Sailing the Izu Islands and Beyond
| Vessel Name: | Samurai 6 |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Gib'Sea 414 Plus |
| Hailing Port: | Tokyo Japan |
21 May 2012 | Tokyo Japan
Belated update: home again
The road goes ever on and the ocean seems endless but after 3 weeks of sailing I returned home with the rest of the crew safely on Friday evening. The last adventure on the way home didn't involve wind and waves but was significantly worse. However, in the interest of keeping this safe for lunch time [...]
17 May 2012 | Oshima
Big waves
So we made fantastic speed today traveling around 125 miles by 8:30pm but as we were passing Oshima we were seeing gusts just under 40kts and huge waves. I rode down one wave at 14.5 knots. It felt like I was on a 7 ton surf board. It was getting a bit too exciting for an all night sail, however, [...]
15 May 2012 | Hachijo Jima
safe harbor, waiting out the wind
Samurai's peaceful and slightly boring Monday evening (still motoring) turned exciting during the crew's nightly game of hearts. Aaron checked the bilge to find they were taking in a significant amount of sea water. They pulled up everything to locate the leak, discovered the problem in the exhaust water line and were able to repair it. Nothing like your boat taking on water without land in sight! The wind then began to pick up, the sails went up and the weather kept getting heavier. By early Tuesday morning the wind was gusting in the 30's and the swells peaked as high as 5 meters. By 1PM they brought the boat to the leeward side of Hachijo Jima where the waves calmed a bit but the gusts coming off the island were 40 knots. It was a wild ride into the harbor but they made it. The crew has been to the onsen (first warm bathe in 9 days for 3 of the crew members and the first bathing at all for one member--not disclosing identity), they have eaten and are all sleeping soundly. After Aaron and Mark helmed those rough conditions, they were quite pooped. Apparently, they all have their "sea legs" now and nobody lost their lunch. More to come from the crew tomorrow.
Perfect conditions; depraved youth of today
Now, going back two days, a story of the degenerate youth of today. We pulled into Misaki Friday evening at around 11 and after tying up the boat Andy and I intended to join everyone else already sleeping down below. As I was drifting off to sleep, however, I heard a loud bang that sounded like it came from right against the hull. I jumped up and stuck my head out of the companionway (but not as fast as Andy who smacked his head against the sliding hatch and left a swath of blood down his ear and cheek) and yelled at a kid who was carrying a firecracker lit along the boardwalk. Andy and I hopped off the boat and ran for the group of kids with the bag of fireworks. They broke up and ran like mad. I yelled a few choice things in English and Japanese at them and then Andy I went back for our shoes and I grabbed the boat's spot light. From here, Andy and I chased them through parking lots and the back streets. Our more effective method was to send Andy around back to flush them my direction and then when they got close I'd step out and blind them with the spot light and then they'd start hopping fences. They kept coming back so I finally called 119 (the 911 of Japan) and got the Misaki police and fire department involved. They were not interested in chasing the offenders, however, but made careful note of my birth date, address, phone and boat details. They did post a patrol for the rest of the night, however, so Andy and I went to sleep finally at around 2am.
In summary, the teenagers of Japan are degenerating at the same rate as those in the US except that they don't carry guns so 2 middle aged men (in reasonable condition) with a spotlight can scare them to death. In the US, I might have had to find a real weapon.
Now, back to the sailing.
