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.

The annual TSPS Fall BBQ held on Saturday, 9 November from 10am til 3pm at Yume-no-shima Marina was well-attended by TSPS members and non-members alike. The weather was pleasant and the Sailability Tokyo staff ensured easy dinghy sailing for all. On the 2nd Floor of the Yume-no-shima Marine Center, TSPS members made sure that there was plenty of delicious BBQ and free flow drinks to go around. 

Some fun moments from the event were captured in the photos below:

The TSPS Beginning Sail class continued its OTW sailing practice sessions from Hayama Marina on Saturday, September 28th. Five students were on the boat this time, with instructor Mike Snyder. We continued to practice raising sails, steering, tacking and jibing. In addition, this time we practiced anchoring the sailboat near Morito 森戸 Beach, which is located south of Hayama Marina.

As for sea conditions, we experienced low to low-moderate winds of 8 knots max and a flat sea – conditions that were pretty much similar to the first two on-the-water classes. The boat’s max speed was 6.6 knots and we sailed a total distance of 24 km (13 nm).

On Sunday July 21 the TSPS Beginning Sail class finally got underway with 9 future sailors signed up. Six students were able to make the first class, with instructor Mike Snyder. The weather was good for a first time out, 3-8 knots. We went through raising sails, steering, tacking and jibing. It was a good start for the class. We will be holding the class through August and early September, with classes added as needed to assure that all the students have at least 4 times out on the boat.

Thanks to member Nemanja Komatinovic and sail student for the photos.