Rosie Colahan has been an ORCV medical officer from 2006 and an integral part of their Incident Management Team (IMT) since its inception in 2008. This has been driven by the need for offshore and international races to have a well-trained shore-based team to assist and back up the Race Directors. Now, Rosie is stepping into the lead role for the IMT and will be an important member of the Race and Incident Management team for the 2025 Melbourne Osaka Cup.
Rosie is aware of the challenges faced by co-skippers in the race to Osaka, having experienced them as a competitor and volunteer. In 2007, she competed in the Osaka Cup with her husband, David James, aboard their yacht Ingenue and in 2013 and 2018, she was the ORCV Medical Officer for the Melbourne Osaka races.
A passionate sailor with over 75,000 nm offshore and an inspirational motivator, Rosie has been dedicated to educating and encouraging more women to take up sailing. She has played a key role in establishing the Ocean Girls group and Women Skippers and Navigators Race at the ORCV, the Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series, and, together with Lee Renfree, rolled out the highly successful Keelboat Introduction to Sailing Savvy (KISS) program.
“I am fortunate to have worked with current IMT lead, Rik Head since 2008″ says Rosie. ”Rik has amazing skills in the emergency rescue space and has built a legacy of great systems to date. His ongoing guidance and assistance as a specialist technical advisor as we transition and continue to build the team will be invaluable for all”. Rik’s support and leadership for the IMT in 2013 and 2018 Melbourne Osaka races was vital.
We thank Rosie for giving up her time to assist in this role and know that she will be an invaluable source for the M2O campaign!
This is a story taken from the recent News Letter which is now available where amongst other items it reminds all those who have expressed an interest that entries will close on the 30th September. There is also a reminder for the upcoming training sessions.