Category Archives: News

TSPS Member Vassili Ermakov Lands Marlin

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, caught August 2, 2014. Velasis Marina.
Vassili Ermakov and his Marlin, August 2, 2014 at Velasis Marina.

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TSPS – HMYC Joint Event: “Hachigatsudayo Zenin Shugo”

TSPS Members Aboard a Hayama Boat

Our friends at Hayama Marina are once again inviting TSPS members and their guests to join them for a day on the water. In the past, we’ve gathered at Hayama, boarded four or five boats, spent a pleasant morning and afternoon sailing, sat at anchor for lunch and a swim, then wrapped up the day with a barbecue in the boatyard (see pictures from 2012 here).  This year the plan is a little different. This time, added to the schedule is Hayama Marina’s annual Hachigatsu da yo Zenin Shugo, or  roughly, “Hey, It’s August, Dude. Let’s Party!” event.

The day will start like previous joint sails- a morning/afternoon sail, lunch at anchor, but then we return to port around 3:00PM for the 4:00PM party kick-off, and then spend the rest of the day and evening enjoying fine food and drink, Hayama’s hula, belly, and Tahiti dancers and live music. It’s sure to be a great time as always. The event wraps up at 8PM.

SIGN UP HERE

 Here are the details as provided by Maruo-san at Hayama Marina:

Date:  August  23rd  Saturday  2014

Time:  10:00AM at Hayama Marina,

Fee:   Adults¥4,000,  Kids¥2,000

Schedule:

Part I “Joint Sailing”

10:00: Meeting time (in front of the yellow building near the boat launching facility)

10:30:  Set sail

11:30:  Anchor at Morito Bay area for  lunch, a swim, and drinks on the boat

15:00:  Back to marina, shower, beer

Part II “Hachigatudayo Zenin Shugo”

16:00:  Bar Open

More Beer & BBQ

Tahitian Dancers & Music & Band

20:00 Sayonara

Sign-up Deadline:  Aug. 11th Monday (an early date in order to arrange enough boats)

NOTE: Non-members are welcome to attend if they become TSPS members by paying the membership fee at the event. Membership fees are here.

SIGN UP HERE

We prefer you sign up online (it’s ridiculously easy), but if necessary you can send an email providing your full name and the full names of any guest(s) to commander@tspsjapan.org

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Getting there:

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Directions to Hayama Marina

By Car:

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 Zushi or Shin-zushi stations

If by JR (Yokosuka Line)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.

Hope to see you in Hayama on August 23.

Warren Fraser
TSPS Social Coordinator

First Cruise of 2014: Mission Accomplished!

On April 12, 2014, 5 boats and 22 TSPS members and guests participated in the first cruise of 2014. The destination was Hota, Chiba, a charming fishing port with the famous Banya seafood restaurant. A good time was had by all, and all boats returned safely to their home ports the next day.  Some photos below:

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TSPS members and guests enjoying a seafood dinner and lively conversation at Banya in Hota.

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Fuji Seven leaving Hota and heading back home to Seabornia.

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Dede heads back from Hota.

 

Jeff Canaday Earns His 25th Merit Mark

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Jeff Canaday, left, receives his 25th Merit Mark from Commander Eugen Mall, right.

Commander Eugen Mall was recently pleased to award our Education Officer, Jeff Canaday, his 25th Merit Mark, which comes with lifetime membership in the United States Power Squadron. Jeff is a long-time member of TSPS and has been very active in setting up and teaching TSPS boating classes.

First TSPS BBQ of 2014

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.

New Bridge for 2014

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The 2014 TSPS Change of Watch was held on February 20th at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Japan in Yurakucho, Tokyo. Over 40 members and friends attended. Warren Fraser, TSPS commander for the last two years, kicked off the proceedings with a summary of 2013’s activities. Secretary Gary Thomas gave a run-down of the status of our incorporation initiative, which will soon reach fruition.  The high point of the proceedings was the election and swearing in of the new bridge officers for 2014, performed by District 13 Commander Doug Dworski. The members of the new bridge for 2014 are

Commander: Eugen Mall
Executive Officer: Jiro Fujiwara
Secretary: Gary Thomas
Education Officer: Jeff Canaday
Administrative Officer: David Sutton-Kirkby
Treasurer: Tony Whitman
Membership Chairman: John Marshall
Cruising Coordinator: Per Knudsen
Communications Officer: Mike Snyder
Social Activities: Warren Fraser
Public Relations: Masao Ando

Commander Doug Dworski also gave an interesting run-down of the situation with the USPS national organisation and District 13. Other attendees included the daughter and son of the  late Past Commander Shun-ichiro Yamamoto, Akiko and Hiroshi, as well as Akiko san’s husband, Motohiro. PC Yamamoto was a well-liked avid week-end sailor and kept his boat “Mambo”at Hayama Harbor. Akiko san says that she welcomes TSPS memers to sail aboard Mambo when it has passed its inspections. The event ended with the annual raffle of booty emceed by new Administrative Officer David Sutton-Kirkby, and member Demir Sadigloku was the big winner of the night. The food was good, the atmosphere scintillating, the company grand. A good evening had by all!

Kirk Patterson Completes Hokkaido Circumnavigation

Kirk with his TSPS burgee in Hakodate, Hokkaido.
Kirk with his TSPS burgee in Hakodate, Hokkaido.

On August 7, TSPS member Kirk Patterson completed a clock-wise circumnavigation of Hokkaido aboard his sailing vessel, Silk Purse. During his trip, Kirk posted  progress reports regularly to Facebook, and for those who followed the story it was a tense voyage through thick and thin fog against and with strong counter currents around hazards-to-sailing such as long fishing nets, small octopus/crab pots, and concrete breakwaters into both friendly and unfriendly fishing ports, all the while encountering great generosity from many of the people he met and dealing with the long arm of bureaucracy, as the Coast Guard shadowed his every movement for the first half of his journey.

Kirk will remain in Hakodate for a week to ten days making repairs and doing maintenance work and other jobs before departing for Kyushu, a voyage of approximately 1,000 nautical mile through the Japan Sea. He plans to reach Fukuoka by mid-October.

Up in the rigging during his trip around Hokkaido, Kirk flew burgees from his sailing club in Victoria, BC.- the Bluewater Cruising Association, and from a sponsor- the Japan Hydrographic Association. For his voyage south to Kyushu, Kirk will be adding the TSPS burgee to his flag line.

We are proud to have Kirk as a member of TSPS and congratulate him for the successful completion of the second phase of his journey and wish him all the best as he makes his way south to Fukuoka. Fair winds, Kirk!

Burgees top to bottom: the Bluewater Cruising Association, TSPS, the Japan Hydrographic Association.
Burgees top to bottom: the Bluewater Cruising Association, TSPS, the Japan Hydrographic Association.

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

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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

 

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