The first weekend of April, 2015 was a wet and dreary one. On the Saturday, Mike Snyder and Warren Fraser aboard s/v Distant Dreamer left Yokohama port and sailed under the Bay Bridge into Tokyo Bay with 20 -25 knot winds blowing out of the NE. We raised sail and set a course of 160 degrees that would take us directly to Hota. After three or so hours and remaining on one tack the entire way, we dropped sail 20.5 nm from the bridge, fired up the engine, and motored into port.

A few hours later, Francis and Masayo Wertheimber aboard m/v Diva arrived, followed by Per and Anne Knudsen aboard s/v Bifrost with crew Bernhard Zimburg. Bifrost had arrived with its mainsail up as high as the first spreaders due to a jammed halyard sheave. After Per was winched up the mast to release the halyard shackle and the main was furled in the boom, it was agreed by all that all was as it should be in Hota and cocktails were served aboard Distant Dreamer. Gin and tonics and Compari sodas flowed until Francis informed us that last order at Banya, the famous fisherman’s restaurant in Hota harbor, was not at 7pm as we’d expected and had become accustomed to over the years, but at 5pm. We emptied our glasses and headed over to the restaurant for dinner at 4pm, a little early for dinner we thought, but so be it.

We had the usual fine fare of sashimi, tempura, baked fish, and beer and lemon sours accompanied by good conversation and lots of laughs. Soon, we retired to Bifrost for wine and snacks and by 10pm, we were all back aboard our individual boats.

The next morning dawned cold and gray. Diva was the first to leave Hota, followed by Distant Dreamer and sometime later, Bifrost. In spite of the weather and the smallness of our group, a good time was had by all on this, the first event on the TSPS boating calendar for 2015.