The Tokyo Sail & Power Squadron is one of the 350 squadrons that make up the USPS, or United States Power Squadrons. We are a part of California-based District 13, and the only squadron in the USPS located outside of the United States and Puerto Rico. Currently we have over 100 members in the squadron, mostly from the Tokyo region, and there are a number of member power and sail boats in the TSPS fleet.
We are an active squadron with activities planned most months of the year. These range from monthly get-togethers in central Tokyo pubs to overnight and week-long cruises to other regions in Japan. As a boating safety and education organization we offer boating classes and seminars throughout the year for everyone from the absolute beginner to the advanced boater. One of these courses is our very popular twice-yearly Japanese Class 1 and 2 License seminar, in which we can proudly say we have a 90%+ success rate.
The TSPS website serves our membership by providing up-to-the-minute information on our many educational, social, and boating activities in the Tokyo area in the Scuttlebutt Blog.
What We Do
We boat. A lot. We hold boating excursions and cruises nine times a year, ranging from day sails to long-distance, week-long trips hundreds of miles in length. Our cruising destinations are usually well-protected fishing villages with good facilities such as excellent seafood restaurants, beautiful sea and landscapes, hot springs, and of course good anchorages or dock space.
We hold monthly and annual boating-related events & activities and we offer a multitude of networking opportunities for expatriate and Japanese sailors.
We all enjoy good food and drink and so TSPS regularly schedules four or five great barbecues throughout the year either in Tokyo-area marinas or on sandy beaches along Miura peninsula. These events tend to be our best-attended activities as there is always a plentiful supply of good conversation and friendship, and refreshments to wash down the excellent food coming off the barbecue.
Where we boat
Most TSPS members keep their boats in the Tokyo area and sail Tokyo Bay, Sagami Bay, Shimoda, and farther south to the Izu Islands. A few years ago, a flotilla of member boats sailed to Kii Hanto, a return voyage of some 600 nautical miles. Other members have ventured farther, including a voyage from Tokyo Bay to Phuket, Thailand, another from Shimoda to Cairns Australia, and a recent circumnavigation by famed Japanese sailor and TSPS member Minoru Saito, his record-setting 8th solo round-the-world trip.