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2 March 2025

Sailonline.org is pleased and excited to have been invited to once again team up with the organising authority of the Melbourne Osaka Cup Double-Handed Yacht Race 2025 to offer online racers the opportunity to compete in a sophisticated simulation of the race in real-time 6-hourly NOAA weather updates.

The Melbourne to Osaka Yacht Race is a 5,500 nautical mile double-handed yacht race – the longest Southern to Northern Hemisphere race in the world. It encounters 4 different weather systems and seasons as it crosses the Pacific Ocean. The course takes the competitors into Bass Strait, up the east coast of Australia, into the southeast trade winds, and then through the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone – the Pacific Ocean Doldrums) on the equator. Finally, it heads into the northeast trade winds and on to the finish in the port of Osaka.

The race, first held in 1987 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the opening of the Port of Osaka, is held approximately every four years to celebrate the City of Melbourne and the City of Osaka sister city relationship.

The 2025 event coincides with major events in both Melbourne and Osaka. 2025 is the centenary of the visit of the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet to Melbourne in 1925. Equally, the eyes of the world will also be on Osaka as Melbourne’s sister city hosts World Expo 2025. The Expo 2025 site will be on Yumashima Island in Osaka Bay adjacent to the Osaka Hokko Yacht Club and the finish line will be nearby.

The Melbourne Osaka Double Handed Yacht Race Ltd is the Organising Authority for the event, with the co-operation of the:

Ocean Racing Club of Victoria – on-water race management

Sandringham Yacht Club – host Club in Melbourne

Osaka Hokko Yacht Club – host Club in Osaka.

The real-life competitors will be racing in a great variety of boats, and will start in a staggered sequence over the month of March. Online, all competitors will start on March 16 at 06:00 UTC (17:00 AEDT) ‘aboard’ a Beneteau First 40, a popular yacht sailed in waters all over the world. This virtual design has been chosen as it is expected to be a good competitive match to the yachts entered in the real race, which we hope to be able to follow on-screen via the event’s tracking software.

The Sailonline race opens for registration and practice on Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 06:00 UTC (17:00 AEDT) to enable everyone, especially newcomers, to learn the ropes in time for the start.

Tracker

Sailonline thanks Blue Water Tracks for their help.

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Current Races:

Melbourne Osaka Cup Double-Handed Yacht Race 2025

Welcome once again to what these days is Sailonline’s almost annual virtual Melbourne to Osaka Yacht Race. In real life, this double-handed 5500 nm race between these two sister cities, one deep in the southern hemisphere, the other high in the northern hemisphere, is run every four to five years, and this year is such a year. So, this year’s online version is in sync with the Melbourne Osaka Cup 2025 organised by the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV), and the Sandringham (SYC) and Osaka Hokko (OHYC) yacht clubs. We’ll be racing the well-known First 40, a popular size of boat which should be a good match for many of the boats entered in the real race. With the doldrums unavoidably lying across our course, you can expect to be at virtual sea for at least a month!
Race #1669
INFO by brainaid.de
First 40 Particulars
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC
Race starts: Mar 16th 06:00 Registration Open!

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Channel Islands 500 Yacht Race 2025


Prepare for an exhilarating offshore challenge in the Channel Islands 500 Yacht Race! Collaborating with the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Sailonline brings you a 500-nautical-mile test of skill, speed, and strategy. Starting in Santa Barbara, you’ll navigate between Santa Cruz Island and Santa Rosa Island, rounding three marks before finishing in San Diego. Our SOLers will be competing in their Melges 40s, a high-performance offshore racer designed by the Botin partnership. Who will conquer the Pacific and claim victory? Set your course and race for glory!
Race #1899
INFO by brainaid.de
Melges 40 PARTICULARS
NAM_AWIP WX Updates:
0245 / 0845 / 1445 / 2045
Ranking: SYC
Race starts: Mar 14th 22:30 Registration Open!
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Lake Ladoga Ice Race


For our second race of the 2025 Ice Yachting series, we shall risk disturbing another sect of monks, these of the Orthodox persuasion rather than Buddhist. Good ice is often found in remote places, and remoteness breeds contemplation, and Valaam Island at 61.3N in the north east corner of Lake Ladogo is as remote as it gets. Surrounded by pristine ice in winter, we find there one of the great monasteries of Russian Orthodoxy. So, get your visa’s, fly to St Petersburg, take the N-121 north to Vladimirovka, and get your DN-skates on for another no-PL monk-minding race, this time of 110nm in length, out around Valaam, then Derevnya, to finish near Berezova.
Race #1851
INFOby brainaid.de
DN PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: DN - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Friday,
March 14 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Mar 10th 09:00 Registration Open!
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Walyalup Sprint 2025


Once upon a time, aboriginal legend has it, the country of the Whadjuk people extended west from the present day Fremantle shoreline out to Rottnest island, but Walyalup as they called it was lost to the sea, and this sprint takes you across those inundated lands, round reefs and across shoals, 25nm in a Dufour 34. For the Walyalup, March fell in Bunuru, the hottest season of the year, which meant living near the water. Expect hot easterly winds, and cooling afternoon sea breezes with little to no rain. Perfect weather for a sail.
Race #1897
INFO by brainaid.de
Dufour 34 Particulars
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
SPRQ1 - SPRCH - SUPSOL - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Wednesday,
March 12 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Mar 08th 03:00 Registration Closed
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Tristan da Cunha to Coronation Island 2025

The adventure continues as we embark on the second leg of the RWW series, racing from Tristan da Cunha to the remote and uninhabited Coronation Island, NO, Elephant Island. Nestled between the Scotia Sea and the Weddell Sea, both island were named by 19th C British whalers. Prepare for a thrilling journey through the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties, where relentless winds and challenging seas will test the mettle of every crew. This leg will be sailed aboard the historically iconic Steinlager II and is part of the prestigious OCCH 2025 series. The RWW series ranking will be determined by each team's best 7 out of 8 race results, so every moment counts! Are you ready to face the ultimate test of skill and endurance?
PRIZE: SMPF
Race #1890
INFO by brainaid.de
Steinlager II PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: OCQ1 - RWW - OCCH - SUPSOL - SYC
Race starts: Mar 03rd 11:00 Registration Closed
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Sinbad by Balloon 2025 - Dondra to Toamasina


Above you see a stratospheric balloon, that if only we had gribs at that altitude would get blasted along quite rapidly and predictably. Alas we just have our SOL balloon that sails rather lower to the sea and that we have crossed the Atlantic in, west to east, last year for the first time in the southern hemisphere. So much fun was had by all, that this year we will attempt the Indian Ocean, but in four legs. Another great piece of fiction, the voyages of Sinbad By Balloon not magic carpet, although you may need a bit of magic to make any progress at times. Pack your wicker basket full for your first leg of at least 2300nm from Sri Lanka to Madagascar; it’s not a picnic hamper, you could be in the air for longer than you hoped!
Race #1883
INFOby brainaid.de
SOL Balloon PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC - SBB
RACE CLOSE: Tuesday,
March 18 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Feb 05th 11:00 Registration Closed
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