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
17 May 2012 | Oshima
16 May 2012 | Off Hachijojima
15 May 2012 | hachijo-jima
15 May 2012 | Hachijo-jima
15 May 2012 | Hachijo Jima
12 May 2012 | north of Chichijima
12 May 2012 | Chichijima
11 May 2012 | Chichi Jima, Ogasawara
09 May 2012 | Chichi Jima
09 May 2012 | heading towards Ogasawara
08 May 2012 | 130 miles north of Iwo-jima
08 May 2012 | Location: 230 miles SSE from HachiJo
08 May 2012 | Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific
07 May 2012 | South of Hachijo-Jima
06 May 2012 | 102 Miles South of Hachijo Jima (31d21.35' N Lat; 140d20.28' E Lon)
06 May 2012 | Hachijo
02 May 2012 | Kozu Island
Recent Blog Posts
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, [...]

16 May 2012 | Off Hachijojima

4:46 AM

We've just left the island harbor for Tokyo. We should arrive in 30 hours give or take 5.

15 May 2012 | hachijo-jima

Miss E talks about sailing

Written by Miss E.

15 May 2012 | Hachijo-jima

Catch up

Sorry for the slow updates everyone. I'm going to hand over to Eve here in a few minutes to demonstrate her writing prowess.

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.

High Seas from Kozu to Hichijo, Daddy's the hero of the day, reunion, rest and change of crew

05 May 2012 | Hachijo-jima
Elan
Saturday morning the alarm was set to 3:30 but wasn't needed with all the howling and blowing going on outside. We had decided not to depart during the night as the winds were still quite strong and waves high. But by 3:30, Aaron was determined to set out so we could arrive with daylight at Hachijo-jima, 80 miles to the south. Aaron cast off at 4:08AM, with Reed by his side, lifejackets, tethers and EPRB attached and me in the girls' bunk pretending to sleep but praying most of the time. I popped by head out of the companionway at 5AM to watch the sun rise over the Pacific with gloriously clear skies above and 3 meter (up to 10 feet waves and swells) on the sea. Oh boy, this was going to be a long day.

Truly I am a fair weather sailor and am little help when things get rough since my stomach can't stand up in the cabin and anxiety usually grips me at the helm. Perry woke at 5:30 with a sick stomach and promptly unloaded it into our handy bucket. The girls kept trying to sleep and fortunately Tess had a diaper on so I could order her to use it throughout the day. After 3 hours of helm time, Aaron was beginning to tire and the waves not letting up. We waved to Miyake-jima, Onohara jima, a bird sanctuary, and Mikura-jima (dolphin and waterfall island) but kept moving. The wind was a steady at 15 to 23 knots and it was a downwind sail. The helming was the tricky part. No one really ate anything and we took turns popping chocolate covered almonds and water into Aaron's mouth and reapplying sunscreen. Tess stayed in her bunk most of the day. Elanor made her way out to the cabin and we all did the Japanese "gaman" (or suffer through). Aaron was our hero and safely harbored us after 12 hours straight at the helm. We arrived at Hachijo-jima with good time at 4:30PM to a much more inviting and safe port.

After meeting up with Mark who flew in from London at the same time as our arrival, the kids and I prepped the boat for the new crew. All of our belongings were put on the dock, linens changed and Samurai was scrubbed, rinsed and aired out. We dropped our bags at a minshuku (pension) and started laundry. After a filling meal, we dropped dead in our beds at 9:30PM. This morning, with our propane tank filled, water topped off and a good breakfast tucked in our bellies, Aaron took the kids to the airport to meet Aunt Eve and Uncle Jared. The children and I have a 10:30AM ferry departure and Samurai 6's new crew of Aaron, Mark, Eve and Jared will begin their journey to the Ogasawaras and hopefully Iwo Jima today at noon. Winds at 15-20 knots today from the south, easing up through Monday.

Reed and I both said today, "yeah, we're good with sailing for a while." It'll be nice to be home tonight and better when Aaron and crew are home safely in 2 weeks with wonderful stories to share.
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