Please follow the link to learn about Gwen Breton who is rowing to America from Japan.

https://letsgoguwen-san.studio.site/

Gwen has received help from Aoki Ryohei and Kiyoshi Umezu both of whom are friends of TSPS.

by Timothy Langley, May 15, 2023 Tokyo (revised on June 6th)

Overview:

Vessel: Yamaha ‘26C sailing yacht (1983) Santana.

Crew: Timothy Langley & Evan Burkosky.

Journey: traverse Region One (Santana’s registered area) over 7~8 days. Ultimately, sailed 7 days, traversed 270 nautical miles, hit islands Oshima, Niijima, Miyakejima; returned to touch Shimoda (Shizuoka Prefecture), then home-port sprint to Awa-Katsuyama. One nighttime sailing leg of 16 hours (Port Ako Miyakejima to Shimoda).

Details:

Leg One: 4/29 Saturday, depart 4:30 am from Home Port Awa-Katsuyama (Chiba Peninsula) for Habu Harbor, Oshima Island. Head-on wind required extreme tack into Sagami Bay for ~5 hours, tack back, then hug the shadow of Oshima Island to shelter somewhat from tremendous building winds and seas. Mainsail set throughout at 3^rd reefed position. Storm approaching from the south, hitting in several hours.  14 hour sail.

Leg Two: 4/29 Saturday, depart 4:30 am from Home Port Awa-Katsuyama (Chiba Peninsula) for Habu Harbor, Oshima Island. Head-on wind required extreme tack into Sagami Bay for ~5 hours, tack back, then hug the shadow of Oshima Island to shelter somewhat from tremendous building winds and seas. Mainsail set throughout at 3^rd reefed position. Storm approaching from the south, hitting in several hours.  14 hour sail.

Leg Three: 5/01 Monday depart Habu Harbor at 4:00 am for Niijima Island. Very brisk crossing and almost entirely over/through the Kuroshio current; very choppy & confused waters, lots of leaping tuna. 9 hour sail. Sail almost exclusively on Spinnaker, consistently maintaining 6 knots/hour! Trouble: when bagging spinnaker from the bow, sheet inadvertently fell into the water (unnoticed) and got immediately caught-up in prop; Captain Evan’s dive under the boat to untangle quickly achieved success… no damage but close-call.

Leg Four: 5/02 Monday arrive Niijima Port at 1:40 pm. Tie-up, walk to sea-water hot springs “Yunohama Ryoten Onsen”. Drive around island care of new friend (JET Teacher assigned to Niijima Education System) Freddie Snoxall. Forced-feast at Chinese restaurant. Early next-day departure.

Leg Five: 5/03 Tuesday depart Niijima Port at 4:00 am heading for Miyakejima Island. 21 nautical miles, with new crew member Freddie. Very swift crossing over rough waters but made excellent time, arriving after only 6 hour sail.

Leg Six: 5/03 Tuesday arrive in Ako Port on the south-western side of Miyakejima at 10:00 am. Walk to nearby “Furosato-no-yu onsen”; a hearty lunch at Kairaku Hotel; puffed on pcigars on the massive breakwater; walk around unsuccessfully searching for dinner (town completely rolls-up at 7:00 o’clock); brief visit to Snackbar Azabu for drinks. Next day scooter riding through winding roads, lava fields, the highest accessible points on the island (much of the island is a no-go due to volcanic activity), etc.. Lunch at yucky, almost unbearable, Chinese shack.

Leg Seven: 5/05 Wednesday depart 5:30 pm for night sail (while the sun is still up): destination Yaizu City in Shizuoka Prefecture, Oi River (the western boundary of Santana’s registered sailing area). Trouble: once in open water, bowlight shorted-out (still in daylight but nightfall approaching). Captain Evan springing again into action with trouble-shooting, finding spares within Santana, repaired in the dark while underway in rough seas. Pretty tense as seas rough; head downwind at slow clip (see sailing diagram, below), Evan dangling on the Bowspirit to reattach the entire housing, with success finally. 16 hour sail (only slightly due to the bowlight issue). Navigating by the stars and treated to constant meteor shower!

Leg Eight: 5/06 Thursday arrive Iritahama Beach in Shimoda at 9:30 am, due to unfavorable winds forbidding the full Suruga Bay traverse; 16 hour overnight sail. Brief 3 hour anchor off the beach, then 1.5 hour sail into Shimoda Cove, Admiral Perry Visitor’s Pier arriving 12:30 noon. Overnight layover: lunch in-town; glorious bath at Thousand-People Kayaya Ryokan Onsen at Rentaiji Station; bbq ribs dinner; hit Tosaya Soul Bar on the warf until 1:00 o’clock.

Leg Nine: 5/04 Friday depart Shimoda Cove 4:30 am for Home Port Katsuyama (expected to be ~14 hour sail in rough seas in following 25+kt winds). Only sail 40% of jib-sail, no main-sail throughout. Turns-out to be the best day of sailing in strong winds for first 2/3rds, then extremely strong winds in last 1/3 but arriving earlier than expected at 4:30… a 12 hour sail! Averaging 6 knots the entire day on the sliver of a foresail!

Leg Ten: 5/05 Friday, hit Home Port Katsuyama on the Chiba Peninsula at 4:30 pm after a 12 hour sail.

Wishing you a great holiday season and year ahead of boating. We really appreciate your enthusiasm and look forward to seeing you at our activities, both social and educational.

Mike Snyder

Commander

This weekend’s TSPS Pool and Beach BBQ held at Acao Beach, just 15 minutes by taxi from Atami Station, was well-attended by almost 30 TSPS members, family, and friends.

After arriving in the afternoon, folks changed into their pool and party outfits and began to enjoy a friendly game of frisbee in the pool, drinks on the pool deck, and general conversation in the cool ocean breeze that came across the bay. As you can see in the photos below, the view from the pool was stunning, and there was easy access to the beach just down a small set of stairs. The party really kicked off once the plates of BBQ arrived, the grilling started, and everyone refilled their drink cups! Delicious wagyu, pork, and seasoned sausage sizzled on the grill, along with mounds of fresh king trumpet mushrooms （エリンギ）, carrots, green peppers, and other vegetables.

As evening started to set in, some folks grabbed a change of clothes for a trip to the local onsen, while Bill and others got a campfire going for everyone to enjoy. Many tales of sailing and powerboating were shared…while the details of other stories seemed to grow more heroic and daring as more cool refreshments were imbibed! After the fire died down, all retired to their tents and “glamping tents” for some much needed rest.

Folks that decided to stay were in for an incredible sunrise around 4:30am the next morning followed by more swimming and beach activities.

A return to Acao Beach is definitely on the TSPS calendar for next year! Thanks again Sveta for organizing such an incredible experience.

By Aoise Ryan

TSPS inaugural ladies sail training day took place yesterday, lead by Sveta. This was a trial run to ensure an all ladies beginner crew could manage the rope pulling and commanding so often left to the men. (The ladies don’t usually highlight this deviousness but you are all now in the know)!  Sveta’s additional crew were 4 beginners and 1 experienced sailor. Predicted conditions were ideal and sailing until after 1400h proved magnificent, with lots of trust building through individual helming practice, a few drills, great breeze, controlled keeling and a firm decision that ‘ladies at the helm’ is the way to go!

At 1430h someone commented on the apocalyptic sky approaching from Enoshima.  Another double checked weather apps but predicted conditions were unchanged. The two did not tally! 

Seconds later thunder rolled and the sparkling day turned very dark. The wind immediately went from a lulling 10 knots to a constant 25-30 knots, with hail, thunder, lightening, manic black waves and zero visibility. 2 crew raced to remove the jib as a third started the engine and commandeered the main sail down. A swirling wind added to complexities for a while.

Two thirds of the crew were beginners, meaning instructions had to be concise and constantly monitored; most crucially that locking a cleat didn’t mean releasing it; that someone falling beneath a lowering boom (talking and unhurt) did not require as critical attention as getting the sail fully down; that flapping sheets did not need pulling and that donning waterproofs was low on the action list for immediate survival. Absolute teamwork ensured success. 

With sails down, visibility was still zero and direction was tough to control, even under motor. 

This outstanding crew proved highly dynamic and showed that calm decisions and directions can accomplish rough and unpredicted situations, even with beginners, as long as they trust the person in charge. 

Thunder was still pounding as the boat approached port.  Within the hour, the day returned to its earlier demeanor and all doubted their recent experience. A final flash of lightningput to bed any doubts that the storm had been imagined. Adrenalin was sky high by the end of the day and these ladies bonded for life. 

Happy to report – no injuries, no loss of confidence, no boat damage but someone saw rods flying through the sky at one point and wondered what they were? Oh! That would be the four (yes, all four) battens flying to the heavens in their glorious bid farewell. A minor tip from this adventure…. The Yamaha 30 battens are not designed to stay in flapping sails. They need to design a safety mechanism such as a folded or angled pocket, velcro or a piece of string. Anyone who is sensitive to having ever lost a Hayama batten – it’s a design fault!

These 4 beginner sailors come highly recommended as quick learners, practical people and great company.  Hoping they don’t expect too much further excitement on their next sail! 

Go Team Sveta!

(Sveta, Aoise, Juliana, Elvira, Jenine and Tracey)

Photos taken by Elvira Belyaeva

The TSPS Bridge has announced the cruising schedule for 2022 here: https://tspsjapandev.wpengine.com/our-events/boating-events/

If you are interested in joining any of these cruises, please contact our Cruising Coordinator for further information.

Due to the continued Coronavirus pandemic, the Change of Watch this year was held last night, March 9th, via Zoom. In total, 24 TSPS members attended.

Following the outgoing Bridge officers reports and a brief question time, Commander Rick Pawell relieved the outgoing Bridge of their duties.

Secretary Timothy Langley cast a unanimous ballot for the following 2022 Bridge positions:

2022 Bridge Officers

• COMMANDER – David Edwards

• EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND EVENT COORDINATOR – Svetlana Ilyushechkina

• SECRETARY – Timothy Langley

• EDUCATION OFFICER – Claude Strobbe

• ASSISTANT EDUCATION OFFICER – Jeff Canaday

• ADMIN OFFICER – David Lechevalier

• TREASURER – Bill Van Alstine

The vote was cast with no other nominations and was unanimously passed with a “Yea” from the TSPS members present, in addition to the 26 “Yea” votes and 2 “Nay” votes received by email (50 total “Yea” votes and 2 “Nay” votes).

Rick Pawell invited the newly elected officers to take the Oath of Office which duly followed, then turned over the meeting to the New Commander David Edwards.

Following a virtual “Toast to the New Bridge” the Change of Watch closed at 20.00 hours.

2022 Members-at-Large

• MEMBERSHIP – Will Wade

• WEBSITE & IT – Rob Stein

• CRUISING COORDINATOR – Vlad Legeza

Click here to see the 2022 Bridge officers

Richard (“Dick”) W. Schultz, an active member of TSPS for many years and former TSPS Commander, sadly passed away on Friday, October 22 following a fall near his home. He was 71 years old. His wake and funeral were held at the Machiya Funeral Hall in Arakawa-ku on October 27-28 and were well-attended by family and friends alike.

Dick was a lifelong lover of all types of boating, and he was a skilled small boat sail racer who won many trophies in the U.S. By the age of 15, Dick had even taught himself how to use a sextant. One of his favorite ways of showing visitors the beauty of Tokyo was by boat on the old canals that run through the center of the city, especially during cherry blossom season. He also enjoyed participating in powerboating events on lakes near the Tokyo area, and even was known to try wakeboarding! One of Dick’s last boating trips was to Lake Biwa with his friends.

Dick will be sorely missed by all of his friends at TSPS, and he will be forever in our hearts. Rest in peace.

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Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Change of Watch this year was held last night, March 17th, via Zoom. In total, 33 TSPS members attended.

Following the outgoing Bridge officers reports and a brief question time, Commander David Edwards relieved the outgoing Bridge of their duties.

Secretary David Sutton-Kirkby cast a unanimous ballot for the following 2021 Bridge positions:

2021 Bridge Officers

• COMMANDER – Rick Pawell

• EXECUTIVE OFFICER – Stephan Riediger

• SECRETARY – Timothy Langley

• EDUCATION OFFICER – Jeff Canaday

• ADMIN OFFICER – Claude Strobbe

• TREASURER – Bill Van Alstine

The vote was cast with no other nominations and was unanimously passed with a “Yea” from the TSPS members present, in addition to the 17 “Yea” votes received by email (50 total “Yea” votes).

Chris Pitts invited the newly elected officers to take the Oath of Office which duly followed, then turned over the meeting to the New Commander Rick Pawell.

Following a virtual “Toast to the New Bridge” the Change of Watch closed at 20.00 hours.

2021 Members-at-Large

• MEMBERSHIP – John Marshall

• CRUISING & WEBSITE – David Edwards

• PUBLIC AFFAIRS – Jiro Fujiwara

• SOCIAL EVENTS – David Sutton-Kirkby

The closing 2020 TSPS Cruise took place on the week-end of Nov. 7-8 to Hota. Four TSPS boats took part: Adzenjili II, Taihei, Anais and Distant Dreamer. Fourteen members were aboard for the ride. The weather began with low wind but once past the two small islands at the entrance to Tokyo Bay, the wind kicked in at 20-24 knots SW and 1.5 meter waves. All boats made it safely to Hota. In Hota we enjoyed its well-known Banya restaurant and bath, as well as conviviality on board the boats. The following day was beautiful with fair winds and calm seas as the fleet returned to Yokohama and Tokyo.

Hopefully, 2021 will be a better year for cruises, as 2020 was all about the COVID and we had to cut down on these events. As it was, we did get in two cruises for the year. Hope to see more 2020 TSPS members aboard next year!

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