We arrived in Osaka, well; actually it is a suburb of Osaka called Tannowa, on Sunday. There were no fewer than ten people that greeted us at the dock when we arrived. There were men, women and children clustered on the t-head and we had no problem getting tied up. More and more people kept coming to greet us, and it began looking like the t-head might start sinking. The last yacht from America that was here was in 2006.
After all of the dockside hoopla, Mark and I had our usual shore excursion, ATM, restaurant search, and finding a laundry. On the way down the main dock, we were greeted by a couple of older gentlemen who were waiting for the commodore and then were going to Pipe Dream to say hello. We radioed back to the boat to warn Scott of the ensuing visit. We were gone when that party was going on, but one of the visitors brought a bottle of Dom Perignon Champaign.
There was not much in the way of restaurants close by, but we did see a sign for McDonalds. Even that was about three kilometers from the boat. As we returned, we were walking past the yacht club, and were invited up to say hello to the boys. Because we knew the rest of the crew was waiting to get some food, we respectfully declined and returned to the boat. We figured that it would be similar to the “Boys’ Club” at Manila, and that we would end up staying there half the night.
When we gave everyone the dinner choices, McDonalds won the vote, so Mark and I took a cab to McDonalds. We had to sneak around the back of the yacht club on our way out so that they wouldn’t think we were rude. At McDonalds, we pointed at pictures of what we wanted, and had no problem getting what we wanted, even though not a lick of English was spoken there. The taxi back and forth cost almost as much as the burgers. It costs 660 yen just to sit down in the cab.
After feasting on the culinary delights, it was off to bed, as Scott, Tracy, and Ranon had to pack in the morning for their trip home. Their ride arrived at 1130, and they left just before the rain arrived. Mark and I were having lunch at the snack bar when it began pouring rain. It kept raining, so we stayed at the snack bar and kept drinking large mugs of beer. We returned to the boat at 1700, because that is when the snack bar closes. We continued with our mysterious celebration, and ended up cooking hot dogs for dinner.
The hot dogs had been purchased in the Philippines, and were frozen. I heated them up, minced an onion, and got out the relish, ketchup, and mustard. I could hardly wait! The hot dogs turned out to be the worst possible hot dogs on the planet. I think the casing was made of plastic. We could not bite through it. I tried to cut one in half with the chef’s knife, and could not get through the casing. They were so bad, that when I threw then overboard, the fish threw them back at us.
We continued with our celebration and “dangerous” drinks and got fairly intoxicated. Silly pictures were taken, and silly phone calls were made. We did have a lot of laughs, and it turned out to be an early to sleep night, with the rain still falling.
Morning brought more of the same rainy weather, so we stayed in and worked on cleaning up the boat. The dock master was nice enough to take us in his car to the laundry, so that task was made a lot easier. Laundry is not cheap in Japan. We had a lot, for sure, but it is charged by the piece, so it really adds up. I must say that when we got our clothes back, they are the cleanest they have ever been. Nomow, you will love this. My t-shirts were not only pressed, but individually packaged with a sheet of paper in the middle. Stains that had been in some of them for the whole trip are now gone. All of our shorts were on hangers, and individually wrapped.
Yesterday, I had the Yanmar man come and look at the main engine. We have been having excessive soot on the transom, and our top rpm has been two hundred short. I wanted a Yanmar expert to check things over before I pull the injectors. He came and poked, prodded, checked and did some running tests. The dock master Takeda came to the boat to translate for me. He has been a great help to us so far. The technician suspects, as I do that one or more injectors is messed up, so after Scott’s daughter leaves, I will pull the injectors.
Scott’s daughter Michelle and her family are due to arrive on June 6th, and we will cruise around here with them for a few days. She has two sons, who I understand are 6and 9 years old. Mark says we will have fun with them. Yesterday was a gorgeous day, and we had very clear visibility for the first time since being here. It really is a pretty place. From the boat we could finally see Osaka, the airport, and another suspension bridge connecting two islands. Last night we had dinner at the restaurant on the hill above us. Then sights were especially nice from there after dark when everything was lit up.
Off our port side, there is a marine summer camp going on at the maritime training center. The kids are out there rain or shine with kayaks, sailing prams, and lifeboats in which there are lots of oars. Last night, they had a couple of bonfires going, and there were lots of campfire games going on. Children’s laughter is a universal language, and was really nice to hear for a change. At about 2100, it was lights out over there, and our area of the marina is pretty far out, so it became very quiet. The only thing making noise is the jumping fish. There is lots of that going on. I think I could here at least 45 jumps per minute for most of the time that I was up on deck.
This morning before the rain arrived, I managed to get some more stainless polished, and also polished the shiny surfaces of the cabin top down the starboard side. The boat is looking pretty good in between rain showers.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Jeff's Log ~ Saturday, May 31st, 2008
0530 34 19.245N 133 44.274E Enroute to Osaka
Yesterday was rather quiet. We spent the day motoring against a knot of current the whole day. The marina we were bound for was small, and the dock was full of fishing boats. We proceeded across the bay, and anchored in the lee of an island on the outer edge of a fish farm. Mark prepared a nice spaghetti dinner, after which a good night’s sleep followed. This morning, Scott and I got up and were under way by 0500. It had rained lightly for part of the night, so the predawn air was very cool and damp. Each of the taller hills in the area was generating its own cloud at the top, making some of the taller ones look like they had a halo. We are heading for another large suspension bridge about ten miles away. We have gone under a few of them already, and the beauty of them never ceases to amaze me. There is always a certain grace and elegance to them.
Today is scheduled to be a short run ending in a real yacht marina. So far, the marinas that another sailing couple told us about have failed to materialize, so we will see. I think that they just copied the list out of some old cruising guide. At any rate, tomorrow we will arrive in Osaka, and will be able to re-provision and get laundry done. We are beginning to run out of staples- especially beer!!
The suspension bridge has a railway underneath it, and as we were going under the bridge in the rain, a train went roaring by us overhead. The weather has deteriorated since pulling the hook, and now a steady rain is falling and fog has set in.
Yesterday was rather quiet. We spent the day motoring against a knot of current the whole day. The marina we were bound for was small, and the dock was full of fishing boats. We proceeded across the bay, and anchored in the lee of an island on the outer edge of a fish farm. Mark prepared a nice spaghetti dinner, after which a good night’s sleep followed. This morning, Scott and I got up and were under way by 0500. It had rained lightly for part of the night, so the predawn air was very cool and damp. Each of the taller hills in the area was generating its own cloud at the top, making some of the taller ones look like they had a halo. We are heading for another large suspension bridge about ten miles away. We have gone under a few of them already, and the beauty of them never ceases to amaze me. There is always a certain grace and elegance to them.
Today is scheduled to be a short run ending in a real yacht marina. So far, the marinas that another sailing couple told us about have failed to materialize, so we will see. I think that they just copied the list out of some old cruising guide. At any rate, tomorrow we will arrive in Osaka, and will be able to re-provision and get laundry done. We are beginning to run out of staples- especially beer!!
The suspension bridge has a railway underneath it, and as we were going under the bridge in the rain, a train went roaring by us overhead. The weather has deteriorated since pulling the hook, and now a steady rain is falling and fog has set in.
Captain Scott's Log ~ Saturday, May 31st, 2008
Sent: 6:32 PM
Subject: Tokushima/Osaka
On leaving the Hiroshima area we needed 3 days to get to Osaka. This would take us under 3 bridges at choke points in the inland sea. The weather was good with respect to wind but lots of rain. The Nances leather suitcase with some clothes in it is ruined with mildew--don’t bring leather suitcases aboard please. At the first bridge we had 4 kts against us. The swirling current made it hard to steer. That first night we again found no marina at the waypoints given us. So we settled for a fish farm. Later when things got quiet we noted a sound penetrating the hull that sounded like frogs. It was obviously coming from the fish pens---but what?
The last bridge has currents up to 10 kts. School children have field trips here to see the whirlpools. Anticlimactically we hit it at slack tide. At Tokushima we found our waypoints for the marina only led us to the breakwater. So with no more info we entered the river at slow speed and headed upstream to the town 2 miles away. We ran into a bridge of unknown height. Mark said no way. Jeff said maybe. So I tried at low low speed and we got under. My mast winddex is at 74ft and later we were told the bridge is 22meters at high tide. We will need to depart at low tide!! Marino San saw us and led us to a pontoon that we could use in the heart of the city.
A great night ashore!! Osaka today and the end of this leg (Thailand to Japan) now 125,224nm under the keel. Next leg is to Anchorage in July/Aug. The Nances and I fly home in a few days.
Subject: Tokushima/Osaka
On leaving the Hiroshima area we needed 3 days to get to Osaka. This would take us under 3 bridges at choke points in the inland sea. The weather was good with respect to wind but lots of rain. The Nances leather suitcase with some clothes in it is ruined with mildew--don’t bring leather suitcases aboard please. At the first bridge we had 4 kts against us. The swirling current made it hard to steer. That first night we again found no marina at the waypoints given us. So we settled for a fish farm. Later when things got quiet we noted a sound penetrating the hull that sounded like frogs. It was obviously coming from the fish pens---but what?
The last bridge has currents up to 10 kts. School children have field trips here to see the whirlpools. Anticlimactically we hit it at slack tide. At Tokushima we found our waypoints for the marina only led us to the breakwater. So with no more info we entered the river at slow speed and headed upstream to the town 2 miles away. We ran into a bridge of unknown height. Mark said no way. Jeff said maybe. So I tried at low low speed and we got under. My mast winddex is at 74ft and later we were told the bridge is 22meters at high tide. We will need to depart at low tide!! Marino San saw us and led us to a pontoon that we could use in the heart of the city.
A great night ashore!! Osaka today and the end of this leg (Thailand to Japan) now 125,224nm under the keel. Next leg is to Anchorage in July/Aug. The Nances and I fly home in a few days.
Jeff's Log ~ Saturday May 31st, 2008
0530 34 19.245N 133 44.274E Enroute to Osaka
Yesterday was rather quiet. We spent the day motoring against a knot of current the whole day. The marina we were bound for was small, and the dock was full of fishing boats. We proceeded across the bay, and anchored in the lee of an island on the outer edge of a fish farm. Mark prepared a nice spaghetti dinner, after which a good night’s sleep followed. This morning, Scott and I got up and were under way by 0500. It had rained lightly for part of the night, so the predawn air was very cool and damp. Each of the taller hills in the area was generating its own cloud at the top, making some of the taller ones look like they had a halo. We are heading for another large suspension bridge about ten miles away. We have gone under a few of them already, and the beauty of them never ceases to amaze me. There is always a certain grace and elegance to them.
Today is scheduled to be a short run ending in a real yacht marina. So far, the marinas that another sailing couple told us about have failed to materialize, so we will see. I think that they just copied the list out of some old cruising guide. At any rate, tomorrow we will arrive in Osaka, and will be able to re-provision and get laundry done. We are beginning to run out of staples- especially beer!!
The suspension bridge has a railway underneath it, and as we were going under the bridge in the rain, a train went roaring by us overhead. The weather has deteriorated since pulling the hook, and now a steady rain is falling and fog has set in.
Yesterday was rather quiet. We spent the day motoring against a knot of current the whole day. The marina we were bound for was small, and the dock was full of fishing boats. We proceeded across the bay, and anchored in the lee of an island on the outer edge of a fish farm. Mark prepared a nice spaghetti dinner, after which a good night’s sleep followed. This morning, Scott and I got up and were under way by 0500. It had rained lightly for part of the night, so the predawn air was very cool and damp. Each of the taller hills in the area was generating its own cloud at the top, making some of the taller ones look like they had a halo. We are heading for another large suspension bridge about ten miles away. We have gone under a few of them already, and the beauty of them never ceases to amaze me. There is always a certain grace and elegance to them.
Today is scheduled to be a short run ending in a real yacht marina. So far, the marinas that another sailing couple told us about have failed to materialize, so we will see. I think that they just copied the list out of some old cruising guide. At any rate, tomorrow we will arrive in Osaka, and will be able to re-provision and get laundry done. We are beginning to run out of staples- especially beer!!
The suspension bridge has a railway underneath it, and as we were going under the bridge in the rain, a train went roaring by us overhead. The weather has deteriorated since pulling the hook, and now a steady rain is falling and fog has set in.
Jeff's log ~ Thursday, May 29th, 2008
0600
Good morning! We are on our way to Hiroshima under cloudy skies and light wind. After yesterday’s blast from Mother Nature, things are smooth. After entering the Inland Sea, the wind came up to gale force as soon as I came up for my afternoon watch. The highest gust that I saw was 57 knots! Thank God there was only one of those. We are having a combination of problems that is resulting in lower boat performance levels the bottom is very dirty, and after yesterday, I am sure that the propeller must have some growth on it from our week in Ishigaki. At our next stop, I will have to go swimming for sure. The water is getting colder as we make our way north. We are now at about the same latitude as South Carolina.
During the night, we lost our flag. It must have come out of the socket during the big winds, and later must have worked its way out of the lashing. Whatever happened, it’s gone. We were comfortably anchored in the lee of a small island, had a nice dinner, and a good night’s sleep. I did get a couple of mosquito bites though.
While we were beating into the teeth of yesterday’s blow, the waves breaking over the boat sent jets of salt water right into my face. The auto pilot could not hold the course, so I had to stay at the wheel. The wind came up so fast that I did not have time to get my bibs on under my jacket, so my legs and feet were pretty cold. I had to drive by the speedometer. I would lay off the wind 30 or 40 degrees and build some speed and then feather the course back up and hammer away at the wind and waves until the speed dropped below 3 knots, and kept making good headway towards the calmer seas which we knew would be in the lee of the island. I was very thankful that it happened in daylight rather than at night. I was also thankful that I wear glasses, because otherwise the water would have been blasting into my eyes.
Today, the weather is very pleasant. The haze has cleared some what, and we are motor sailing through a beautiful chain of islands. The countryside is very lush and green, the sea is flat, and the sun has begun shining through the breaks in the cloud cover. The higher peaks are cloud shrouded. Japan really is a beautiful place, so far. We went a bit out of our way so that we could stop at the Itsukushima shrine. It was first built in 593, and then rebuilt in 1168. There are more than 20 buildings connected by corridors. It is on stilts, so the whole thing looks like it is floating at high tide. The island that it sits on is called Miyajima. It is a sacred island, and has been since ancient times.
The shrine is painted in vermillion lacquer and really stands out from the hillside surrounding it. Across the bay from the shrine is Hiroshima. We did not stop there. I hope that will be in the plans for the next section of the trip, when Gill and the Monroes are on the boat. We spent an hour or so at the shrine, and then dingied back out to the big boat and put the dink back on Pipe Dream. The anchor came up, and we set out for the marina where we were going to spend the night. The Lat-long that we were given had no marina, but we were up in a very nice protected cove. We all decided that it was a fine place to stay, so we dropped the hook. Mark and I jumped in the water to clean the bottom. The area just below the waterline that was stained black in Manila had a heavy amount of moss like growth on it and proved very difficult to clean. I sure am glad that I did not have to get in the water in Manila for any reason. I bet the same thing would have happened to me if I did! We ended a beautiful day with a barbeque, and Mark did a good job grilling steaks. After doing the dishes, we all sat out in the cockpit and chatted, enjoying the display of stars overhead. A truly great day!!
Good morning! We are on our way to Hiroshima under cloudy skies and light wind. After yesterday’s blast from Mother Nature, things are smooth. After entering the Inland Sea, the wind came up to gale force as soon as I came up for my afternoon watch. The highest gust that I saw was 57 knots! Thank God there was only one of those. We are having a combination of problems that is resulting in lower boat performance levels the bottom is very dirty, and after yesterday, I am sure that the propeller must have some growth on it from our week in Ishigaki. At our next stop, I will have to go swimming for sure. The water is getting colder as we make our way north. We are now at about the same latitude as South Carolina.
During the night, we lost our flag. It must have come out of the socket during the big winds, and later must have worked its way out of the lashing. Whatever happened, it’s gone. We were comfortably anchored in the lee of a small island, had a nice dinner, and a good night’s sleep. I did get a couple of mosquito bites though.
While we were beating into the teeth of yesterday’s blow, the waves breaking over the boat sent jets of salt water right into my face. The auto pilot could not hold the course, so I had to stay at the wheel. The wind came up so fast that I did not have time to get my bibs on under my jacket, so my legs and feet were pretty cold. I had to drive by the speedometer. I would lay off the wind 30 or 40 degrees and build some speed and then feather the course back up and hammer away at the wind and waves until the speed dropped below 3 knots, and kept making good headway towards the calmer seas which we knew would be in the lee of the island. I was very thankful that it happened in daylight rather than at night. I was also thankful that I wear glasses, because otherwise the water would have been blasting into my eyes.
Today, the weather is very pleasant. The haze has cleared some what, and we are motor sailing through a beautiful chain of islands. The countryside is very lush and green, the sea is flat, and the sun has begun shining through the breaks in the cloud cover. The higher peaks are cloud shrouded. Japan really is a beautiful place, so far. We went a bit out of our way so that we could stop at the Itsukushima shrine. It was first built in 593, and then rebuilt in 1168. There are more than 20 buildings connected by corridors. It is on stilts, so the whole thing looks like it is floating at high tide. The island that it sits on is called Miyajima. It is a sacred island, and has been since ancient times.
The shrine is painted in vermillion lacquer and really stands out from the hillside surrounding it. Across the bay from the shrine is Hiroshima. We did not stop there. I hope that will be in the plans for the next section of the trip, when Gill and the Monroes are on the boat. We spent an hour or so at the shrine, and then dingied back out to the big boat and put the dink back on Pipe Dream. The anchor came up, and we set out for the marina where we were going to spend the night. The Lat-long that we were given had no marina, but we were up in a very nice protected cove. We all decided that it was a fine place to stay, so we dropped the hook. Mark and I jumped in the water to clean the bottom. The area just below the waterline that was stained black in Manila had a heavy amount of moss like growth on it and proved very difficult to clean. I sure am glad that I did not have to get in the water in Manila for any reason. I bet the same thing would have happened to me if I did! We ended a beautiful day with a barbeque, and Mark did a good job grilling steaks. After doing the dishes, we all sat out in the cockpit and chatted, enjoying the display of stars overhead. A truly great day!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
+(2).jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.JPG)
