SOLDIERS Point Marina is often full of sailboats, but unlike the “Roaring Forty”, there aren’t many that have made the voyage to Japan and back.
Kevin Le Poidevin and Darrell Greig sailed the Roaring Forty in the double-handed Melbourne Osaka Cup, a 5500 nautical mile yacht race starting in Melbourne and finishing in Osaka.
Participants journey across the Pacific Ocean, battling multiple weather systems and currents without any outside help or stopovers.
“The objective of the Osaka Cup is to promote a challenging long-distance, short-handed racing event traversing the Pacific Ocean and in so doing, to provide a proving ground for true seamanship,” a spokesperson for the event said.
“All competitors will agree, just making it to the starting line is a huge achievement in itself.”
The Roaring Forty is no exception.
A damaged boom forced the crew to retire their initial attempt earlier this year.
“The carbon boom had folded in half,” Kevin said.
“No amount of Air Force Framie tape was fixing this breakage.
“Our Melbourne to Osaka race ended right there.”
The pair didn’t give up on the Osaka dream, however.
Although an east coast low delayed their travels again, they eventually set sail once more.
“I have a sign down below in the cabin that says ‘Quitting lasts forever’, so we don’t quit,” Kevin said.
“We regrouped, organised a repair and stayed focused on battling to the finish.”
The pair crossed the finish line on 4 May and Kevin then made the trip back to Port Stephens solo, arriving in Soldiers Point Marina last week.
Their journey raised money for charities Brain Tumour Alliance, Solider On and Pankind.
By Cosette DE LORENZO
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