Category Archives: News

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

Sailboats Racing 0n Sagami Bay

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 2nd 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

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
[hr]

TSPS 60th Anniversary Featured In The Ensign

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

[hr]

 

2017 TSPS Change of Watch (CoW) Date Set

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

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.


 

 

‘Boating In Japan’ Seminar Set for Feb. 16

2x5

TSPS Boating In Japan Seminar

Getting out on the water in Japan can be an ominous task given stringent government regulations, licensing requirements, and the cost of ownership, among other discouraging factors.

TSPS is holding an open seminar which seeks to cut through these difficulties and inform participants of the breadth of options available for perspective boaters.

Seminar Topics:

1. Regulatory requirements

Skipper licensing, offshore/nearshore certification, boat maintenance, outboard engines

2.  Power or sailboat?

What are the benefits and issues of each in Japan

3. Buying a vessel in Japan

4. Importing a vessel into Japan

5. Consortium ownership.

Banding together with others to share vessel costs and maintenance

6. Choosing a marina

7. Vessel rentals

Available rental services, and rental requirements. A representative from Yamaha will also present their rental offerings

8. Boating Education Opportunities

Seminar Details:

Date: February 16, 2017

Time: 6:30 – 9:00PM

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

Fee: ¥3500 per person. Includes buffet dinner and drinks

The seminar is open to anyone with an interest in getting out on the water.

To register, go to TSPSJapan.org/events/seminar or email bvatokyo@icloud.com

 [hr]

TSPS ‘Tokyo Tiller’ and Press Clippings Dating Back to the ’60s

1965 COW
Bridge members from the 1965 Change of Watch pose for a group photo

TSPS turned sixty this year, and as part of our preparations for the anniversary party held on June 11, we came into possession of a collection of scrapbooks assembled by Past Commander George Purdy and his wife Midori. Commander Purdy arrived in Japan with U.S occupying forces in 1945 and over the following fifty years, he became a pillar of the expat and business community, starting up many organizations like the Boy Scouts and the original Power Squadron in Yokohama, among others.

The articles in the scrapbook are largely in good condition and provide an interesting look back at the early years of the squadron, and come from sources such as The Pacific Stars and Stripes, Tokyo Weekender magazine, and The Japan Times. For a full version of a Tokyo Tiller squadron newsletter from 1984, click on the banner below. Additionally, a slideshow of images from the 1965 Change of Watch (see above) can be viewed from this page.

We hope you enjoy the stories below from the Purdy time capsule as much as we did. More will be added soon.

Tokyo Tiller

 

Shots from 1995 Misaki Spring Rendezvous (Tokyo Tiller, August, 1995)

Fantasy Day on the ‘Indy’ (Tokyo Tiller, August, 1995)

Erie (PA.) Squadron Members Drop in For Lunch (Tokyo Tiller, October, 1991)

Safe Boating Week (Asahi Evening News, June 17, 1963)

Training Cruise (Pacific Stars and Stripes, 1963)

Power Squadron Cites Member (Pacific Stars and Stripes, 1966)

28 TACsters Pass Power Squadron Course (The Tokyo American, February, 1971)

Bob Tufts Named ’76 Power Squadron Commander (Tokyo Weekender, December 1975)

Land Ho! …But the Salty Ones Spurn it for the Sea (Pacific Stars and Stripes, 1960)

Cabin Talk – Sailing in Japan? Ah, So: Arranging a Charter (Unknown, December, 1973)

[hr]

TSPS 60th Anniversary Party Held in Velasis (Updated)

Past commanders from the 1980s to the present gather to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Tokyo Sail and Power Squadron
Past commanders from the 1980s to the present gather to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Tokyo Sail and Power Squadron

Over 50 members and their guests celebrated sixty years of service by TSPS to the Tokyo boating community on the evening of June 11, 2016, at Velasis Marina in Uraga, Yokosuka. After some words commemorating the event by members of the Bridge, including past Commander Per Knudsen and current Commander David Sutton-Kirby, a champagne toast was held and a fine meal of ribs, blue cheese pizza, and many other delicious dishes was provided by Velasis.

Special guests were also in attendance.

From Hayama Yacht Club there were several representatives, including Vice Commodore Tamaotu Aritomo, Councillor Koichiro Tanaka, and Director Masayuki Maruo.

Past Commander Tony Whitman, newly ensconced in San Diego, also flew in to participate. Also there was past Commander Hunter Brumfiel and wife Eiko, so long a mainstay of the organisation.

Music was provided by the Mototeru Band, which eventually resulted in people dancing “as if no one were watching.” And it was quite a sight to see.

Bridge officer Warren Fraser memorialised the event by taking photographs on real old-school film of various combinations of the participants, which will be available at cost in the future.

All in all, it was a rollicking good time and a fitting celebration of 60 years in Japan  on the part of the Tokyo Sail and Power Squadron.

Photos in the slide below courtesy of Treasurer Ernie Olsen and Warren Fraser.

 

 

Sailboat Renovation in Tokyo Bay

cropped-IMG_6147

Evan Burkosky lives in Tokyo and is currently working on a Sparkman & Stephens 30 sailboat. He has been writing a blog detailing the alternately frustrating and fascinating process of restoring a well used old sailboat. Go here to absorb yourself in the gritty details. Caution: his enthusiasm for the project might infect you!

New Bridge Officers for 2016 Sworn in At Change of Watch

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.

IMG_0859
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.

IMG_0872
P/C Phillips gave a few words of encouragement from USPS to the assembled TSPS members and guests.
IMG_0874
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.