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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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Races

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Current Races:

Roma Giraglia Regata 2026

Our eighth race of nine to celebrate all things Mediterranean - fickle winds, history and olive oil – is another buddy-up; this one with the Circolo Nautico Riva di Traiano . Founded in 1984, as the new Traiano yacht Harbour neared completion, the Circola since then has developed into one of the major yachting competition centres in Italy, and next to the 450nm Roma per Tutti (which SOL buddied earlier in the year), the Roma Giraglia Regata is its other headline offshore event. First raced in 2005, the 210nm course takes competitors from Traiano to a rock on the inside of the Ile de la Giraglia off the northern tip of Corsica and back to the Italian mainland for a finish in the bay of Santo Stefano. We’re racing this one in our Class 40!
Race #2058
INFO by brainaid.de
Class 40 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: MED - SUPBUD - SYC
Race starts: Oct 08th 16:00 Registration Open!

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Arctic Tern - Greenland to Antarctica 2025

Welcome to the fifth leg of our MIG series. Now it's time to race the Arctic Terns, on their migration from Greenland to Antarctica, 8300 NM. This is also part of our monthly Ocean Championship, and as such the first race of OCQ4 2026. This race will be sailed in our Maxi Trimaran. Race #2061
INFO by brainaid.de
Maxi Trimaran PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230 Ranking:
OCQ4 - OCCH - SYC - MIG
Race starts: Oct 05th 11:00 Registration Open!
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Bornholm PYOC


Welcome to the Baltic Sea, where we are about to hold another sprint race. The course runs from the north to the south of the beautiful Bornholm island. There are only two waypoints, the start and the finish so the choice of which side of the island to sail along is up to you. Our Albin 79s will cover a distance of approximately 23 nautical miles.
Race #2064
INFO by brainaid.de
Albin 79 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0245 / 0845 / 1445 / 2045
Ranking: SPQ4 - SPCH - SYC
Race starts: Oct 03rd 06:00 Registration Open!
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Cross the Convergence 2026 - Masirah to Chagos


Having crossed, re-crossed and re-re-crossed the Convergence Zones of the Pacific and the Atlantic, we now face our second crossing of the Convergence Zone of the World’s third great equator-spanning sea, the Indian Ocean, taking us from the channel between Masirah Island and the Oman mainland to the Chagos Archipelago. It’s 1900nm and we’ll be sailing our very fine Archer 78, and won’t mention that both locations (of departure and arrival) are heavily militarized and the why’s and what next’s concerning that – mindful as always of SOL Netiquette.
Race #1988
INFOby brainaid.de
Archer 78PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: CCZ - SYC
Race starts: Oct 02nd 18:00 Registration Open!
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Carib Rum Run 2026


Ahoy, ye landlubbers and seasoned salts! Welcome back to Sailonline’s legendary Carib Rum Run, perfectly timed to kick off on International Talk Like a Pirate Day, 19 September!

This year, we command the magnificent Falkun—the ultimate high-tech superyacht modeled after the iconic Maltese Falcon. This 1759nm slalom takes us through the Caribbean’s rum islands to plunder barrels from local distilleries and deliver them to the rum-parched sands of Cancun.

Join SYC before the finish to disguise yer boat with a pirate name for this race only. Hoist the sails, sharpen yer cutlasses, and plot your winning course!
Race #2060
INFO by brainaid.de
Falkun PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC
Race starts: Sep 19th 05:00 Registration Closed
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  1. Sailonline Yacht Club Member KaSToR
  2. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CriticalHippo
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  5. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Panpyc
  6. Sailonline Yacht Club Member cdhinman
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  10. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Sax747

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