Category Archives: News

Boater’s Hurricane and Tsunami Safety Manual

Typhoon Safety manual

As residents of Japan we are all too aware of the dangers of typhoons and tsunamis, and as boaters and boat owners we’ve experienced that , er, sinking feeling as severe weather phenomena  approach our boating waters. Well, our friends at the Hawaii Sail & Power Squadron have sent along a digital copy of a fifty-two page manual spelling out how we as boaters can protect our lives and property when a hurricane or other severe storm threatens. The manual also contains a section on tsunamis and other serious threats to boaters and the marine community.

While a lot of the information presented in the document is Hawaii-specific, much of it can be applied to our situation here in Japan, and is in the end simply sound safety advice for boaters and boat owners. It presents “a summary of the actions boaters and other members of (a) marine community can take before, during, and after a hurricane or tsunami, (and) is intended to assist in preparing for and mitigating the effects of these hazards. It includes information on these events and their dangers, (and) provides guidelines to develop a personal preparedness plan…”

You can view then download the ‘Boater’s Hurricane and Tsunami Safety Manual’ here.

 

1931 TransAtlantic Race Aboard Dorade

Dorade, 2012

From doradehistory.com:

Dorade became the most famous ocean racing yacht in the world. As the first major blue water design to be built to the drawings of her 21-year-old designer, Dorade’s keel was laid just weeks after the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and her launching in the spring of 1930 coincided with the slide of the nation into the Great Depression. Despite such inauspicious timing, this yacht, her young designer and youthful, attractive crew became a sensation on both sides of the Atlantic and on both coasts of America. Dorade introduced and validated the early yacht design concepts of Olin Stephens and influenced, in one way or another, nearly all developments in yacht design for the next three decades. Her rigging and deck fixtures, developed in large part by Olin’s younger brother, Roderick Stephens Jr., still make the name Dorade commonplace today. Her combination of speed, sea-keeping ability, stunning beauty and small size, coupled with her startling racing success, kept the eye of the public on her and on those aboard her.

From Wikipedia:

Dorade was a yacht designed in 1929 by Olin Stephens of Sparkman & Stephens and built 1929–1930 by the Minneford Yacht Yard in City Island, New York.

Dorade went on to place 2nd in the Bermuda Race later that year. The crew for its first race received the All-Amateur Crew Prize. However, it would be the Transatlantic Race that would bring the boat its name. Placing first, she completed the race in 17 days – a race that takes an estimated 3–4 weeks to complete. A parade was held in celebration of the crew and ship’s return with the mayor holding a reception in honor of Olin Stephens’ victory.

Olin Stephens, the designer, was skipper through 1932 when he handed the boat to his brother, Rod Stephens.[1] Led by Rod, Dorade sailed to victory in the 1932 Bermuda Race.[2] From Bermuda, Dorade sailed back to Norway, down to Cowes, England, and finally back to America after winning the Fastnet Race. The victory of the 1932 Fastnet Race was of substantial significance given the unusually severe weather, several ships feared missing as well as one recorded drowning among the events that unfolded.

Dorade Trans Atlantic Race 1931 Part 1 of 5

Dorade Trans Atlantic Race 1931 Part 2 of 5

Dorade Trans Atlantic Race 1931 Part 3 of 5

Dorade Trans Atlantic Race 1931 Part 4 of 5

Dorade Trans Atlantic Race 1931 Part 5 of 5

Hallberg Rassy 310 For Sale

Tombo 1

 Tombo 2

TSPS Bridge Officer Tom Proctor has put his sailboat on the market. Below is information provided by Tom. All enquiries regarding Tombo must be addressed to Tom directly.

My Germán Frers-designed  Hallberg Rassy 310, is for up for sale or available for 1/6th fractional ownership at ¥2,500,000/share.

Tombo was launched in June 2010 and is fully equipped for local and long-distance sailing. Her homeport is Shimoda  at the bottom of Izu peninsula, which is the gateway to the best sailing grounds for those living in the Kanto and Tokai regions of Japan and only a few hours cruise from the Izu island chain to the south and east. Under a fractional ownership plan, Tombo will be moved to a port of the ownership group’s choosing.

A partial list of equipment includes:

• offshore sails
• gennaker with sock
• autopilot
• GPS
• AIS with Wifi to iPad/PC
• dodger
• bimini
• hot/cold pressure water to galley and shower
• central heating
• propane stove with electronic solenoid at tank
• water-cooled refrigeration
• LED lighting
• solar panel and charger
• electric anchor winch and bow anchor with all chain rode
• stern anchor with davit
• mooring lines and fenders
• 110 volt a/c charger and hot water heater

Standard specification sheet

Additional options to get you to Australia, South-east Asia, or where-ever else in the world you’d like to go include:

• six-person life raft (2012)
• charts
• galley equipment
• loads of spares
• back-up GPS
• autopilot
• two Rocna anchors with rodes
• vhf radios
• lee cloths
• jacklines
• tethers
• preventer
• &etc

Hallberg Rassy boats are widely considered among the best-built passage makers for long-distance cruising. They’ve enjoyed a reputation for sea-going stability, safety, speed, and ease of operation for over forty years. That’s why I bought one.

If you’re interested in purchasing Tombo outright or participating in a fractional ownership arrangement, send me an e-mail at thomashproctor@yahoo.com.

Tom Proctor

 

Tombo 3

 

Gripping Hitch Knots

Get A Grip: BoatUS Article

In the June issue of BoatUS magazine, Evan Starzinger wrote a basic yet interesting article about three gripping hitches used to join two lines together while one line is under load. These are particularly useful when for one reason or another the load on a line is too great to manage by hand and requires transferring it to a winch or block to safely or more easily deal with.

I’ve used the icicle hitch to transfer a fully loaded jib sheet to a cleat because overwraps on the winch had tightened to the point I could no longer ease out the jib. Another use was at anchor. Voyager has an eight-foot bowsprit and leading the anchor rode to the end of the bowsprit eliminates chafing problems as the boat swings on the tides. By running a line through a block at the end of the spar then back to the bow and hitching it to the anchor rode, the rode can then be moved well forward and  away from the shrouds that support the bowsprit.

Gripping hitches are useful and important and should be in every sailor’s inventory of quickly deployable knots.

You can read the article here.

TSPS Website Post To Appear in The Ensign Magazine

The Ensign Mag[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he new TSPS website has been up for 6 months and each and every month it has attracted over 1,300 new and unique viewers in more than 90 countries worldwide. Some of these viewers go on to become members of TSPS, while others sign up for the “At The Masthead” weekly digest of Tokyo boating news and stories published to the site. Still others, visit to get a sense of what’s going on in the TSPS boating community, or mistakenly stop by on their way to the Texas Society of Plastic Surgeons.

So it came as a pleasant surprise when we received an email from Tina Tibbitts, assistant editor of The Ensign magazine. Tina wrote to us requesting permission to include one of our website stories and the accompanying picture in an upcoming edition of  the official magazine of United States Power Squadrons. Of course permission was given, but only after satisfying the demands for free pizza at the next Keelhaul from the photographer and his roguish writer friend. What this dynamic duo doesn’t know is that we offer pizza and more to all who attend the Keelhaul 😉

So for those of you who receive The Ensign as part of your TSPS membership, look for our story in the Waypoints section. For those of you who don’t, The Ensign is but another in a long list of reasons to become members of the Tokyo Sail & Power Squadron.

TSPS Member Kirk Patterson Arrives in Hakodate

Silk Purse's Report Positions

After thirty-seven days at sea covering 3,580 miles, Kirk Patterson sailing solo aboard Silk Purse from Honolulu arrived safely in Hakodate on June 10th. All of us at TSPS would like to congratulate Kirk on completing the second leg of his trans-Pacific journey.

We followed Kirk’s progress closely on the winlink.org site and marveled at his at-times swift progress across the North Pacific Ocean, and so naturally grew concerned when Silk Purse went silent almost three hundred miles offshore on June 5 for four days. Relief came when Kirk sent a position report from a port on Tsugaru Strait between Aomori and Hokkaido.

Kirk will soon depart on a circumnavigation of Hokkaido before making his way south through the Japan Sea to Okinawa, where he will spend the winter. In the spring he will make his way north toward Tokyo. We look forward to meeting up with Kirk when he arrives.

Again, congratulations Kirk, and fair winds on the next leg of your journey.

Warren Fraser
Commander,
Tokyo Sail & Power Squadron

Report: 2013 Spring Rendezvous & Cruise

2013_Rendezvous

The 2013 Spring Rendezvous and Cruise held on June 8 began under clear blue skies. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way, given the “Ministry of Weather” had declared the beginning of rainy season two weeks before. We’d done our due diligence, reserving space at Velasis next to the clubhouse to take advantage of their giant awning if the rain came down. When it became clear that Saturday would remain clear, we quickly moved the event to deck space separating the boat yard from the marina for a view of the boats floating at their docks; the perfect setting for the feast we’d prepared.

Over thirty people attended the event, with new and old members mixing with friends with children. Two boats sailed in: Mike Snyder’s Distant Dreamer carrying two crew and Demir Sadikoglu’s Akdenizli with four people aboard.

It was a lively barbecue that kicked off when the beer keg was tapped at 2:00PM. The fire had been lit a bit before and soon the cook had steaks and chicken on the barbie. By the time the coals had burned out, everyone got their fill of steak, chicken, prawns, paella, steamed mussels, caesar salad, Mexican rolls, and fruit salad. Many types of beer were on offer, and the same for red and white wines, soft drinks, and water. By the end of the event everything had been consumed, with no one left wanting.

A big thanks to everyone who came out, and a special thanks to those who worked hard at putting it all together: Per Knudsen, Eugen Mall, Francis Wertheimber, and the hostess with the mostest, Rumiko Fraser.

If you attended, why not leave a comment below.

Here are a few photos in the Rendezvous photo gallery.

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Kirk Patterson Weathering Storm, 700nm To Hakodate

Update:

June 5, 2013

Kirk’s current position is 415 nm due east of Hakodate, hand steering while under engine due to an autopilot failure. Silk Purse has slowed considerably, making less than 300nm over for the past three days. Arrival could be as soon as June 9 or 10.

June 1, 2013:

Kirk Patterson, TSPS member and soon-to-be Trans-Pacific sailor, aboard his aluminium vessel Silk Purse, on March 31 reported,

“16hr hell! 30-40 kt winds. 4-5 waves. Boat out of control. OK now! Phew! 128 NM”.

Four to five meter waves on the stern, Force 8 winds on the nose! That doesn’t sound like much fun. Or does it? For Kirk to temporarily lose control of Silk Purse in those conditions is understandable. The fear of broaching (veering to become broadside to the waves and potentially rolling the boat)  must have been foremost in Kirk’s mind.

Over the three preceding days, Kirk logged daily distances of 163 nm, 163nm, and 159nm for a four-day run of 613. Silk Purse has covered about 2600nm since leaving Honolulu and has approximately 700nm to sail before reaching Hakodate, Hokkaido.

The image below is a GRIB file showing wind conditions, with Silk Purse’s position marked by an X. On the right is the storm Kirk is experiencing. The wind is indicated by arrow-like symbols with the ‘feathers’ of the arrow indicating wind strength and the arrow pointing in the direction the wind is going. A short feather means 5 knots and a long one means 10 knots of wind. The scale on the right is the Beaufort scale, with the strongest winds of the storm in yellow equalling Force 8, or up to 35 knots. A different view of the GRIB file (not posted here) showing wave heights and direction indicates the waves are coming from behind Silk Purse. Of course, GRIB files are estimates. The wind and waves Kirk is experiencing most likely exceed estimates.

You can keep track of Kirk’s progress at:

winlink.org

Enter Silk Purse’s callsign VE0KRP (0 = zero) for detailed information

Silk Purse GRIB Jun1

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Past TSPS Commander Shun-ichiro Yamamoto Passes Away

Shun

It is with great regret that we inform our membership of the passing of Past Commander Shun-ichiro Yamamoto. Yamamoto-san was a member of TSPS for over 22 years and served as our first and thus far only Japanese commander in 2001. He was long an active member whose participation in recent years included the annual Change of Watch and Hayama barbecues. He was a very good friend to many in the squadron.

Yamamoto-san spent weekends on his boat and could often be found aboard Mambow cleaning and polishing, or preparing for a daysail on the waters off Hayama. Occasionally, he would gather old sailing friends and set off for adventures offshore.

Yamamoto-san suffered a head injury from a fall on the docks at Hayama Abuzuri Port and succumbed to his injuries on May 20th. He was 79 years old.

The Tokyo Sail & Power Squadron extends its condolences to Yamamoto-san’s family. He will be missed. May he rest in peace.

TSPS Treasurer and long-time friend of Yamamoto-san Tony Whitman will represent the Bridge at the funeral.

Warren Fraser
Commander, Tokyo Sail & Power Squadron

Yamamoto_bandw

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Silk Purse Approaches Halfway Mark to Hokkaido

Kirk aboard Silk Purse somewhere along the BC coast
Kirk aboard Silk Purse somewhere along the BC coast

May 18, 2013: Kirk Patterson, aboard Silk Purse, is now reporting slow going after departing Honolulu on May 5th at 12:15PM on a more or less direct course for Hakodate, Hokkaido. Light winds have dominated the past week, with daily distances of between 74 and 120nm per day and some motoring to keep Silk Purse moving. He passed the 1/4-way mark on May 12 after early boisterous sailing in which he set a personal best of 151 nm. Silk Purse should reach the halfway mark in 3-5 days. Honolulu to Hakodate is 3302nm as the crow flies. Kirk has just under 2000nm to go. If you’re interested in following Kirk’s voyage, go to:

winlink.org

You’ll be presented with a map. My page opened over the Atlantic. You can enter Kirk’s callsign VE0KRP (0 = zero) in a search window at the bottom of the map or scroll to the Pacific Ocean and zoom in on the Pacific Northeast (much more interesting this way). Eventually you will see a single, lonely marker between Hawaii and Hokkaido, unless of course someone else suddenly begins to crowd those waters. That mark will represent Silk Purse. Move your mouse pointer over the mark and the call sign VE0KRP will appear. Click on the mark and a popup window will reveal Kirk’s course, speed, position, location, and message. You can click on a link in the window to view all position reports made since departure. An amazing bit of technology, if you ask me. Fair winds, Kirk. [hr]