Jeff's Log ~ Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

Nishonomyia Marina, Osaka, Japan

Life aboard for me has been very busy since Scott has returned and we are cruising around Japan. My job takes a lot of time and mental energy when the owner and guests are aboard. Charlie and Mimi have been wonderful to have aboard. Tomorrow morning, Gill leaves for Miami, and we return to Tannowa for a change of crew.

We spent a couple of nights in Osaka, at the Shin Nishonomiya Marina. We pulled in on Tuesday, which is a day off for Japanese marinas. The staff at our last port, Suntopia, called ahead for us, and we had docking instructions. We tied up to a large floating dock directly behind the beautiful antique America’s Cup Yacht Endeavour. She has been completely redone and is painted a grayish blue, with lots of varnish and highly polished stainless on the topsides. Directly across the street from the marina was a very well stocked grocery store, so I spent my two days provisioning Pipe Dream for the trip to Alaska. Our freezer is now full, and food is stored just about every where it will fit. When we get to Tannowa, we will do one more food store run for the fresh fruit and vegetables to get us through the first part of our trip.

Alaska is about 3500 miles, and we will be at sea roughly twenty five days, depending on the weather. If we encounter any kind of decent sailing breeze, it could shorten the time. I am getting excited about the longest sea journey that I have ever been on. There will be four crew on this trip, Myself, Scott, Neil, and David Woolsey. Neil is a past captain of Pipe Dream, so he knows the boat well. David, I understand is an accomplished sailor with lots of time on the water. I know his brother Chris. Chris and I have sailed together on race boats. I will be out of touch until after reaching Alaska, but Scott will continue sending his updates. He has new satellite communication gear which works very well. I can hardly wait to be back on American soil where English is spoken, menus can be read, and cell phones are used at reasonable cost. I sure do miss all of my friends and family, and it won’t be long now until I will see you all again.