by Timothy Langley, posted on 10/16/23

The Tokyo Sail & Powerboat Squadron hosted it’s wonderfully-popular annual Fall BBQ this last Saturday (10/07/23). On the top deck of Yumenoshima Marina 34 Members & Guests joined for an open tap with lots of grilled meats, vegetables and even yakisoba! As the photos reveal, a robust time was had by all with magnificent Fall weather and blue skies.

The leadership of the NPO also took the opportunity to hold their monthly organizational meeting just prior to the BBQ. For the first time, in fact, Members of the USPS (of which TSPS is the largest squadron in District 13) also joined-in virtually. This was open to all TSPS Members. Of note was the Tony Whitman recognition for 50 years of devotion to TSPS and for his instrumental involvement in setting-up the Club under the leadership of George Purdy and his magnificent wife Midori forty-five years ago! What an achievement & legacy!

Attached below are photos of the BBQ event but in closing, please remember that the Keelhaul for November will be (always First Wednesday) November 1^st at the Devil Craft in Jiyugaoka. The Keelhaul is our most regularly-attended social event, over beer and pizza, and is open-door to sailors & guests alike. Photos and descriptions can always be found at https://tspsjapan.org/skuttlebutt/.

Also, please visit the revamped TSPS webpage to register (https://tspsjapan.org/our-events/social-events/) for our annual end-of-year party: December 6^th, at the Intercontinental Hotel next to Tokyo Bay Bridge! Last year’s Event & Awards Ceremony extravaganza can be viewed at https://tspsjapan.org/the-tsps-bonenkai-of-2022-report/!

The Yumenoshima Marina location right inside Tokyo (Imperial Palace upper left)!

The green building (bottom corner) is the marina & facilities.

The deck overlooking the yachtdocks was our venue of the TSPS Fall BBQ of 2023.

Commander Bill Van Alstine logging-in and preparing the monthly Bridge Meeting… this one, an open invitation for TSPS Members to join as Observers.

Bridge Meeting before BBQ, video-conferencing USPS Officers from sister-squadrons in the US, too: John Kratoschvil, Gary Thomas, Brendan Morris, Ash Smart, Claude Strobbe, Commander Bill Van Alstine (Observers: Laurie Wesselhoff, Bruce Reinhart) (Timothy Langley out-of-picture)

Three grills… ladden trays-of-food .. delivered & replenished throughout the afternoon. Beer keg replaced twice!

Andy, Brendan, Bill…. swashbucklers.

Captain Sherwin and big-streetbike riddin’ Colin.

The Man, The Legend….

Free-flowing wine and beer-on-tap! Commander Bill extended the cut-off time for an additional 1.5 hours, so we went long and everyone stayed late!

Captains Jiro Fujiwara and Strobbe.

Jiro, with half-empty/half-full Claude Strobbe

Andy, Brendan (Kaoru & Chris in the background slavin’ away!)

Bridge Secretary & Legal Officer Captain Timothy Langley slaving-away, Education Officer Captain Claude Strobbe in background.

Chowdown

Chris taking on BBQ duties: with appreciation Chris! (…didn’t burn things half as bad as Langley did… this year & last!)

Vlad, John… a competition for a bottle of the highly prized Myers’s Rum! John pointing-out a fine bone of contention, hotly contested….

Colin, Vlad, John (great reflection from the storm-windows!)

John, Freddie, Brendan, Colin, Vlad (Laurie & Bruce in the background)

Little Michael Staley: Kent

Cloe & Keiko (only just barely tolerating us…). Another good reflection in the window revealing the Tokyo skyline in the distance.

High Tension Andy in the background with Michael, Dominique

Max Ziurin

Kaoru, Andy, Chris (Michael and Max in the background)

Kaoru (and guy looking out the window)

Captain Freddie Snoxal, Administrative Officer Brendan Morris (sorry new Member with the shades… can’t make out your name~!).

Bruce Reinhart

Squadron Webmaster & IT Head Ash Smart, Commander Bill Van Alstine

Commander Bill Van Alstine, Colin Sheldon, Boating Activities Chair Vlad Legeza, Membership Chair John Kratochvil

Administrative Officer Brendan Morris

Captain Jiro, Captain & Mrs. Darren Halliday.

Governor Gary Thomas

Captain Jeremy Sanderson, Jerry Brady

Captain (& exalted Former Commander) Mike Snyder, Renowned MC Andy Lawson

Susanne Schierok

Self Evident: The Sherwin.

THE Famous Fuji Jake!

Laurie Wesselhoff, Naoko Staley

Mr. Yaki Soba

Boating Activities Chair Vlad Legeza, Squadron Webmaster & IT Head Ashley Smart, Captain extraordinaire Darren Halliday

Steve Bettnick, Nikolay Gritsenko

Captain Demir Sadokoglu, Captain Michael Staley, Captain Sherwin Faden, Colin Sheldon

Captain Michael Snyder, Captain Sherwin Faden and Hollywood star Andy Lawson

Max, Dom & Claude looking at boats they covet…

Kent, Michael, Naoko!

Famous Nijima Island resident Freddie Snoxall getting a lift after a laborious day of drinking and carousing at the marina….

… while John Kratoschvil, on the other hand, receiving of a different kind of lift.

————-end————

This event was another success due to the planning, preparation and involvement of many people. A special thanks, however, goes out to Svetlana Ilyushechkina and Claude Strobbe for making the arrangements for food, venue, the roster and payment administration. Claude also brought in several boxes of swag, which was a bit hit! A great time was had by all!

Next up: November Keelhaul in Jiyugaoka (11/02) and the End-of-Year Blowout & Awards Ceremony on December 6 at the Intercontinental Hotel.

September ’23 at Pizzakaya in Nishi Azabu

By Timothy Langley

The second Wednesday of September found our monthly Keelhaul at Pizzakaya in Roppongi. Although the Notice wasn’t well circulated due to webpage revitalization and laziness in getting the word out, this turned-out to be one of our largest Keelhauls of the year!

TSPS Commander, Bill Van Alstine, held court and generously ordered pizza for the assembled masses. Typically, TSPS orders the first few and afterwards, you are on your own. Pizzakaya is a well-known and frequent haunt for salty sailors, but we don’t go here EVERY month. The Regulars know to pay your own way and in this area there was plenty of craft beers jostled about!

Bridge Members John Kratochvil (Membership), Timothy Langley (Secretary & Legal Officer), Svetlana Ilyushechkina (Administrative Officer), Claude Strobbe (Educational Officer), Ashley Smart (Squadron Webmaster & IT Head), Vlad Legeza (Boating Activities Chair) were likewise present but, wow: there were about 30 other people! TSPS totally dominated the entire shop!

I was not successful in getting the names of everyone but outstandingly we had 4 guests, 2 new Members, and the rest diehard Keelhaulers! Apparently, the guests were curious about sailing lessons but due to the finicky webpage, decided to join the group over beers and pizza. Since then, I am told the issues with calendar and access to Lessons has been addressed.

In any event, this Keelhaul was loosely organized: no speeches, no introductory round-the-table runs, no save-your-ass lessons from John Kratochvil. But it was great fun with lots of comradery, particularly due to the fact that so many old salts showed-up including past Commander Mike Snyder!

While the Keelhaul is TSPS’s most regularly-scheduled social event (1^st Wednesday-every month), we also host two annual barbeques and lots of on-the-water opportunities to sail or motorboat.

On October 7th, in fact, (13 days from this writing!), an always fabulous BBQ happens at Yumenoshima Marina on Saturday afternoon. Details elsewhere on the webpage but sign-up deadline is approaching so please hurry.

Also, the next Keelhaul approaches for October: Devil Craft in Jiyugaoka; the lessons for passing Class I and Class II tests are ongoing now.  Fall sailing season is here!

And finally, make sure you are on the Mailing List to receive Announcements directly and bookmark the webpage to register. 

Here are some photos of the event:

by Timothy Langley, May 15, 2023 Tokyo (revised September 26th)

Overview: The following describes two hearty sailors setting out over the long Golden Week to outline the boarder of their licensed area, Region One, in Japanese waters. This journey took 7 days.

Vessel: Yamaha ‘26C sailing yacht (1983) Santana.

Crew: Timothy Langley & Evan Burkosky.

Journey: traverse Region One (Santana’s registered area) over 7~8 days. Ultimately, sailed 7 days, traversed 270 nautical miles, hit islands Oshima, Niijima, Miyakejima; returned to touch Shimoda (Shizuoka Prefecture), then home-port sprint to Awa-Katsuyama. One nighttime sailing leg of 16 hours (Port Ako Miyakejima to Shimoda).

Details:

Leg One:  4/29 Saturday, depart 4:30 am from Home Port Awa-Katsuyama (Chiba Peninsula) for Habu Harbor, Oshima Island. Head-on wind required extreme tack into Sagami Bay for ~5 hours, tack back, then hug the shadow of Oshima Island to shelter somewhat from tremendous building winds and seas. Mainsail set throughout at 3^rd reefed position. Storm approaching from the south, hitting in several hours.  14 hour sail.

Leg Two: 5/01 Monday depart (one-day layover) Habu Harbor at 4:00 am for Niijima Island. Very brisk crossing and almost entirely over/through the Kuroshio current; very choppy & confused waters, lots of leaping tuna. 9 hour sail. Sail almost exclusively on Spinnaker, consistently maintaining 6 knots/hour! Trouble: when bagging spinnaker from the bow, sheet inadvertently fell into the water (unnoticed) and got immediately caught-up in prop; Captain Evan’s dive under the boat to untangle quickly achieved success… no damage but close-call.

Leg Three: 5/02 Monday arrive Niijima Port at 1:40 pm (7 hour sail). Tie-up, walk to sea-water hot springs “Yunohama Ryoten Onsen”. Drive around island care of new friend (JET Teacher assigned to Niijima Education System) Freddie Snoxall. Forced-feast at Chinese restaurant. Early next-day departure.

Leg Four: 5/03 Tuesday depart Niijima Port at 4:00 am heading for Miyakejima Island. 21 nautical miles, with new crew member Freddie. Very swift crossing over rough waters but made excellent time, arriving after only 6 hour sail.

Leg Five: 5/03 Tuesday arrive in Ako Port on the south-western side of Miyakejima at 10:00 am. Walk to nearby “Furosato-no-yu onsen”; a hearty lunch at Kairaku Hotel; puffed on cigars on the massive breakwater; walk around unsuccessfully searching for dinner (town completely rolls-up at 7:00 o’clock); brief visit to Snackbar Azabu for drinks. Next day scooter riding through winding roads, lava fields, the highest accessible points on the island (much of the island is a no-go due to volcanic activity), etc.. Lunch at yucky, almost unbearable, Chinese shack.

Leg Six: 5/05 Wednesday depart 5:30 pm for night sail (while the sun is still up): destination Yaizu City in Shizuoka Prefecture, Oi River (the western boundary of Santana’s registered sailing area). Trouble: once in open water, bowlight shorted-out (still in daylight but nightfall approaching). Captain Evan springing again into action with trouble-shooting, finding spares within Santana, repaired in the dark while underway in rough seas. Pretty tense as seas rough; head downwind at slow clip (see sailing diagram, below), Evan dangling on the Bowspirit to reattach the entire housing, with success finally. 16 hour sail (only slightly due to the bowlight issue). Navigating by the stars and treated to constant meteor shower!

Leg Seven: 5/06 Thursday arrive Iritahama Beach in Shimoda at 9:30 am, due to unfavorable winds forbidding the full Suruga Bay traverse; 16 hour overnight sail. Brief 3 hour anchor off the beach, then 1.5 hour sail into Shimoda Cove, Admiral Perry Visitor’s Pier arriving 12:30 noon. Overnight layover: lunch in-town; glorious bath at Thousand-People Kayaya Ryokan Onsen at Rentaiji Station; bbq ribs dinner; hit Tosaya Soul Bar on the warf until 1:00 o’clock.

Leg Eight: 5/04 Friday depart Shimoda Cove 4:30 am for Home Port Katsuyama (expected to be ~14 hour sail in rough seas in following 25+kt winds). Only sail 40% of jib-sail, no main-sail throughout. Turns-out to be the best day of sailing in strong winds for first 2/3rds, then extremely strong winds in last 1/3 but arriving earlier than expected at 4:30… a 12 hour sail! Averaging 6 knots the entire day on the sliver of a foresail!

End: 5/05 Friday, hit Home Port Katsuyama on the Chiba Peninsula at 4:30 pm; 12 hour sail.

April 5^th, 2023

By Timothy Langley

As usual, the second Wednesday of every month is reserved for our monthly Keelhaul. April saw us experimenting with a new venue, the fabulous Midtown BBQ in Suidobashi, close to the Tokyo Dome (https://www.midtown-bbq.com/tokyo).

This new venue is off our normal TSPS beaten-track (DevilCraft or Pizzakaya). And probably because this was just 11 days after our wildly successful Boat Show SuperKeelhaul, participation was somewhat down, but the energy was extremely high; the food was excellent and the craft beer flowing. 

Newly inducted TSPS Commander, Bill Van Alstine, was joined by Bridge Members John Kratochvil (Membership) and Timothy Langley (Secretary & Legal Officer) together with 4 guests, 2 new Members, and 11 diehard Keelhaulers! 

To kick things off, Commander Van Alstine donated several plates of wings and pizzas! Ordering thereafter was clunky at first but everyone could order on their own and pay individually. This worked-out due to astute John organizing a sign-in sheet and issuing Name-tags! This not only helped the waite-staff but also generated better comradery all around. It was a great event.

The Keelhaul is TSPS’s most regularly-scheduled social event, falling almost always on the first Wednesday of every month. If you are not securely on the Mailing List (to receive Announcements directly), the venue & time notices are posted on our elegant TSPS webpage (https://tspsjapandev.wpengine.com). 

If you have ideas for Keelhaul venue (or input regarding this venue), please don’t hesitate as we are always looking for great locations to comfortably accommodate our usual ~25+ attendees.

Finally, since the first Wednesday of May falls within Golden Week, the Bridge will determine the most appropriate date for our NEXT Keelhaul. If you have a preference on date or venue, please post to langleytimothy@yahoo.com.

Here are some photos of the event:

March 25^th, 2023

By Timothy Langley

The SuperKeelhaul is an annual event always held in conjunction with the International Boat Show in Yokohama. 

Going on two-years strong, the event was again held at Wolfgang Puck’s pizzeria. This was such a resounding success, with an open-bar and free-flowing, delicious food, that TSPS not only  took-over the entire shop from the 6:00 o’clock start, but extended an hour to accommodate the tremendous fun, joviality and comradery that flourished. Approximately 12 guests / potential new-members joined the assembly of 60 or so TSPS Members!

A great shout-out not only to Svetlana for organizing the Super Keelhaul, but also to the valiant Booth Committee’s Claude Strobbe, Jeff Canady, Bill Van Alstine and a slew of diligent volunteers, as well! The Booth attracted a huge amount of attention and we received, as a result, many visitors interested in learning more about TSPS.

Please reach-out to future volunteer-opportunities in TSPS-sponsored events: you can always expect to be involved in something fun and engaging. 

Here are some photos of the event:

February 1, 2023
By Timothy Langley

DevilCraft in Gotanda was the venue for our February Keelhaul.
More than 25 Members joined this event: four Bridge Officers, two prospective new Members, and four Guests. Keelhaul is our most regular social feature, followed by annual BBQs, on-the-water cruises, and Yokohama Boat Show (coming up at the end of March!).
TSPS is an NPO that is dedicated to learning & gaining experience in sailing & boating inJapanese waters, to getting licensed, and to meeting likeminded people in this, the world’s largest megatropolis.
The Keelhaul supplements the work of the webpage by spreading information on cruising availabilities and Class schedules, bringing-in new Members, and allowing everyone to meet with and talk (brag) about sailing with the leadership and Instructors.
Here are some of the Keelhaul Participants:
Timothy Langley, Secretary & Legal Officer
Vllad Legeza, Boating Activities Chair
Claude Strobbe, Education Officer
Will Wade, Membership Chair
Yves Simon, John Kratochvil, Lowell Sheppard, Nemanja Komatinovic, Ashley Smart, Alexan, Andrei Enshin, Wolfgang Bierers, Raymond Leung

Paolo Montesel, New Member
Ben Knuth, New Member
Tomiko Ishizuka, Guest
Anthony Hardie, Guest
Maya Matsuoka, Guest
Kristina Stojchevska, Guest
Patrick McEvelly, Guest

Please connect with everyone via Linked-in or FaceBook so we can continue to grow thiscommunity…

Here are some photos from the evening:

January 11, 2023

By Timothy Langley

DevilCraft in Hamamatsucho was the venue for our first TSPS Keelhaul-of-the-Year. 

More than 25 Members joined this monthly beerfest & deep-dish Chicago pizza, four prospective new Members, and two new Members.  Keelhaul is the most regular social feature of TSPS, followed by our twice-annual BBQs, the on-the-water cruises, and the annual Yokohama Boat Show. 

Otherwise and as you know, TSPS is primarily about learning and gaining experience in sailing & boating in Japanese waters, getting licensed, and for meeting other likeminded people in the world’s largest megatropolis. 

The Keelhaul supplements the work of the webpage by spreading information on cruising availabilities and Class schedules, bringing-in new Members, and allowing everyone to meet with and talk (brag) about sailing with the leadership and Instructors (who are all drunkards in any event). 

Please bookmark the webpage for the Calendar-of-Events and by all means reserve the First Wednesday of Every Month for our regularly scheduled Keelhauls (venue changes frequently).

Here are some of the Participants:

Timothy Langley, Secretary & Legal Officer

Svetlana Ilyushechkina, Executive Officer & Events Coordinator

Yves Simon

John Kratochuvik

Mike Snyder, Bridge Commander

Jeff Canaday, Assistant Educational Officer

Bill Van Alstine, Treasurer

Anthony Hardie, Guest

Claude Strobbe, Education Officer

Darren Halliday, New Member

Naomi Halliday, New Member

Gena Gordeev

Ashley Smart

Hector Rodrigues, New Member

Vladimir Legeza

Alex Dzhangirov

Bernard Languillier

Steve Lai

Tomiko Ishizuka, Guest

Please connect with everyone via Linked-in or FaceBook so we can continue to grow this community…

Here are some photos from the evening:

　

By Timothy Langley

December 12, 2022

The 2022 year-end blow-out party, the annual TSPS Bonenkai, was successfully held on December 7^th at the Pullman Hotel in Tamachi. Approximately 30 Members showed-up with 7 guests. The buffet was luxuriant and food, plentiful; the libations flowing as one would expect.

In a distinct break from tradition, entertainment this year was an Awards Ceremony. Six highly-coveted trophies were commissioned by the Bridge. As the photos reveal, no-expense was spared to produce the most glorious representation of achievement in the several distinct categories.

The six awards, and the winners this year, were:

1.         The Blue Bucket Award: this handsome trophy is a framed fragment of a destroyed blue-plastic bucket. This represents the accomplishments of our TSPS Member (a duo this year!) who, in spite of a mere tiny challenge, devoted incredible energy & resources, at considerable risk, to achieve a very minor goal, causing great destruction in the process.

The 2022 Winners of this Award are Tony Whitman and Hunter Brumfield, presented in absencia to Bridge Commander Michael Snyder. 

2.         Most Dayson the Water Award: this trophy consists of a Gift Certificate from renowned local divorce-specialist law firm Dewey Cheatum & Howe for free-consultation in the inevitable event of divorce proceedings by a distraught and neglected wife. The Award goes to that special individual who has most-successfully avoided home-duties by spending all of his available free-time on his boat (or that of a friend’s). The elaborately framed-certificate includes helpful instructions to “Break Glass In Case Of Emergency” instructions.

The Award for 2022 goes to Timothy Langley.

3.         Captain of the Year Award: this framed coveted-trophy is otherwise known as “The Captain Crunch Award”. It consists of a luxuriantly-framed cereal box with a copy of a wrecked yacht pasted on the bottom: obviously tremendous thought and no expense were spared creating this gem. The Award is self-explanatory.

The Award for 2022 goes to Claude Strobbe.

4.         Greatest Feat of the Year Award: this artful, highly-desired trophy represents the ability to rescue some minor token of victory in the face of otherwise total destruction. Against incredible odds, the winner exemplifies the ability in some TSPS Members to preserve a modicum of decency even in the face of abject humiliation.

The Award for 2022 goes to Evan Burkowsky.

5.         Bent-Stanchion Award: this gorgeous silvery Trophy epitomizes the plight of all who devote money, resources and energy to repairing and preserving some object of great affection, only to have it reduced to junk in a single instance of inattention or cruel fate.

The Award for 2022 goes to Commander Michael Snyder.

6.         Colossal Coupler Award: this desirous art-deco Trophy will occupy the entire tabletop of the proud winner. Such is the glamorous construction that it would not look out-of-place either outside behind the garage atop a pile of trash or even occupying the entry to a Fortune 100 corporate headquarters. This Trophy represents the enormous weight of responsibility and the pride of ownership conveyed to a boat-owner who is forever destined to simply pour money into a bottomless pit and still end up with a chunk of mere metal.

The Award for 2022 goes to William Van Alstine.

The Bridge acknowledges the great skill and determination of Svetlana Ilyushechkina for working & negotiating with the Pullman Hotel to host this very successful 2023 year-end event. Similarly, the Bridge is indebted to Andrew Lawson for the tremendous wit and suaveness brought to bear as a dynamic & engaging Master of Ceremony for the Awards portion of the evening. Finally, the Bridge would like to acknowledge the tremendous effort, creativity, and dumpster-diving skill evidenced by this year’s production of trophies by Evan Burkowsky and Timothy Langley (the various intellectual-property lawsuits notwithstanding).

Trophies by Timothy Langley

Bonenkai Photo Compilation: