We have a tendency to pull for the little guy. When people put together efforts that go beyond what most of us are likely to do, we like to give them some play. The two fellows below fit these categories and (I think) their story is and will be an interesting one. They are going to provide us e-mail updates as the race progresses, and that should be fun to follow. Here is their introductory piece that they put together. Enjoy.

On March 15 2003, the Melbourne-Osaka two-handed yacht race will start.  The race of approximately 5,500 miles is the only race to traverse the pacific from south to north, starting in Melbourne-Australia and finishing in Osaka-Japan.  www.osakacup.com

Competing in the race will be the Modified Ingles 37 Beyond Outrageous, a known Downhill flyer.  The boat which has had a new keel and rudder added, along with a extra 2 ft to the hull for the race should prove to be a formidable contender against it’s bigger rivals, especially in the predominant reaching/running conditions expected for the race.

Beyond Outrageous in Devenport, Australia

Along with the hull and appendage modifications, the boat will carry full inventory of Global Sails including a large roach Carbon Main and Asymmetric spinnakers.  The boat has showed a lot of promise in trials and with more new sails and preparation should prove to be a giant killer.

Sailing the boat will be the owner Tony Warren and young professional sailor Anthony Elliott.  Both live in Melbourne, Australia and have one goal - to win.

While this is Anthony’s first time doing the race, or two handed sailing in fact, Tony has competed twice before; finishing third in his class in the last race in a IOR one tonner, against much faster boats.  Tony has a lot of experience shorthanded sailing, which hopefully will rub off on Anthony and make this a successful team.  Both are experienced offshore sailors with a reputation for pushing a yacht to its limits in all conditions.

In the next few weeks final preparations will be made to the boat, before Tony and Anthony leave to train in Bass Strait, arguably; one of the worst stretches of water in the world.  On return the guys will try and get plenty of sleep and party action before the start of at least 30 days on the water.

Luckily for the guys, they have a core of willing supporters and constant flow of help from a large group of people from all walks of life, including people within the marine industry who are donating large amounts of time to help prepare the boat for the race.  This helps take the pressure of while getting everything done for minimum$$$$$$$$$!

For the race Beyond Outrageous is carrying sponsorship from Global Sails, Gill, Morning After Yachting, and Kathmandu.  Unfortunatly there is no major sponsor as yet, but the search for the elusive sponsor $$$$$$ continues…  Any one out there interested in full sail and hull signage in return for a few $$$ or product can contact Anthony by Email at morningafter02@hotmail.com or Mariana mariana777@aol.com   Just a quick plug!

During the race the Tony and Anthony from Beyond Outrageous will be sending reports on their progress along with pictures and hopefully audio/visual content of some form to various sources including this web site.

So stay tuned for more information and reports in the near future.

Sarah Mason

Morning After Yachting