.

Cheers Vlad.

2013 Melbourne to Osaka Double Handed Race

Adventure Safety Trophy Winner.

Our thanks to Jeff Dusting from Adventure Safety who provided a trophy for Line Honours and two Kru Lifejackets for the Melbourne Osaka Double Handed race.
Wasabi were winners of the award and it was graciously accepted on behalf of Bruce and John by Owen, seen here with George Shaw.

Along with their Line Honours win,Wasabi were placed 2nd on AMS and 3rd on PHS.

2013 Melbourne to Osaka Double Handed Race -A very special occasion

The Melbourne to Osaka 2013 Award Ceremony held earlier this week at Temmangu Shrine was unforgettable. The three part celebration began in the inner sanctum of the Shrine with a hauntingly beautiful Shinto blessing for the safe arrival of the fleet. The lucky group of 100 invited guests then moved to the nearby tatami room for the Award giving ceremony, then on up to a more contemporary function room where the first party was held.
No more needs to be said. The attached photos, taken by volunteer Ag who is a member of the Osaka Hokko Yacht Club, speak for themselves. Robyn Brooke –Osaka Ground Crew.

Victory Speech from Robert Bradley, Escapade. Overall Winner of the 2013 Osaka Cup.

Unaccustomed as I am to speaking in front of a crowd I will be a bit shy but I'll do my best.
There have been many thank you’s said over the last few days to the organizing committee, volunteers and supporters so I will only add my appreciation and say well done to all. I thank my wife, Felicity, and my family for not just allowing me to do the race but supporting me in doing so. To my fellow competitors thank you also for entering. Without entrants there is no race and while we get the greatest reward we also have a great effort as we see from the 40+ initial expressions of interest to the 13 entrants and the 11 actual starters. Just to make it to the start line requires months of planning and preparation, a deep pocket and a supportive family. Thank you also for entering into the spirit of the pursuit format and the game of fox and hounds that ensued, although at times we felt more like the lure being chased by a bunch of greyhounds. If only we had the same controls they use to keep the lure just in front! I am humbled by the accolades we have received and the achievement is still sinking in as I realise that we join an elite group of seven winners of this great race. And a great race it is, being a shorthanded race it is more challenging than a Volvo or a Clipper and second only to a solo round the world race. To cross 5000 miles of open ocean in what at times felt like a plastic toy boat is no small feat, even those who had to motor to get here should be proud as most of us only carry enough fuel to motor 10 - 15% of the total distance.

However, what I really want to talk about briefly lies in the future. As the overall winner I feel I have a responsibility to do my best to ensure the next race is even more successful than this one has been. I call upon my fellow competitors to do the same, either as entrants or supporters. Those of us from Melbourne will have plenty of opportunity as we become "the old guard" and allow George, Robyn, Rosie, David and company to put their feet up and bask in the glow. Julie, of course, will be back again.
We can begin by going back to our clubs and talking about our experiences, the challenges, the great moments, what we would do differently next time. Hopefully, this will lay the seeds for the up and coming sailors to aspire to add their names to the list of the elite competitors who have made it from Melbourne to Osaka, as I was inspired by Bill Feore and Kim Girdler when they returned to HBYC from the 2003 race. We automatically become ambassadors at large to promote the event. From Newcastle to Perth and Osaka to Scotland, Joey, Yasa, Masu, Trevor, Dan, Ivan, Will, Bruce and John, let’s make this a race for all. As the next race approaches we can promote the information sessions and give thought to lending our experiences both individually and at such sessions. Thank you again and fair winds to all.

Escapade Overall Winner of the 2013 Osaka Cup

Spirit of Downunder 1st on PHS, 2nd IRC

Cadibarra 8 2nd Line Honours, 3rd AMS, 1st IRC,

Gusto 3rd Line Honours

Optimus Prime 3rd IRC

Dan from Optimus Prime- Navigator's Award

Ivan and Will from Funnelweb

Eric Marsh from Turbulence

Tony Warren and Andrew Hibbert - Kiss Goodbye to MS

Yasu and Masa from Southern Cross

2013 Melbourne to Osaka Double Handed- The Missing Link

Robert and Joey from Escapade have sent us many wonderful snippets from their journey to Osaka.
Now the festivities and celebrations are over Robert has had time to forward the next/final instalment (will Robert surprise us again) from ‘Off to the races”.

Off to the races
..."and as they come around the Marianas Islands and into the home Strait, its Escapade by 150,000 lengths to Optimus Prime and then a few thousand lengths back to the pack. They straiten for the run home and Escapade looks to be fading. What a gallant effort from the tiny boat by Farr out of Binks, she's led them all the way as the pace maker (plenty of pace makers on board as it happens) but looks to be tiring a bit now as the pack start to reel her in. The crew are riding her hand and heels (there seems to be a glass of wine in the other hand) and they've given her one last call (hope they're not calling her on the satphone) ... yes, she's responding, look at her go! The pack seem to have lost their spirit (Escapade's down to their last 2 rations of rum as well) and Escapade is showing them a clean pair of heels (finally had enough water for a wash - last week). Past the 700 mile post and it’s still Escapade. Can she hang on to the finish? Wasabi now has broken free from the pack (as opposed to some of the competitors who are just plain broken) and has joined Optimus Prime in the chase. It's neck and neck (or stem and stem since boats don't have necks) between Optimus Prime and Wasabi as they start to close the gap and both boats are at full stretch. What's Escapade up to now (might as well ask the boat since the crew are clearly out of their minds) - looks like she's decide to go wide looking for the better running and it seems to be working and the hounds are still struggling to make a dent in 150,000 length lead as they Pass the 400 mile post. The dogs/hounds/expensive lumps of plastic or whatever they are, now look to be wound right up and the gap is starting to close, just 100,000 lengths now and it's still any boats race . They're at the 200 now and the margin is down to 30,000 as they go stride for stride. Optimus Prime kicks clear of Wasabi as they finally overhaul Escapade (and boy, does she need overhauling) as they cross the finish line it's Optimus Prime by 35 miles with Escapade a further 25 miles back (yep, got tired of trying to divide 1852 by 12/14/15 or whatever) clinging to third place. What an exciting race, but wait what's that? The stewards have called for a swab. Looks like Optimus Prime has been injecting performance enhancing hydro carbons into her cast iron sails."

Robert Bradley

Melbourne Osaka Double Handed Race- Finale!

Beyond Outrageous and Southern Cross arrived in Osaka at 09:54:00 and 15:03:40 on Friday- the last of the race fleet to finish their epic journeys.
Deputy Race Director, Rik Head said “This is appropriate time the say an enormous thankyou to the volunteer race management/incident coordination team for the work they have done prior to and during the race. A special thankyou to the duty Race Directors who, for their week on duty, were available 24hrs a day and have been up each morning at a very early hour ready for the 0600hrs sked and then each evening for the 1800hr sked.”

Principal Race Office, Simon Dryden posted, “The results for the Melbourne to Osaka Double Handed Yacht race have been published. Congratulations to all the competitors in the race, what a fantastic achievement. Who would have thought with over thirty day of racing and Escapade won the AMS division by 7 hours, Cadibarra won the IRC division by 9 hours and Spirit of Downunder won the performance division by 7 minutes.I would like to thank everyone who made this race possible as it was a fantastic success.”

Presentation was held at Temangu Shrine yesterday. We are eagerly awaiting some photos and information from the ground crew!

Melbourne Osaka Double Handed Race 3.5.13 0700

Turbulence finished 03:46:00

The race draws to a close with Kiss Goodbye To MS now in Osaka Bay and Southern Cross some 27nm behind. They are both expected to finish later today. Well done to Turbulence for finally finishing earlier this morning.
I am sure there will be big celebrations in Osaka all day today
RikH

A difficult race, a fabulous reception for Turbulence at the finish of the Melbourne to Osaka 2013. Congratulations Eric and Paul on an outstanding effort. They arrived, looking fabulously fit and still smiling at 03:46:00.

George Shaw waiting for Turbulence! Only two more to arrive...

Melbourne Osaka Double Handed Race 2.5.13 0600hrs

The wind is on the nose and the seas heavy, making it a slow tacking trip for the three remaining yachts. Turbulence reports a 4M NE swell, 21kt of wind and a boat speed of 7.5kt. The weather forecast suggest winds will remain from the NW for at least the next day or so. Southern Cross and Kiss Goodbye To MS are still in excess of 100nm off shore and about 175nm from the finish. 

Meanwhile on shore the partying continues.
RikH

Melbourne Osaka Double Handed Race 1.5.2013 0600

Backward Turbulence at a rate of Knots!

The latest position update from Turbulence suggests some looping during the night due to currents but they are now making 5kt SOG in the right direction.

Meanwhile in near gale-force winds Southern Cross continues to steadily make their way NW. Kiss Goodbye To MS was heading NW but in the last few hours has made a left hand turn, due to the changed direction of the wind.

Here is the overnight email update from Paul and Eric on Turbulence:

"G’day all, its 0045 01/05/13 and we are currently going backwards at a rate of a knot and a half so I’ve retreated downstairs as there is nothing I can do on deck to make the boat go quicker, we still have a current of 6knots against us and I’m very appreciative of the AIS to allow me to come below make a coffee (no sugar arghh) and write this email! It is raining on deck and has been since yesterday afternoon! Were waiting for a gale warning to come through today and hoping it comes sooner rather then later as the boat is reefed and ready to rock n roll and just hope its aft and we can push through this tide! Very disheartening to watch the instruments Monday night/Tuesday with the boat speed showing 10 plus knots and SOG 4 knots and thinking we could be finished if not for the current! We still have over 50 litres of water on board and cryovac meals so starving or dehydration aint an issue! Eric is plugging away hopeful of some sort of miracle to see us finish sooner rather then later and he like I is worried that time is against us as I have to be on that plane Saturday night for work commitments the following night without option and too not finish would be a disaster! Hard to believe that as of 1430hours today we will have been at sea 42 days , we wouldn’t of ever thought we could be this unlucky and after going from chocolates to boiled lollies in the last Westcoast race we thought our bad luck was behind us! Not to worry we will plug away! "
All the best Paul/Eric

Rik Head

Melbourne to Osaka Double Handed Race 30.4.13 0600hrs

Funnelweb arrived at Hokko Yacht Harbour at 0400 AEST

Turbulence had 155nm to go at 0600 this morning and Paul sent us this latest report.

Gday All, a little update just too let you all know that we were averaging 9-10knots boatspeed all of last night but couldnt get over 5 knots SOG it is currently 6 knots of current against us at times but minimal of 5 knots to say it's depressing is again an understatement I went and changed headsail from 2 -3 last night and thought I would let Eric rest down below 20 mins later I was as soaked as could be and even grumpier then any could imagine! We have about 160 miles to finish and judging by last night they not going to be easy! Hope Thursday we arrive! Cheers Paul

Turbulence's plot over the last 24hrs.       David Taylor.

Kiss Goodbye to MS and Southern Cross are on their way to the party! 

Melbourne to Osaka Double Handed Race 2013. 29/04/13. 0600

Gusto finally crossed the finish line just after 3.00 am, after a slow trip up Osaka Bay, and was welcomed by a large group despite the hour. It was a frustrating final 200 miles for Brian and Greg who’d expected to arrive 24 hours before until the wind direction put that out of reach.

Funnelweb is 100 miles from Osaka with a moderate westerly and a flat sea, while Turbulence is another 120 miles back - “Sea flat as a tack expecting another slow day ahead”. The wind is forecast to go south west at 20 knots during the day, so hopefully that will get them moving again.

Kiss Goodbye to MS has moved to about 50 miles ahead of Southern Cross, who has just over 600 miles to Osaka. All crews have reported they’re in good health.

If the breeze comes in as forecast Funnelweb should finish by tonight; their tracker position will not be updated until we get another satphone message from them.

Melbourne to Osaka Double Handed Race 2013. 28/4/13. 1800

Gusto’s making slow progress towards Yuraseto, the narrow entrance to Osaka Bay, still with over 40 miles to go to the finish. It’s been a frustrating couple of days for Brian and Greg, with the finishing line getting close, but not as soon as they hoped. Now they have to contend with the heavy shipping traffic as it gets dark.

Funnelweb and Turbulence are both in light north to north easterlies. Turbulence says they’ve had a sunny afternoon with a light breeze and flat water, currently making less than 5 knots of boat speed. The wind for both boats is likely to stay light overnight, then turn south west and gradually freshen tomorrow. Both crews report that they’re in good health.

Kiss Goodbye to MS and Southern Cross are still in a loose formation, now with less than 700 miles to go and also both reporting fit and healthy.

Gusto’s position on the plotter will update every hour until they finish.

Melbourne to Osaka Double Handed Race 2013. 28/4/13 0600

Gusto still has about 80 miles to go and the wind direction is not playing the game. At 6.00 am they were still trying to lay the entrance to Osaka Bay in a north westerly wind. The forecast is for a south westerly during the day, so they may get to free off in the next few hours.

Funnelweb reports both crew in good health, a flat sea and a 17 knot northerly – a huge contrast to the same time yesterday morning!

Turbulence also in fine conditions, wind WNW at 11 and a 1 metre swell.

Kiss Goodbye to MS and Southern Cross are both now less than 800 miles from Osaka and still relatively close together.

Gusto can look forward to a big welcome when they arrive later today. This is Brian’s third Osaka Race and they’ve all thrown up different challenges.