Picture: Ted, putting our bikes in, or more precisely, on, the dinghy.

After Heigun, we went directly to Okinoshima Marina. We had reservations at the marina over a month beforehand because we wanted an address to receive some parcels. Oyster beds were scattered throughout the area so we had to carefully weave through them. Most of the boats in the marina are owned by Japanese people living in Hiroshima and surrounding areas, only 14 nautical miles away. The marina is much cheaper than those in Hiroshima and better protected from typhoons. It is protected not by cumbersome concrete walls but is cradled by mountains and hills on three sides. From our boat we could see across the bay and appreciate the beauty that surrounded us. We were there for ten days and sat through typhoon #17. Even though the wind was clocked at 60 knots (just over 60 mph or 100 km per hour) with torrential rain, there was no damage anywhere. We nestled inside "Shuang Yu" all the day and listened to the howling of wind and pounding of the rain on the fiberglass. We took advantage of the time by writing and doing paperwork. One drawback about the marina it that it is very isolated. The road from marina to the nearest village, Fukae, is long and has some steep grades in addition to making a detour through two small settlements. It takes about forty minutes by bike and when we got there, there were only two small shops, not much selection and expensive. We were disappointed by our isolation at first, but then Ted figured a way to solve the problem. We took our dinghy with our bikes and motored for five minutes across the bay to Fukae. Then we rode ten minutes to the next town, called Ogaki, where there are two supermarkets.

One day Ted had a toothache so we went to Ogaki to visit a dentist. The dentist did not speak English but used an electronic translator on his iPad and it worked well. It turned out that Ted needed a root canal. Three days later he went back for his permanent filling. We could not believe the efficiency, the advanced techniques and the price; it only cost $26,000 yen (US$218)! The price is before insurance so we were happy to solve the problem so cheaply.

Even though the marina is not posh, the staff is friendly and the manager speaks English. We think the oysters may filter the water around this area so the water is exceptionally clean and clear. The boat has not been performing well lately so we did some much-needed maintenance and repair work. Ted dived to look at the propeller and rudder but without diving equipment he did not see much. He said it looked like they needed the barnacles scraping off. We needed a new air tank so we could dive down for a proper look so we ordered one from the USA and had it sent to Hiroshima, our next destination. We valued the quiet time here, a very nice stop.