April 5^th, 2023

By Timothy Langley

As usual, the second Wednesday of every month is reserved for our monthly Keelhaul. April saw us experimenting with a new venue, the fabulous Midtown BBQ in Suidobashi, close to the Tokyo Dome (https://www.midtown-bbq.com/tokyo).

This new venue is off our normal TSPS beaten-track (DevilCraft or Pizzakaya). And probably because this was just 11 days after our wildly successful Boat Show SuperKeelhaul, participation was somewhat down, but the energy was extremely high; the food was excellent and the craft beer flowing. 

Newly inducted TSPS Commander, Bill Van Alstine, was joined by Bridge Members John Kratochvil (Membership) and Timothy Langley (Secretary & Legal Officer) together with 4 guests, 2 new Members, and 11 diehard Keelhaulers! 

To kick things off, Commander Van Alstine donated several plates of wings and pizzas! Ordering thereafter was clunky at first but everyone could order on their own and pay individually. This worked-out due to astute John organizing a sign-in sheet and issuing Name-tags! This not only helped the waite-staff but also generated better comradery all around. It was a great event.

The Keelhaul is TSPS’s most regularly-scheduled social event, falling almost always on the first Wednesday of every month. If you are not securely on the Mailing List (to receive Announcements directly), the venue & time notices are posted on our elegant TSPS webpage (https://tspsjapandev.wpengine.com). 

If you have ideas for Keelhaul venue (or input regarding this venue), please don’t hesitate as we are always looking for great locations to comfortably accommodate our usual ~25+ attendees.

Finally, since the first Wednesday of May falls within Golden Week, the Bridge will determine the most appropriate date for our NEXT Keelhaul. If you have a preference on date or venue, please post to langleytimothy@yahoo.com.

Here are some photos of the event:

March 25^th, 2023

By Timothy Langley

The SuperKeelhaul is an annual event always held in conjunction with the International Boat Show in Yokohama. 

Going on two-years strong, the event was again held at Wolfgang Puck’s pizzeria. This was such a resounding success, with an open-bar and free-flowing, delicious food, that TSPS not only  took-over the entire shop from the 6:00 o’clock start, but extended an hour to accommodate the tremendous fun, joviality and comradery that flourished. Approximately 12 guests / potential new-members joined the assembly of 60 or so TSPS Members!

A great shout-out not only to Svetlana for organizing the Super Keelhaul, but also to the valiant Booth Committee’s Claude Strobbe, Jeff Canady, Bill Van Alstine and a slew of diligent volunteers, as well! The Booth attracted a huge amount of attention and we received, as a result, many visitors interested in learning more about TSPS.

Please reach-out to future volunteer-opportunities in TSPS-sponsored events: you can always expect to be involved in something fun and engaging. 

Here are some photos of the event:

February 1, 2023
By Timothy Langley

DevilCraft in Gotanda was the venue for our February Keelhaul.
More than 25 Members joined this event: four Bridge Officers, two prospective new Members, and four Guests. Keelhaul is our most regular social feature, followed by annual BBQs, on-the-water cruises, and Yokohama Boat Show (coming up at the end of March!).
TSPS is an NPO that is dedicated to learning & gaining experience in sailing & boating inJapanese waters, to getting licensed, and to meeting likeminded people in this, the world’s largest megatropolis.
The Keelhaul supplements the work of the webpage by spreading information on cruising availabilities and Class schedules, bringing-in new Members, and allowing everyone to meet with and talk (brag) about sailing with the leadership and Instructors.
Here are some of the Keelhaul Participants:
Timothy Langley, Secretary & Legal Officer
Vllad Legeza, Boating Activities Chair
Claude Strobbe, Education Officer
Will Wade, Membership Chair
Yves Simon, John Kratochvil, Lowell Sheppard, Nemanja Komatinovic, Ashley Smart, Alexan, Andrei Enshin, Wolfgang Bierers, Raymond Leung

Paolo Montesel, New Member
Ben Knuth, New Member
Tomiko Ishizuka, Guest
Anthony Hardie, Guest
Maya Matsuoka, Guest
Kristina Stojchevska, Guest
Patrick McEvelly, Guest

Please connect with everyone via Linked-in or FaceBook so we can continue to grow thiscommunity…

Here are some photos from the evening:

January 11, 2023

By Timothy Langley

DevilCraft in Hamamatsucho was the venue for our first TSPS Keelhaul-of-the-Year. 

More than 25 Members joined this monthly beerfest & deep-dish Chicago pizza, four prospective new Members, and two new Members.  Keelhaul is the most regular social feature of TSPS, followed by our twice-annual BBQs, the on-the-water cruises, and the annual Yokohama Boat Show. 

Otherwise and as you know, TSPS is primarily about learning and gaining experience in sailing & boating in Japanese waters, getting licensed, and for meeting other likeminded people in the world’s largest megatropolis. 

The Keelhaul supplements the work of the webpage by spreading information on cruising availabilities and Class schedules, bringing-in new Members, and allowing everyone to meet with and talk (brag) about sailing with the leadership and Instructors (who are all drunkards in any event). 

Please bookmark the webpage for the Calendar-of-Events and by all means reserve the First Wednesday of Every Month for our regularly scheduled Keelhauls (venue changes frequently).

Here are some of the Participants:

Timothy Langley, Secretary & Legal Officer

Svetlana Ilyushechkina, Executive Officer & Events Coordinator

Yves Simon

John Kratochuvik

Mike Snyder, Bridge Commander

Jeff Canaday, Assistant Educational Officer

Bill Van Alstine, Treasurer

Anthony Hardie, Guest

Claude Strobbe, Education Officer

Darren Halliday, New Member

Naomi Halliday, New Member

Gena Gordeev

Ashley Smart

Hector Rodrigues, New Member

Vladimir Legeza

Alex Dzhangirov

Bernard Languillier

Steve Lai

Tomiko Ishizuka, Guest

Please connect with everyone via Linked-in or FaceBook so we can continue to grow this community…

Here are some photos from the evening:

　

By Timothy Langley

December 12, 2022

The 2022 year-end blow-out party, the annual TSPS Bonenkai, was successfully held on December 7^th at the Pullman Hotel in Tamachi. Approximately 30 Members showed-up with 7 guests. The buffet was luxuriant and food, plentiful; the libations flowing as one would expect.

In a distinct break from tradition, entertainment this year was an Awards Ceremony. Six highly-coveted trophies were commissioned by the Bridge. As the photos reveal, no-expense was spared to produce the most glorious representation of achievement in the several distinct categories.

The six awards, and the winners this year, were:

1.         The Blue Bucket Award: this handsome trophy is a framed fragment of a destroyed blue-plastic bucket. This represents the accomplishments of our TSPS Member (a duo this year!) who, in spite of a mere tiny challenge, devoted incredible energy & resources, at considerable risk, to achieve a very minor goal, causing great destruction in the process.

The 2022 Winners of this Award are Tony Whitman and Hunter Brumfield, presented in absencia to Bridge Commander Michael Snyder. 

2.         Most Dayson the Water Award: this trophy consists of a Gift Certificate from renowned local divorce-specialist law firm Dewey Cheatum & Howe for free-consultation in the inevitable event of divorce proceedings by a distraught and neglected wife. The Award goes to that special individual who has most-successfully avoided home-duties by spending all of his available free-time on his boat (or that of a friend’s). The elaborately framed-certificate includes helpful instructions to “Break Glass In Case Of Emergency” instructions.

The Award for 2022 goes to Timothy Langley.

3.         Captain of the Year Award: this framed coveted-trophy is otherwise known as “The Captain Crunch Award”. It consists of a luxuriantly-framed cereal box with a copy of a wrecked yacht pasted on the bottom: obviously tremendous thought and no expense were spared creating this gem. The Award is self-explanatory.

The Award for 2022 goes to Claude Strobbe.

4.         Greatest Feat of the Year Award: this artful, highly-desired trophy represents the ability to rescue some minor token of victory in the face of otherwise total destruction. Against incredible odds, the winner exemplifies the ability in some TSPS Members to preserve a modicum of decency even in the face of abject humiliation.

The Award for 2022 goes to Evan Burkowsky.

5.         Bent-Stanchion Award: this gorgeous silvery Trophy epitomizes the plight of all who devote money, resources and energy to repairing and preserving some object of great affection, only to have it reduced to junk in a single instance of inattention or cruel fate.

The Award for 2022 goes to Commander Michael Snyder.

6.         Colossal Coupler Award: this desirous art-deco Trophy will occupy the entire tabletop of the proud winner. Such is the glamorous construction that it would not look out-of-place either outside behind the garage atop a pile of trash or even occupying the entry to a Fortune 100 corporate headquarters. This Trophy represents the enormous weight of responsibility and the pride of ownership conveyed to a boat-owner who is forever destined to simply pour money into a bottomless pit and still end up with a chunk of mere metal.

The Award for 2022 goes to William Van Alstine.

The Bridge acknowledges the great skill and determination of Svetlana Ilyushechkina for working & negotiating with the Pullman Hotel to host this very successful 2023 year-end event. Similarly, the Bridge is indebted to Andrew Lawson for the tremendous wit and suaveness brought to bear as a dynamic & engaging Master of Ceremony for the Awards portion of the evening. Finally, the Bridge would like to acknowledge the tremendous effort, creativity, and dumpster-diving skill evidenced by this year’s production of trophies by Evan Burkowsky and Timothy Langley (the various intellectual-property lawsuits notwithstanding).

Trophies by Timothy Langley

Bonenkai Photo Compilation: