It would be hard to find a more capable co-skipper for the world’s longest south to north race, The Melbourne to Osaka, than Tasmanian sailing legend, Ken Gourlay. Recently recognised in the King’s Birthday honours list with an Order of Australia for his services to sailing, Ken has teamed up with his son Tristan for the big event.
In 2007 Ken completed a solo circumnavigation of the world just to add to his long list of notable sailing achievements. Tristan meanwhile has been busy racking up his own impressive list of sailing feats, both racing and cruising. Recently the pair teamed up for shakedown voyage, completing a lap of Tasmania just to see what needed to be to the boat which will make the journey to Osaka.
Their Melbourne to Osaka entrant is Blue Moon 2, an Adams 16.4 built in Victoria. Blue Moon 2 spent most of its life in NSW where she once took line honours in the Sydney to Coffs Harbour race before moving to Brisbane and racing competitively in, social twilight and club racing. Ken bought the boat in December 2023 and by the end of January Ken and Tristan had covered 2000nm double handed, including the circumnavigation of Tasmania.
Since then the boat has spent considerable time on the hard undergoing a significant refit, including a complete re-rig of the mast. Tristan said, “Blue Moon 2 has undergone a major refit in the 2024 winter to get her up to racing compliance and optimisation for double handed sailing.
“New AIS, radar and GPS unit along with some minor furniture modifications inside the wheel house will make the trip safer and more comfortable for Ken in the new captain’s chair.
“The rig has been stripped and fully rebuilt with all new wire fittings and chain plates, new Almast Reefit furlers to both forestay and staysail. A new motor has been installed along with new forward and aft bulkheads as per race regulations, second auto pilot along with an overhaul of the steering pedestal and linkages, “ he said.
With new decals and sugar scoops the boys will be traveling in comfort and style on their trip to Japan. Ken and Tristan are looking at some training runs across Bass Strait along with the inaugural Three Hummock Island race which will be their first offshore race with Blue Moon 2. This will qualify them for the Sydney to Hobart and in turn will qualify them for the 2025 Melbourne to Osaka Race, with a little cruising between start and finish lines Ken and Tristan should have their systems and feel for the boat worked out to tackle any conditions thrown their way.
Revamping the sail inventory to fit easy to handle sails for the generally lighter conditions expected in the M2O race has also been on the list. The next big test for boat and crew will be the Three Hummocks Island race from northern Tasmania to the island on the east coast of King Island in Bass Strait. As any seasoned Australian sailor well knows, the rigors of Bass Strait are a good proxy for almost anything the world’s oceans are likely to throw at a boat and short-handed crew.
And the Gourlay team have Bass Strait credentials in spades, having competed regularly in many races in those waters. Together the father/son team has competed in almost all of the local Tasmania offshore races including the Three Peaks, Launceston to Hobart, Melbourne to Hobart, Sydney to Hobart, including a line honours racing double-handed together in the 2004 Melbourne to Launceston.
In 2005 Ken and Tristan raced against each other in the two-handed Melbourne to Vanuatu event and Tristan shades his respected elder by having competed in the 2018 Melbourne to Osaka race. It was that event which tempted Ken to come out of his self-imposed racing retirement but the desire for a bit more comfort and size saw the departure of their previous open 40 design yacht for the more spacious Blue Moon 2.
In the recent King’s Birthday awards Ken Gourlay was honoured alongside the late Sir James Hardy, a world famous ocean and America’s cup racing identity. Ken’s sailing ambitions led to an early ambition to sail around the world.
Beginning his voyage in November 2006 Ken Gourlay became the first Tasmanian and the fastest Australian to sail alone, non-stop and unassisted, around the world. Completing his voyage at Launceston in the record time of less than 180 days, he beat the previous best time and officially became only the sixth Australian at the time to complete the circumnavigation making him the fastest, and oldest, Australian to circle the world. The voyage also raised more than $100,000 for medical research into eyesight disorders and diseases in children.
“The trip was always something that I just wanted to do. It was a personal thing’, Ken said at the time. Ken Gourlays’ sailing career began early when he started sailing on his dad’s Derwent class yacht, which he had built and launched in 1939. At eight, his Dad bought him a Sabot, which he sailed until he graduated to a Tamar class dinghy which ultimately led to his first yacht, an Adams 13 in which he started his offshore racing career.
A series of ocean races over the years prompted Ken to build Spirit Silver Edition , his fourth keel boat. Built with the circumnavigation in mind that yacht was also a quick racer.
In 2004 he and Tristan entered and won the Melbourne to Launceston race, sailing two-handed, in which 23 boats entered, only 17 elected to start and only three finished. But other family oriented cruises kept the sailing spirit alive. In 1998 Ken’s wife Wendy and daughter sailed the Pacific and with Wendy in 2000 the pair delivered a yacht from Darwin to urban in South Africa with her owner.
Story – Ian Howarth