Melbourne/Osaka race on in 2013

The Melbourne/Osaka Double-Handed Yacht Race (M2O) is very much in safe hands, with planning underway for the next official event in April, 2013. The event will be co-hosted by Melbourne’s Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC) and Osaka Hokko Yacht Club in Japan. The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV) will be conducting all the on-water activities and formalities. The April 2013 starting date is auspicious in itself, as it marks the 35^th anniversary of the City of Melbourne and the City of Osaka formalising their Sister City status.

There have been seven of these 5500nm classics held every four years, since the first in 1987, originally conceived by the cities of Melbourne and Osaka as a celebration of the relationship between the two cities. Accordingly, when the Commodore of the Osaka Hokko Yacht Club, Muneyoshi Nakakita, visited Melbourne in April, 2010 to discuss the next M2O event, he was looking forward to gaining commitment from the Australian end. Sandringham Yacht Club and the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria readily provided assurance of their support and commenced seeking the necessary approvals from Yachting Australia, so as to streamline the mountains of paperwork an event like this requires.

‘We are delighted with the progress of discussions to ensure the conduct of this sensational race again. April 2013 is not that far away, when you consider all that is required for crews to compete and all that we need to do to have Melbourne ready to host the start’, said SYC Commodore, Philip Burn.

‘Expressions of interest are already being accepted. The ORCV is thrilled to be conducting the on-water sections of this marvelous event, which has such a great nautical history as Australia’s only Category Zero race. The start time was purposely chosen to maximise the importance of the relationship between Melbourne and Osaka, during this special anniversary’, ORCV Commodore, George Shaw went on to add.

Information, including the Notice of Race, will be available from syc.com.au and orcv.org.au, at a later date.

- John Curnow, ORCV Media