The rain stopped and the weather cleared in time for the first class of TSPS’s second Sailing 102 course of 2020 with instructor Rick Pawell on the Yamaha 30S sailboats from Hayama Marina on Sunday October 18. After having completed Sailing 101, students Bernard Languillier, Peter Knight, Timothy Langley, Svetlana Ilyushechkina and Alex Khadanovich will be practicing using the spinnaker, sailing wing and wing, tacking, gybing, anchoring and lots of docking and undocking. This will be the last sailing class this year, but we hope to get started with new classes in 2021. Hope to see more members out there next year!

(Photos courtesy of Alex)

One year has passed since I announced my Pacific Solo dream.

Here I am, now living part-time on SV Wahine a Gibsea 402, at Yumenoshima Marina in Tokyo which I bought (I prefer the term “became guardian of”) – from TSPS member Marcus von Engel. As you no doubt know, Yumenoshima is an island made out of garbage and literally means “Island of Dreams”.  

My learning curve has been steep, and changes dramatic.  I would not be here if it was not for the Tokyo Sail and Power Squadron, as I had given up on my dream of owning a boat and sailing an ocean after my wife and I moved to Japan 22 years ago.  Although I had inquired over the years, and sailed lasers at Yamanakako every summer, the thought of getting a boat license and a boat just seemed too expensive and with my limited Japanese impossible

Discovering TSPS along with some JP boatowners with whom I crewed for a year, changed all that.

So the last year has brought along of changes.  Including changes in my professional life.  We found a successor to run HOPE Internatonal Development Agency Japan. I remain Asia Director but in a volunteer capacity.

I started an Ethics, Sustainablity and Social Legacy consultancy in January, which immediately stalled with Corona and potential clients saying not until 2021.  So the silver lining . . . SV Wahine and I have been able to spend quality time together and to focus on the Pacific Solo YouTube Channel.

I have finished Season 1 which featured my first few months and experiences with Wahine and with crew including Claude and Rick of TSPS. Season 2 will follow the story of ongoing challenges to get the boat read for the eventual crossing in 2022.  One of the biggest is regulatory.

Another challenge is getting my YouTube Channel to 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 viewing hours, which is the threshold before You Tube allows me to monetize the channel.  It is one of the ways I am hoping to generate the revenue to fund this project. 

Here is the link to my Youtube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBlQN6hhDt0) and the latest episode which features the installation of the HyrdroVane.  If you have the time to watch it, please leave a comment and if you liked it, then click like and most of all please subscribe.  It is free.

Link to my blog: www.pacificsolo.com

Thanks TSPS for helping me realize a dream!

The Bridge of the Tokyo Sail and Power Squadron (TSPS) is excited to announce that we have received formal approval to join the UK-based Royal Yachting Association (RYA) as an Affiliated Club. TSPS is the only RYA Affiliated Club in Japan, and one of a handful of such clubs in East Asia. TSPS will continue to be a member squadron in the United States Power Squadrons, so there are no changes in that regard.

Formed in 1875, the RYA is a UK national organization for boating, including dinghy, yacht and motor cruising, all forms of sail racing, and other forms of sports boats and personal watercraft. Although headquartered in the UK, the RYA is a global association and RYA Affiliated Clubs (numbering 1,400+) include over 337,500+ members globally with more than 2,500 RYA Recognized Training Centers across almost 50 countries. More than 250,000 people a year complete RYA training courses. The RYA has over 110,000 personal members.

TSPS will receive the following four major benefits from RYA affiliation:

(1) TSPS will be eligible to become an assessment center for the International Certificate of Competence (ICC), which is required in most European countries, as well as many other countries, for chartering yachts. As an ICC assessment center, TSPS can help our members obtain their ICC before traveling outside of Japan;

(2) TSPS will be able to promote ourselves through the RYA website and newsletters to other RYA clubs and members as their first stop in Japan for all boating related information, classes, and JMRA licensing;

(3) TSPS education will see further improvement from RYA affiliation by leveraging RYA educational materials to supplement existing USPS materials for practical boating education. In the future, TSPS also expects to progress to become an RYA Recognized Training Center, which means that TSPS members will be able to obtain internationally recognized training and development certificates in the Tokyo/Yokohama area including Competent Crew, Day Skipper, and the prestigious Yachtmaster;

(4) Finally, TSPS will be able to provide members interested in dinghy or yacht racing in Japan with access to RYA racing rules, handicapping, coaching, training of racing officials, and other support services.

The Bridge is very excited with RYA affiliation and we look forward to offering even more services to our members going forward. To learn more about the RYA, please visit: http://www.rya.org.uk

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Change of Watch this year was postponed and rescheduled for April 30 via Zoom. The results of the election of the proposed Bridge officers for 2020 were presented by Secretary David Sutton Kirby (38 aye, 0- nay). Then the new Bridge was sworn in by Past Commanders Dick Schultz and Per Knudsen. (Click here to see the 2020 Bridge officers).

Following this Commander David Edwards presented a short report on the past year and goals for the future:

A. 2019 TSPS Financials in JPY (Info available upon request)

B. 2020 TSPS Members (David and John)

• Current membership is 95, which is the same number of members vs previous year’s CoW
• Impressive that membership has been stable, especially given the challenges posed by COVID-19 since March 2020. However, the full impact remains to be seen.
• Between January 2017 and today, the monthly number of TSPS members has fluctuated between 83 (January 2018) and 103 (June 2019)
  • January 2017   84
  • January 2018   83
  • January 2019   94
  • January 2020   96
  • 30 April            95 
• Other squadrons in TSPS’s District, which includes southern California, have seen membership declines of -9% on average in 2019
• In 2019, USPS squadrons as a whole saw membership fall from 24,622 to 23,008 (approx. -6.6%) 

E. 2020 TSPS Bridge Goals (David)

1. Continue to offer JMRA Class 1 and 2 license courses, as well as sailing classes (Basic and Intermediate) and club rentals from Hayama Marina (Yamaha 30 boats). We also will aim to increase the number of qualified education and sailing instructors.

2. Offer OTW opportunities for TSPS members to go cruising (and possibly informal racing!) in Tokyo Bay, Sagami Bay, and in Kyushu/Seto-naikai, and investigate business models allowing for boat ownership, including low-cost dinghies that are great for practicing sailing.

3. Affiliate with the 335,000+ member strong Royal Yachting Association (RYA) so that our members have the opportunity to obtain their ICC (International Certificate of Competence) for international yacht charters in Europe and make TSPS the first stop for RYA members looking to sail in Japan. RYA affiliates also receive a variety of yacht racing-related and training services.

• In comparison, the RYA is about 14.5x larger than USPS, which has 23,008 members as of January 2020
• TSPS will aim to eventually become an assessment center for the ICC

4. Continue to offer TSPS social activities including monthly Keelhauls (first Wednesday of every month), summer and fall BBQs, and Tokyo’s best year-end Bonenkai.

5. Grow an increasingly diverse membership base and club culture with a focus on welcoming women and people new to boating in cooperation with Tokyo Sailability. TSPS plans to have a booth at the Japan International Boat Show 2021 in Yokohama to support this goal.

TSPS member Ramir Cimafranca’s recently purchased yacht Der Meer III is now moored at its new home port in Nishiura Numazu Shizuoka, https://kouyachtclub.wixsite.com/home  .
Ramir, Rick Pawell and 2 friends made up the crew and arrived in Shimoda on a rainy Saturday evening. We woke Sunday morn to clearing skies, ate breakfast and departed Shimoda Boat Service’s docks by 0800. 
Shimoda Boat Service had been checking the boat each day for the past week, adjusting docklines and fenders as needed and lashing additional lines around the boom cover…excellent and friendly service! https://www.shimoda-bs.jp/
Motor sailed in 5-10 knots of northerly winds and saw a waterspout far off to port (picture was tightly cropped). The winds calmed off the southern tip of the peninsula and backed to a southwester that increased to a steady 20 knots with gusts to 30 near 1400. It was a fast ride under mostly sunny skies with the wind off the port quarter as we broad reached under a reefed mainsail at 7 knots. An excellent day for sailing…good departure planning by Ramir!
We motored in to the dock where 4 people eagerly took our dock lines and welcomed us “home.” Three men helped Ramir moor the boat, rowed tenders back to the dock and two gave us a lift to the train station . There is a good drone video of the moorings and clubhouse at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njsaIhhvoQ8&feature=youtu.be

Early in the morning last Saturday, a ragtag crew of 5 TSPS pirates set out to deliver a Festa 31 from the southern tip of the Miura peninsula to a fabled port near Numazu on the west side of the Izu peninsula. After raiding a Family Mart of all breakfast and lunch foods for their perilous journey, the infamous Captain “Remorseless” Rick Pawell ordered the crew (First Mate Ramir “The Banyaga (the Rascal)” Cimafranca, Sailing Master Stephan “Das Meer (the Sea)” Riediger, Gunner Igor “безумец (the Madman)” Kostarnov, and Boatswain Davy “Jones Locker” Edwards, to the awaiting vessel “Der Meer”. (The sailing master later verified that this was in fact a Dutch name, not German.) The crew departed at 6:45am.

The morning wind roared and the crew suffered as cold winds came from the northeast at about 15-20 knots across Sagami Bay. After hoisting the mainsail and deciding on the route across the bay, the crew began to reminisce on the considerable pirate juice consumed at RSD Village Guesthouse the night before and the crew’s dreadful snoring that permeated the quiet night air of the peaceful village. Although the crew briefly hoisted the jib sail, a decision was made to take it down a short while later.

After passing near the southern tip of Izu Oshima island ahead of schedule, Remorseless Rick ordered the crew to jibe since the vessel was traveling too close to the dangerous shores of the Izu peninsula near Shimoda. The crew executed the jibe of the mainsail to the general satisfaction of the captain and was fortunate enough to avoid the deadly fishing buoys in the area. Finally, Der Meer motored into the dock at Shimoda Umi-no-Eki at around 2pm. The pirates had sailed across Sagami Bay at an average speed of about 7 knots – well ahead of schedule!

Of course, the ensuing celebration and consumption of libations in the port of Shimoda will have to remain off the permanent TSPS records and become a part of pirate lore…but it may have included imbibing Asahi Super Dry on the way to a beautiful beach, a long walk in search of more brew, a cramped taxi ride, a less than happy taxi driver, a search for open pubs, and a restaurant being forced open 20 minutes early by the pirates…  

Tune in next week for the continuing adventures of “Der Meer” and its pirate crew from Shimoda to Numazu. (A dreadful storm on Sunday packing winds of 30-40 knots forced the crew to return by train to its den in Tokyo.)

Following the announcement of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/newpage_00032.html) to avoid group gatherings to control the spread of COVID-19, as well as the announcement of the cancellation of the Japan International Boat Show 2020, at which TSPS had planned to have a booth, the current TSPS Bridge, comprising six past TSPS Commanders, has decided to invoke Article 9.2. of the TSPS By Laws, which states that “If Circumstances makes it impractical to hold any meeting as provided herein, the Executive Committee may waive such a meeting or set another meeting date.” We believe that the prevailing circumstances warrant caution and this important decision protects our members.

However, it is important to note that this is not a cancellation of the annual Change of Watch, but only a postponement. The Bridge plans to meet on 18th March to review this position, and we will advise members accordingly thereafter.

If the situation improves over the next few months, we hope to hold the Change of Watch sometime in May after Golden Week. Failing such an improvement, the Bridge will request an “aye” or “nay” email vote for the proposed Bridge from TSPS members. We will also provide members with profiles of each proposed Bridge member in the event that this email vote is necessary.

The Bridge hopes you support this decision as we believe “It is better to be safe than sorry” with regards to the health and welfare of our members, friends, and families.

The schedule for the JMRA English language exams for the Japan Class 1 and 2 boat licenses has been announced. Go here for the schedule.