On March 9, 2016, the Change of Watch was held at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. Llad Phillips, Past Commander of the Santa Barbara California Squadron of USPS District 13, presided over the swearing in of the new commander, David Sutton-Kirby, who is taking over from Eugen Mall, the commander for the last two years. Subsequently, the new officers of the bridge were also sworn in.
P/C Llad Phillips of Santa Barbara USPS Squadron swears in the new TSPS Bridge of 2016. Newly sworn in Commander David Sutton-Kirby looks on at left
The new bridge is as follows:
Commander: David Sutton-Kirby
Executive Officer: David Edwards P
Secretary: William Van Alstine
Education Officer: Jeff Canaday AP
Administrative Officer: Wolfgang Bierer
Treasurer: Ernfred Olsen S
Ex-Com officers
Membership Chairman: John Marshall AP
Cruising Coordinator: Anne Bille AP
Communications: Mike Snyder AP
Public Relations: Jiro Fujiwara
Member-At-Large: Warren Fraser
Member-at-Large: Per Knudsen, AP
After the swearing in, food and drink were enjoyed by all, as was the annual raffle of prizes.
We all look forward to a full year of educational and entertaining boating experiences.
P/C Phillips gave a few words of encouragement from USPS to the assembled TSPS members and guests.P/C Eugen Mall now has a new hat to add to his prodigious collection of hats: the (in)famous Tom Cod hat, traditionally presented to the outgoing commander.
The annual Bonenkai “End of the Year Party” will be held on December 3 at the same venue as last year, Churo’s D. See the old year out in a friendly boat-oriented atmosphere. There will be entertainment, too. See events for details and to reserve your space.
The TSPS Bridge Officers for 2015 take the oath of office from member Francis Wertheimer. From left to right: Ernie Olsen, Treasurer; Wolfgang Bierer, Executive Officer (XO); Jiro Fujiwara, Public Relations; David Sutton-Kirkby, Administrative Officer; Gary Thomas, Secretary; Mike Snyder, Communications; and John Marshall Membership Chairman. Other officers taking the oath and not in the picture are: Per Knudsen, Cruising Coordinator, and Tom Proctor, Member-At-Large. Previously, Eugen Mall, who is continuing as Commander, was also sworn in.
TSPS held its annual Change of Watch on the evening of Feb. 17, 2015, at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. The Bridge officers for 2015 were voted on and sworn in by the attending members. Reports of the past year and plans for the coming year were also given. Dinner, drinks and lively conversation were enjoyed by the 39 attendees. The event ended with the annual CoW lottery and various marine themed prizes were taken home by the winners.
This past Saturday members of Hayama Marina Yacht Club hosted twenty-five TSPS members for a day on the water, a marina barbecue, and music and dance event. The day started at 9:30AM when TSPS members were assigned to one of six boats skippered by Hayama Marina members. Food and drink was quickly ferried to the boats and by 10:30 all boats were underway, weaving their way through boats in a rather crowded harbour entrance.
Skies to the south and west were threatening a downpour, but some skippers hoisted sail and powered down the engine while others preferred to continue motor sailing. About 30 minutes after casting off, the skies opened and down came the rain, lots of rain accompanied by lightning and thunder. Most skippers made the decision to return to port at that point, while one or two remained out for a while longer. Most boats were back in their slip or on the hard by 1PM. This meant a three-hour wait for the beginning of the barbecue and party. Some people gathered in the common area in the boatyard under roof to wait out the downpour while others remained aboard their respective boats eating and drinking.
No one seemed to mind the bad weather, and while it kept us off the water, it also dropped the temperature by five or so degrees, creating one of the cooler afternoons this summer. Some had gotten soaked from the rain and had no dry clothes to change into, but they all grinned through the afternoon happy to be at Hayama.
At about 3:00PM the sun broke through with excellent timing and the music and barbecue began. A skilled Japanese band soon appeared and began playing great Hank Williams classics and got a lot of feet tapping. Later a troupe of Hulu dancers appeared followed by a very energetic troupe of Tahitian dancers.
On the whole, the event was a lot of fun with interesting weather to say the least, great food, entertainment, and companionship.
Our thanks go out to Maruo-san and the skippers at Hayama for once again inviting TSPS members aboard their boats.
Unfortunately, as some of you who attended the event may know, an accident occurred in which a TSPS member, who will not be named here out of privacy concerns, fell from a ladder in the Hayama boatyard and hit their head on the concrete boatyard surface. A doctor was quickly found among the guests at Hayama who then put in a call for an ambulance. The TSPS member was taken to a local hospital, where they eventually underwent emergency surgery, and remained in the ICU for approximately 36 hours. As of this writing the TSPS member remains in hospital recovering from the injuries. Family of the injured member has asked TSPS members who wish to visit to hold off for a few weeks as more recovery time is required.
I’m sure I speak for everyone involved with TSPS in wishing our fellow member and family a speedy and full recovery. We truly hope to see them at another TSPS event very soon.
Here are some photos from the event.
TSPS Members on Hayama Marina member boats leaving the docks for a day on the water.
A few years back we posted a story written by TSPS member Jerry Brady about an afternoon he spent aboard Francis and Masayo Wertheimber’s sport-fishing boat Diva. Jerry details the battle he fought to reel in and then release a large blue marlin and the roles played by the other three people aboard. It was a clearly a team effort.
Word came to us last weekend that another TSPS member had hauled in a marlin, but on this occasion he did it with no one else on board to help control and position the boat. Vassili Ermakov’s short tale of his battle with a Striped Marlin as told in an email message to Francis brings to mind the Hemingway novel, The Old Man And The Sea. With Vassili’s approval, we publish the story below:
[dropcap]I [/dropcap]was a bit overwhelmed from fighting that fish for an hour or so alone, Francis, so I didn’t really ask you how you were doing when we met on the docks. In reply to your question if I pulled the fish in using the autopilot, I can tell you it was not that simple. Instead of winching it in, I used the boat to pull it around and wear it down in the same way as if I were winching it in. The only difference was that it got mortally tired away from the boat. When I felt that it had finally settled down I winched it in.
That’s the gist of it, but God, do I wish it were that simple! Despite its moderate size the fish put up quite a fight. It was a touch and go situation for a considerable time. The fifty-pound line was on the verge of breaking down several times. Luckily, however, I’d already been in a similar situation and I recognized the sound of a line about to break, so I simply backed up the reel to loosen the strain. To complicate the matter, the whole fight took place in the middle of a current with very choppy seas. I thought Mary Jane would roll over several times as huge waves hit the side of the boat.
All in all it was a great learning experience. I will probably change the lines to eighty-pound on both of my fifty-pound rods.
After originally posting this story, Vassili sent me a note saying that the striped marlin had provided lunch for five days for ten people working in in his office. It’s good to hear nothing was wasted. Congratulations, Vassili. And if you’re looking for crew to help land your next big fish, let us know!
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Vassili Ermakov and his Marlin, August 2, 2014 at Velasis Marina.
TSPS members and their guests pose for a group photo at the TSPS Rendezvous, 2014
In spite of the dark forecasts provided for June 28 by various weather services in Japan, the TSPS Rendezvous 2014 went off without anyone getting more than a few drops of rain on them. In a sense, we walked between the raindrops on Saturday, with a bit of rain at around 1PM as the tables and chairs were being set up, then a wee bit more around 5PM. That was it. The comfortable temperatures and low humidity made for a very pleasant afternoon spent eating great hamburgers, steaks, sausages, salads, fruit, key-lime pies and a whole bunch more. Conversations about boats and boating sprung up everywhere and everyone was looking forward to getting out on the water this year.
Thirty one of the thirty-five people who signed up showed up in spite of the weather forecasts and had a very nice time. Our thanks go out to everyone who attended, and especially to Commander Eugen Mall, Mike Snyder, Per Knudsen, Anne Bille, Rumiko Fraser, and Masayo Wertheimber for their hard work in arranging the event location, provisioning, and preparing the food for the barbecue and the tables. Also a thank you to Velasis Marina for providing space with an awning and wonderful clover-laiden green grass to walk across.
Stay tuned to this website for more information on the next big TSPS social or sailing event.
We are pleased to announce we are holding our TSPS Spring Rendezvous, this year on Saturday, June 28. (June 7th was a washout)
Our Spring Rendezvous will be in the heart of the Velasis Marina in Uraga, right up close to our favorite form of transportation, boats! This is a golden opportunity for like-minded boat people to get to know each other and TSPS, and as always you are most welcome to invite friends or colleagues interested in boating. So go ahead and mark the Spring Rendezvous barbecue on your to-do list, because this is always the highlight of the Kanto social calendar. (We are barbecuing under a giant awning, so there will be nothing to dampen the great times at the party.
Here are the details:
Date: Saturday, June 28 Time: 2 pm Place: Velasis Marina, Uraga, Kanagawa Pref. Fee: ¥4,000 for members, ¥5,000 for guests, children 1/2 price. Payment: At the door Sign up deadline:Midnight, June 26th
Feel free to arrive early if you wish to enjoy the historical port of Uraga, the marina, the boats, and the sun. We open up the coolers at around 2 pm with an assortment of soft drinks, cold beer, and white and red wines. The menu will include but is not limited to quality beef steaks, sausages, seafood, salad, fruit and vegetables.
So that we can be sure to prepare sufficient food, please book your place(s) on the website no later than Friday, June 26. (signup link two lines down)
Skippers: If you plan to sail in, please provide Per Knudsen with the name and size of your vessel so he can reserve a guest berth for you. Please include crew details.
For people who are non-drinkers or have designated drivers, the easiest route to Velasis is to take the Yoko-Yoko motorway and get off at Uraga. Turn right after the exit and then follow the map or your navigation system.
For the rest of us, the easiest and quickest route is to take the Keihin Kyuko toward Misakiguchi to Kurihama, then take a taxi (¥1,200-¥1500) or bus #19 from there. Alternatively, take the Keihin Kyuko to Horinouchi, then transfer to the local train to Uraga. From there take a taxi (minimum fare) to Velasis or the hourly bus no. 19. It stops almost in front of Velasis, or alternatively enjoy the twenty-minute walk from Uraga station.
This past Saturday (May 17, 2014), long-time member and Fuji Seven skipper Fujimoto-san opened the doors of his wonderful waterfront home, Kinnosuke Besso, to TSPS members for the first TSPS barbeque of 2014. The home is iconic and a Misaki city and Miura peninsula landmark and was once owned by the famous Kabuki actor Yorozuya Kinnosuke.
The weather was fantastic and Commander Mall and his wife Suzuko prepared a fantastic feast of fresh vegetables, sashimi and fruit and filled coolers with a variety of wines and beers. Past Commander Per Knudsen and his wife Anne Bille sailed into the harbor, through the waters off the end of the Kinnosuke Besso pier and tied up at Seabornia Marina across the bay. Everyone attending had their fill of wonderful food and beverages under a beautiful blue May sky. One couldn’t really ask for a more enjoyable afternoon.
Many thanks to Fujimoto-san for welcoming us into Kinnosuke Besso and to Commander Mall and Suzuko for their hard work delivering and preparing the feast.
If you’re a TSPS member, why not take advantage of these events? Invitations go out to all members and every member is most welcome.
Slideshow below, or a link to bigger photos from the event:
Thanks to TSPS member Tatsuo Fujimoto the first BBQ of the year will be held at his waterfront house across the water from Seabornia Marina near Misaki, Miura Hanto, on Saturday May 17, 2014 from 12 Noon until the drinks are gone. The cost will be Yen 5 000 per person. We have enjoyed Mr. Fujimoto’s hospitality before and always have a good time. For more information and how to sign up for the barbecue, go to the event announcement.
Our Annual Hayama Marina Outing and Barbecue– Saturday, October 19
Again this year TSPS members have been invited by the Hayama Marina Yacht Club and HMYC’s International Relations Committee member Akihiko Kobayashi to enjoy a day of sailing on the waters of Sagami Bay and a barbecue in the marina boatyard. This has been an annual event for many years and is always a most enjoyable time. It starts at 10 AM with us meeting at Hayama Marina and being assigned to an HMYC-member boat. We then go out on the water for about four hours. We typically sail till 12-ish, anchor together for lunch off the Hayama coast, then return to the marina at around 3 PM to ignite the barbecues, unlock the drink coolers, and relax with friends on the hard till 5:00PM.
By the way, if you or your friends and family are unable to attend the sailing portion of the day, by all means come for the barbecue. The food and drink is good, and if this event is consistent with past ones, there will even be live music and an open mic, should you care to belt out a favorite song.
The date this year for the event is Saturday, October 19.
This is one of our more popular TSPS events, so if you would like to attend, sign up here.
We prefer you sign up online, but if necessary you can send an email providing your full name and the full names of any guest(s) to commander@tspsjapan.org
Final date for sign-up is October 15th. Slots will be filled on a first-come first-served basis, with a limit of 40 participants. Please, no cancellations after October 16.
The meeting place is next to the Marina office, the yellow building near the boat launching facility, at 10:00.
Weather: If it rains the event will be cancelled and not rescheduled. HMYC will advise before 15:00, October 19, if the event is cancelled and TSPS will notify those who sign up.
Time schedule:
10:00 – all get together at the Marina office (the yellow building)
Take Yokohama-Yokosuka Road, get off at Zushi-Interchange, take left road to Hayama, pay ¥100 at toll gate after driving through tunnel, drive about 4 kilometers, go straight under overhead bridge for pedestrian with signal, drive through tunnel, turn left at next crossing with signal (AM-PM shop right side), go straight at next signal and Hayama Marina is 50 meters ahead of the signal, right side of the road. Parking is available, cost is ¥2,000.
By Train / Bus
Train time is around 1 hour from Tokyo to either station
If by JR to Zushi
Take bus no. 11 or 12 from bus stop no. 3
Get off at “ABUZURI HAYAMA MARINA MAE.” Travel time is about 10 minutes.
Proceed about 100 meter along the road the bus is on to Hayama Marina on right side of the street.
If by Keihin-Kyuko (to Shin-Zushi) station.
Exit the platform from the exit nearest the front of the train, Go to bus stop no. 2. Same bus no. 11 or 12 stops there.
