Category Archives: News

Robert Radcliffe’s Flicka 20 for Sale

08/15/2017News, For SaleWarren Fraser

The late Robert Radcliffe was an avid sailor who loved sailing his boat Blowfish. His wife, Shoko, has reluctantly put Blowfish up for sale.

Here is some information about the boat from Robert’s friend and previous owner of Blowfish, Alex.

Blowfish was a one-off hull, built of FRP plastered over steel mesh. she weighs 3.5 tons, and so is a bit heavier than other Flickas by about 250 kilos. She has plywood deck and house, and was very well built by a shipyard in Maryland. My father and I built her deck, cabin, interior, etc. She is now 40 years old, ragged but right, a bit scuffed and grimy, but seaworthy and sound. In recent years she has been well maintained by Robert and the mechanics at Oita.

She was originally a gaff-rigged catboat when she sailed on the Chesapeake (then name “Tureen”) and was converted to sloop in 2000 when she came to Japan. She has a jib boom which is a pain (I’d lose it). She has two good Honda 9HP outboards. The older one (2007) is long shaft with a big flat screw; it drives her very well and quietly. The newer one is short shaft with a higher pitched screw; Robert bought it for the electric starter after he was too weak to manage the other, manual-start engine. I add, she used to have a BMW inboard, but I could no longer find parts for it (and so it was removed.)

Sails are solid, new in 2000. Roller reefing on the jib, and all sheets and halyards lead to the cockpit, so she is easy to singlehand. Full keel, so an easy cruiser – she is no race boat, but a solid blue water passage maker. Standing room in the cabin, quite a lot of boat for a 20′ waterline.

Oita is a good berth – cheap, excellent staff, great sailing ground, and an hour or so away by plane. I would keep her there.

Blowfish is currently tied up in a full-service marina only a 10-minute walk from Oita Airport (the marina is to the south of the landing strip). Annual marina fees for the boat are said to be very inexpensive and Robert said it was cheaper to keep the boat in Oita and fly down four or five times a year than to keep the boat in the Tokyo area. With the marina so close to the airport, there are many benefits to keeping Blowfish in Oita.

The asking price is ¥300,000. This is primarily to cover the costs of the 2017-18 marina fee, recent interior woodwork and new bottom paint both done by the marina in May.

If you’re interested in Blowfish, you can contact communications@tspsjapan.org for more information. More photos of Blowfish are expected to arrive soon.

From a Member: Wakeboarding with Akenohoshi Gakuen

08/15/2017News, EventsWarren Fraser

TSPS Commander Bill Van Alstine submitted this report on a volunteer event held on August 4-5 and sponsored in part by Tokyo Sail and Power Squadron. Bill shares the background as to how the event came about, the goings on at Lake Yamanaka, and the results of the efforts of everyone involved.

I’ve been involved with the Tokyo foster care home, Akenohoshi Gakuen, since 2005 when the volunteer committee of my former employer, Dresdner Kleinwort Japan, began providing support for the facility. The home has capacity for twenty kids of junior and high school age. Typically, facilities for preschool and elementary kids get the lion’s share of interest and support from the volunteer community and so Akenohoshi Gakuen had been largely ignored when we began in 2005.

My experience with the kids at Akenohoshi Gakuen was always good, whether we had a BBQ, visited a theme park, or went to see a movie. After I got my JMRA boat license several years ago through TSPS I’d wanted to put together some kind of boating event for the kids—but getting twenty kids to a boat was difficult and the staff of the home told me that it was all or none. It was a hurdle that was difficult to overcome, and this year I could do it.

The staff of AG took my one-day plan to visit Lake Yamanaka near Mt Fuji and turned it into a tw0-day overnight event at a lodge to which foster facilities have access at very reasonable rates. The riskiest part of the plan was to do the event on a Friday and Saturday, which would require volunteers to take a day off. Luckily, TSPS members and my previous volunteer network answered the call to join.

This event required that volunteers cover costs not just for themselves but also the costs of food for students and staff, and the boat. So on top of the vacation day and time that had to be devoted, volunteers were required to pay ¥12,000 — and I was extremely lucky to have Jeremy Sanderson with his daughter and former commander Richard Schultz sign on.

On Day 1, Richard was assigned to drive the boat Friday from 11am to 5:30pm, with only a cold cheeseburger delivered to him at 2pm for sustenance—a long tough assignment that required continuous focus while towing.

The twenty kids were assigned to teams of five to go out on the water for ninety minutes each. The three landlocked teams remained on the grounds of the lodge and played soccer, frisbee, and ate their meals. The evening consisted of a big barbecue, campfire with roasted marshmallows, watermelon — the works! The burgers, other food and snacks, and Saturday breakfast was all the result of work done by the volunteers.

In total we had eleven volunteers contributing to making the two-day event great fun for the kids. Very importantly, the Tokyo Sail and Power Squadron donated almost ¥38,000 to cover the cost of the Yamaha wake boat. This very generous gift from TSPS made a huge difference in what we were able to accomplish and the experience we were able to provide.

On Day 2 at 0500 Saturday morning, Jeremy and I cooked 100 slices of bacon and made french toast for all. The early start was to make sure we could get back on the water from 0730 for another three hours of screaming excitement with the wakeboard boat. At around noon, we wrapped up the event with a group photo and each volunteer was presented with a card of thanks that the kids had prepared for us.

The reaction from the kids over the weekend made it so worthwhile.. They loved the design of the boat and the rides on it, they enjoyed freely jumping into the lake, and I think they were very happy that for the two days, the boat was theirs to use for their own pleasure. And for many, there was the sweet success of standing on the wakeboard and flying across the waves. Seasoned TSPS members understand how rare boating opportunities are and so it is no stretch to imagine the impact this summer event had on a group of kids that wouldn’t normally have a lot to talk to classmates about when they get back to school in the fall. This time, thanks to TSPS will be able to describe the excitement of standing on a wakeboard and flying over the waves on an inflatable, perhaps something none of their classmates has ever experienced.

I came home two kilos lighter from my adventure, and later when describing the event to a friend, I realised that none of the previous outings to theme parks, movies, barbecues had come close to the impact this event had on the kids. I would personally like to thank TSPS and members Jeremy and Richard for their contribution to this wonderful event, something I’m sure will be a very happy and lifelong memory for the kids of Akenohoshi Gakuen.

TSPS Member Robert Radcliffe Passes Away

06/26/2017NewsWarren Fraser

“A sailor is not defined as much by how many seas he has sailed than by how many storms he has overcome.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo

It is with great regret that we relay news of the passing of Robert Radcliffe on June 11 after a long battle with illness.

Jeff Canaday, a good friend of Robert and fellow TSPS member, wrote the following:

In Memory of Robert Ratcliffe, who passed away on June 11, 2017.

I cannot remember the first time I met Robert Ratcliffe. Looking back, it is as if he was always one of those perennial elements of the Japan TSPS experience, like a sunset yakisoba BBQ in a friend’s cockpit or the initiation rite of the Japan boating license exam. Robert always was, and we assumed always would be, a cherished and beloved friend.

That is why we were shocked to learn that he passed away on June 11, 2017. We had been talking about a Golden Week sail only a month earlier. He had casually mentioned that he had had another round of chemotherapy in December, but we heard no complaints, and he was looking forward to sailing. He had been very ill once before, revealing to most of us only after the fact that he had undergone chemotherapy. It did not, however, keep him out of his boat for very long. Blow Fish, his custom-built ferro-fiberglass version of the famed Pacific Seacraft Flicka, seemed to give him renewed strength. It certainly gave him pleasure.

Starting in about 2013, Robert (never, ever Bob) began inviting some of the more sailing-romantic members of TSPS down to his boat’s home marina in Oita, Kyushu. I say romantic, because it took some rather strong rose-colored glasses to fully appreciate the beauty of a 30-year old, 20-foot boat whose decks and cabin were hand brushed with green and sky-blue house paint.

Robert, quite characteristically, had calculated that for the cost of mooring a boat anywhere near Tokyo, he could moor it in much more interesting waters and fly down several times a year. Robert simply got out a map of Japan and found the marina that was closest to a major airport. The one he selected was a 20-minute walk from the air terminal’s main door. It made perfect sense to him, and after a visit, to us, too. Like Robert, the able-sailing and stout-hearted Blow Fish had many qualities not visible from first appearances. Few who knew him from the Keelhaul or other TSPS events, would have guessed that he was a Yale-educated Arabic-language professor, or that he frequently chartered boats in the Aegean Sea during his long summer breaks.

In 2016, Robert and his wife Shoko bought a farmhouse on an island offshore from Matsuyama in Shikoku. He enlisted Andy Lawson and myself to help him take Blow Fish across the strait and up through the Japan Inland Sea to his new summer home. It was two days among some of the most magical scenery a sailor can expect to find anywhere, and Robert seemed to know every corner of it. In October, Tristan Pratt and I joined Robert to return Blow Fish to the marina for a winter lay up. While down there, he introduced us to many of his new friends and shared stories of life in a village whose only commercial presence was a coke machine opposite the fisherman’s wharf.

There are far too many memories to continue to list here. They were all pleasant, and all larger than life. It seems Robert never met someone he didn’t like and everyone he met liked him. I will remember him every time I step aboard a boat, especially any boat with character, to enjoy a pastime that he loved and shared joyously with others.

Jeff Canaday

A native of Louisiana, Robert was a professor of Arabic and linguistics at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Loved and respected by all, he was seen off at his funeral on June 15 at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Yotsuya by many of his students, friends and TSPS members, along with his family.

Photos of Robert.

Member Minoru Saito Bound For Guam and Beyond

06/18/2017NewsWarren Fraser

Minoru Saito is once again at the helm of Shuten Dohji II, this time en route to Guam. There he will re-certify his vessel, something he does every three years as the boat is not registered as a Japanese ship. From Guam, his plan is to continue south to Australia for ship maintenance and mast work. Later, he intends to take the boat to Tasmania where he will leave the boat for a time. We’re not sure when or if he plans to sail Shuten Dohji back to Japan or whether the plan is to position his vessel for an attempt at a ninth circumnavigation, unlikely as it seems. But when it comes to Saito-san and the sea, anything and everything is possible.

You can follow Minoru Saito on Facebook.

We at TSPS wish him only fair winds and following seas, and eventually a safe return to Japan.

Bifrost II Begins Voyage from Lymington, UK to Gibraltar

05/26/2017NewsWarren Fraser

TSPS member Per Knudsen began a journey from England to Gibraltar on May 25th aboard his sailing vessel Bifrost II. Crewing the Sun Odyssey 50DS are past members Ian Wilson, his son Jack Wilson and Randy Erskine, Patrick Milne, and Per. They departed Lymington at 0900 UK time for the first leg of the journey and are currently making swift progress down the English Channel on their way to Falmouth, where they will spend a couple of days checking and re-checking boat systems prior to departing for France… and beyond.

Their tentative itinerary is:

May 25: Depart Lymington for Falmouth

May 28: Depart Falmouth for Camaret or Audierne, France,

Take aboard TSPS member Claus Eilersen in France

May 30: Depart Camaret/Audierne for Gijon or A Coruna, Spain

June 4: Departure Gijon/A Coruna for Gib, w/ stops along the way

June 10-12: Arrive Gibraltar

Per is operating an AIS (automatic identification system) aboard Bifrost II so you can follow the voyage at marinetraffic.com. Do a search for ‘Bifrost’ and select the result “Bifrost GB” The site will then show you the position of the boat, as well as speed and direction.

Everyone at TSPS wishes Per and crew a very enjoyable and safe voyage.

Invitation To Sail In Hayama Marina’s Odagiri Cup Club Race

05/21/2017NewsWarren Fraser

For many years, our friends at Hayama Marina Yacht Club have been inviting TSPS members to join them for an annual sail on the beautiful waters of Sagami Bay, and for many years we have taken them up on the offer. Typically, a day would be a sail in the morning, lunch at anchor, more sailing, then a barbecue and perhaps some karaoke in the boatyard. This year, however, things are a bit different. Gone is the leisurely, go-wherever-the-wind-blows-you approach. In its place is a dip in the highly-competitive world of yacht racing.

That’s right. TSPS and its members have been invited to crew on Hayama boats participating in the annual Odagiri Cup Race, a twenty-mile distance race between Hayama port and Eboshi-iwa off the coast of Chigasaki. Twenty to thirty-five boats are expected to participate the race.

Here are the details of Race Day:

Date: Sunday, July 2^nd 2017

Meeting time: 9:00AM at Hayama Marina

Fee: Adults, ¥4,000, kids under 18, ¥2,000

Schedule:

8:45: Boat registration

9:00: Skippers meeting

9:30: Leave dock

10:30: Odagiri Cup race start

15:00: Winners ceremony & party, more food & drinks

Two boat classes will participate–racer and moderate. The racer class is made up of ten boats that participate regularly in club, intra-club, and national-level races, while the moderate class is for non-racing boats; that is, yachts that normally sail weekends in a more leisurely fashion. Each racer-class boat will take aboard one TSPS member with sufficient boating experience to actively participate as a crew member. Those of us with less racing/boating experience will be welcomed aboard the moderate class boats, which will carry one or more TSPS members, depending on capacity. (This is important if you intend to bring along a group of friends, as your group may be split up and placed on different boats.)

Additionally, HMYC is inviting TSPS members with sailboats to participate in the race.

While racing, bread, in the form of sandwiches, and water will be provided for nourishment and refreshment, but once back at the docks after the race, HMYC will lay out a hearty spread with celebratory drink for the post-race winner’s ceremonies and party.

At HMYC’s request, we are limiting sign-ups to 30 TSPS members and their family and/or guests, with a June 12 pre-event deadline, and final numbers by June 23. To help HMYC and us arrive at a reasonable estimate of the number of participants, please sign up before June 12.

Sign-ups are limited to four per group.

To sign up for the race, go to Odagiri Cup Race at Hayama Marina signup page.

Please note: cancellations must be received by email before June 28, 2017. We will be asking for full payment by bank transfer from those who cancel late or fail to show up at the event.

If you have any questions or wish to cancel, email Cruise Coordinator Mike Snyder.

Announcement: TSPS Offers Day Sailing Opportunities To Its Members

05/06/2017News, Education ActivitiesWarren Fraser

The main boat in the Velasis Marina Marine Club

Over the past several years the TSPS Bridge, especially our Senior Education Officer Jeff Canaday, has received numerous requests for an on-the-water (OTW) component in our boating education courses; participants want to get their hands wet, so to speak. We’ve also heard from our members about their desire for more opportunities to go sailing for a day with family and friends. Well, we are pleased to announce that starting April 28, 2017, we will be providing boating opportunities that meet these needs.

The Tokyo Sail and Power Squadron has taken a group membership in the Velasis Marina Marine Club. Velasis Marina is located at the mouth of Tokyo Bay and provides a sailing gateway to clear blue waters and lovely coastlines near the bottom of Miura peninsula and across the bay in southern Chiba. The Velasis Marine Club offers us a guaranteed twelve weekend days per year, as well as many other sailing dates during the weekdays and available weekend days. The TSPS Bridge feels this gives us ample opportunity to get our members out on the water. A photo of the type of boat we will use is above

We will be running two types of sailing event for our members; namely, Sail Training and A Day On The Water. Sail Training involves one two-hour session in a classroom with a TSPS instructor followed by one OTW session where participants will learn and practice the basics of sailing. Our Day On The Water is just that, a day for members to board the boat for four to five hours of leisurely sailing wherever the wind and the provided skipper takes them. In both cases, a skipper/instructor trained in the operation of the vessel will be aboard to ensure safety and proper vessel operation.

Pricing for the two ongoing events is as follows:

SAIL TRAINING: ¥15,000 for members, ¥20,000 for non-members

DAY ON THE WATER: ¥10,000 for members, ¥20,000 for non-members

Non-members can attend as guests of TSPS members, unless of course, they sign up to become a TSPS member either beforehand or at the dock.

As the cost of membership in the Marine Club is quite high, we are hoping to sail with at least five people aboard, including the skipper, to cover the costs. However, if you would like to use the vessel and skipper for a private sail, be it with family or friends, we would be happy to discuss this with you. Also, if you would like to sail on a Friday, we can accommodate you as one of the skippers is available then, too.

We will go sailing rain or shine (we are sailors, after all) and be stopped only by a decision from Velasis Marina to close the Marine Club due to dangerous conditions.

Due to the nature of the boat reservation system at Velasis, we will be announcing some of the events on short notice.

Prepayment will required via bank transfer within 24 hours of registering.

If you have any questions regarding either the Sail Training or A Day On The Water programs, feel free to contact Warren Fraser.

This is our first attempt at something like this and we are still in the process of working out the details, but we hope we have your support by helping make this an ongoing offering of TSPS to its members.

So sign up and get out on the water to show your support.

Fair winds,

Warren Fraser

Program Coordinator, Communications

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TSPS 60th Anniversary Featured In The Ensign

04/14/2017News, EventsWarren Fraser

Last year we celebrated the 60th anniversary of TSPS at a wonderful event held at Velasis Marina. We submitted photos and a brief description about the event to the USPS magazine, The Ensign, and are excited to see they published a half page story on the event. A photo of TSPS member Minoru Saito is featured prominently in the story, as he is famous in boating circles abroad, and a past winner of USPS’ most prestigious award. Also featured is a group shot taken at the end of the event.

If you are a member, then you’ve undoubtedly seen the article in the magazine, which is sent quarterly to every member. If not, here it is…

Photo credits: Minoru Saito– Ernie Olsen. Group– Warren Fraser. Sharing a Meal… – Roderick Jaynes

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2017 TSPS Change of Watch (CoW) Date Set

02/21/2017News, EventsWarren Fraser

The 2017 Change of Watch, or CoW, is an annual TSPS event in which the Bridge reports to membership on the squadron’s financial status, education plans, membership activities, and events planned for 2017. Those present will then cast a vote for an incoming Bridge for 2017. Attending this event is a great opportunity to get up to speed on the squadron’s 2017 objectives, participate in the selection of Bridge officers, meet other members of our organization, and of course indulge in a wonderful buffet dinner and open bar. We will also be holding a raffle at the end of the evening.

Hope to see you there!

Agenda:

Doors: 6:30PM
2016-2017 Presentation: 6:45PM
Buffet Dinner: 7:30PM
New Bridge: 8:15PM
Wrap-up and End: 9:00PM

Date: Thursday, April 27, 2017

Time: 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Place: Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Japan (FCCJ)

Deadline for Signing Up: Sunday, April 23 (before midnight)

Fees:

Members and Partners– ¥6,000
Guests/Non-members– ¥7,000

Please note: TSPS will be charged for the seats reserved for the evening. Therefore, we will request no-shows and those cancelling after April 23 to pay the event fee in full.

Sign up here:

2017 TSPS CoW Signup Page

FCCJ

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan
Yurakucho Denki North Building 20F
Yurakucho 1-7-1, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-0006
Tel: +81-3-3211-3161; Fax: +81-3-3211-3168

Email: front@fccj.or.jp

Getting there:

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan is located on the 20th Floor of the Yurakucho Denki North Building in the heart of Tokyo.
• Hibiya Station (Tokyo Metro Hibiya, Chiyoda, Mita and Yurakucho lines – exits A3 & A2)
• JR Yurakucho Station (Yamanote and Keihin Tohoku lines) Ginza, Uchisaiwai-cho, Tokyo are all within walking distance.

(The A3 exit at Hibiya station comes up in the basement of the FCCJ building. Head toward the elevator bank for the North Building (Kita-kan) and take the elevator.

Again, looking forward to seeing you there.

Fair winds,
David Sutton-Kirkby
Commander, TSPS

TSPS’ First ‘Boating In Japan’ Seminar- Report

02/17/2017News, Education ActivitiesWarren Fraser

TSPS held its first-ever open seminar at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Japan on February 16. The theme was Boating in Japan, and featured eleven different speakers talking on ten topics related to getting out on the water in Japan. Topics ranged from government regulations and licensing to dinghy sailing to how to acquire a vessel and where to dock it. The slides from the presentation can be found here.

After Commander Sutton-Kirkby kicked of the evening with a warm welcome to the 34 people in attendance, Jeff Canaday gave an informative presentation on regulatory requirements and the pros and cons of both power boats and sailboats. This was followed by Chris Pitts talking about group ownership, perhaps the most affordable (and popular) way of having a stake in a boat. Per Knudsen looked briefly at buying a boat in Japan before Mike Snyder took the mic and addressed the methods and what turned out to be considerable costs involved in importing a boat into Japan. Later, when Mike asked the participants whether anyone was planning to import a boat into Japan, one quick reply was, “Not anymore.”

Mike then passed the mic to the team of Hiina Goi and Yukina Ota from Yamaha Marina Club Sea-Style. Together, they provided information about their company’s offerings, including boat rentals, nation-wide services, and costs of membership and rental fees. TSPS Bridge member Bill Van Alstine then talked about his experiences using Sea-Style services. On the whole, he said their services are reasonably priced and that one great benefit of renting is being able to walk away from the dock free of the many concerns of boat ownership.

Jeff Canaday retook the mic and talked about boating education and that while getting a Japanese license is step one, the key to safe boating is in knowing how to deal with challenges of being on the water outside the marina seawall. He spoke about the USPS being at its core a boating education organization and then reiterated that the TSPS mission is to provide courses that educate people on safely navigating the waters in and around Tokyo. Jeff then passed the mic to Mark Smith, an RYA-certified instructor and dinghy sailing advocate. Mark provided information on how people in the Tokyo area can get involved in dinghy sailing. Commander Sutton-Kirkby, after thanking the speakers, then announced it was time for refreshments and that the buffet was open.

After the buffet platters were emptied and thirsts quenched, the commander reconvened for a Q and A session with a panel of presenters taking questions from the participants.

On the whole, it was a good first effort at an open seminar and TSPS thanks everyone that attended and those who presented. There will in all likelihood be more of these seminars planned over the next few years. Try to attend.

… Slides from the seminar.