With the main race start for the Melbourne Osaka Cup 2018 only a short time away, for our competitors it is time to focus on the fitness and psychological preparedness for the challenges ahead.
Martin Vaughan’s recollections of the Osaka 2013 race in his ORCV article “Preparations for the Race” give a focused insight to the challenges ahead: ‘The final preparation is the mental challenge. It will probably be the toughest thing you will ever do. Boredom is a factor and so I took an MP3 player loaded with talking books for those late nights. Lack of sleep and fatigue, that’s going to be tough too. It affects people differently. On Cadibarra 8 we did 3hrs on 3hrs off and 2 on 2 off in the rough stuff. Remember that’s for 32 days – more for a smaller boat. We had a policy not to wake the other up unless it was absolutely necessary. Heat, the sun, getting wet and cold at times, personal hygiene (you get pretty stinky) – it’s a battle.
Fortunately neither of us got sick but I did get a pretty bad rope burn which wouldn’t heal and Paul had a nasty fall leaving him with severe bruising. You will have tough times. We had 3 days with 30kts on the nose by the end of which we were exhausted and it took a couple of days to recover. We also had very heavy running which takes huge amounts of concentration. Then we had the doldrums and boy it gets hot. Combine that with 00 on the gauge and the flop flop of sails, it’s enough to frustrate the best of us.
Finally, don’t sweat the little things. We had an agreement that you couldn’t carry a grudge through to the next watch. A couple of times I got grumpy about nothing in particular (just tired to be honest) and we found a cold beer and an apology during the next watch change went a long way .
Having absorbed what Martin has outlined, it’s time to revisit Webinar #5 Looking After Yourself to see if you’re up to speed. In this presentation, psychologist Darren Eger suggested some ‘homework’ around practising having difficult conversations, compiling a list of strength and vulnerabilities, learning to control focus and agreeing your race objectives.
With that clock ticking its also time to check in on your physical health, as travel vaccinations can require a lead time of six weeks to take effect. If you need regular medication for chronic disease, please obtain an Action Plan and emergency medication to manage this and ensure your co-skipper is aware of the medicine’s location and how to administer it. Crew Confidential Medical Questionnaires are now on the website so please complete and forward to Race Medical Officer Dr Rosie Colahan to review and discuss any issues which may arise.
A Dental check is also timely.
The race requirements for Medical Kits along with the requisite legal documents for recording supply and administration of prescription drugs, are now on the Medical page under Race Documents on the website. With Melbourne’s current weather and requirements for most medication to be stored below 25°C to preserve potency, keep your medication at home until just before departure and consider how you will manage appropriate storage conditions once it’s onboard.
New information about access to Codeine containing preparations from 1 Feb 2018 is also posted.
There is a new requirement regarding the Medical Kit that a Combat Application Tourniquet to be carried in the event of a major limb injury with bleeding. This item will be available to purchase at the First Aid Offshore Seminar on 28 February 2018 at Sandringham Yacht Club, where its use will be demonstrated along with management of other first aid emergencies.
Outside of what we’ve outlined above and what you can find on the website’s medical page, if you have any questions? Just ask!
Medical – Dr Rosie Colahan medical@melbourneosakacup.com 0409 865 283
Psychology – Mr Darren Eger darren@darreneger.com 0423 100 031
– Compiled by Dr Rosie Colahan
Martin Vaughan and Paul Roberts competed in the 2013 Melbourne to Osaka Cup aboard Cadibarra 8, coming in 1st in the IRC division. Martin is currently the director of the 2018 Race Committee and Paul has lined up for the race again as co skipper aboard Lord Jiminy with Chris Barlow. Here’s an interview we did with them in early 2016.