Finally, Japan...

So here it is, our Japan blog post. Because we delayed for so long, it's rather an epic post. Sorry about that, but anyway…


We had been having engine troubles and finally the Yanmar’s technicalities required a professional and we left Pagan Island without an engine to power us through the ocean on our way to Japan. Suuhaa is a fantastic sailboat and we could still use the engine to charge our batteries. But god did we miss the ability to motor through calms and our passage was marked by both prairie fields of calm ocean and gales bucking up waves more than six meters high. Our eta was pushed further and further back and I began to get really jealous of the friends on other boats who had arrived in Japan while we were still travelling. We did have the farthest to go, but still, it was rough. Though we did not fully comprehend how much rougher it was going to get.

We knew we were close when the first swallow started flitting around the cockpit. We were about 350 miles from Japan and this poor little guy looked exhausted and he knew a decent rest stop when he saw one. It took him about a half hour before he

stopped flying around the outside of the boat and flew right into the cabin. He spent the night in the bathroom resting and later the next day, feeling quite refreshed, Brad helped guide the little fellow back out the companionway. We were getting so close but first we had the Kuro Shiro Current to contend with. This, the “Black Current,” rushes up the east side of Japan at six or more knots and where we needed to cross it, it’s 30 miles wide. So Bradley planned our crossing of the Kuro Shiro to allow for the push that could otherwise send a small engineless boat back out into the Pacific. The wind picked up and we fought with that current for the better part of the day and finally crossed into Kii Suido which is 60 miles wide. The wind slackened off when we got here and without our engine and at the mercy of swirling current and large swells we were going nowhere except near the rocky shoreline. We spent a stressful day bobbing around hopelessly without possibility of motoring. Neptune knew what we need better than we did and at about four in the afternoon, the winds picked up to 20 plus knots. I reluctantly woke Bradley from a very short sleep, he’d only had about 8 hours in the past couple days, and we pointed Suuhaa towards the entrance of Seto Naikai – the Inland Sea. As night began to fall, the shipping began to increase as all of us on the water headed for the narrows that marked the entrance. We stayed up together all night, it took all of our exhausted eyes to

tack back and forth across the paths of incoming and outgoing freighters. There is no traffic separation scheme here and these big boats, moving along at 15 – 20 knots always seemed as though they were headed straight for us. The wind quieted which slowed us down and at this point there was a freighter heading straight for us. Closer and closer he came and when he was nearly upon us Brad tacked the boat to try and get out of his way and at the same time the massive ship changed course and circled us, coming so near I almost peed my pants. We heard chatter on the radio and could only make out the word “sailboat” in English making us realize that something little on the water was a curious thing and they had come by to check us out, scaring the hell out of us in the process.

Yummy fish food...

That frightening moment behind us, we made our way toward Wakayama and the Wakayama Marina City Yacht Club. We came around the breakwater with very little wind, completely spent. I had taken the main down and was tying it up when the boat turned and the boom began to swing towards me. In my stunned state, I calmly held on and went for a little ride. With red rimmed eyes, my captain sheepishly apologized. We laughed a fatigued laugh and continued into the marina. Taking the main down decreased our drive forward and slowed us down and now we were in danger of missing the beautiful dock that promised us salvation. Amazingly, Bradley played gently with the jib and we glided into the berth, so slow and so composed that I simply stepped off the boat and tied her up. By the good grace of Neptune, who knew we needed all that wind to safely push us through the entrance into the Seto Naikai, we were here. Japan.

The never-ending menu of delicious food

We had been in contact with Tomoko Koura of Wakayama Marina City Yacht Club over the last number of days, planning our arrival and check in. We had a bet between us whether Koura-san was a middle-aged man and similar to our marina manager in Deep Cove or as I thought, a young keen guy about 30. The last email promised to come and meet us that morning and as we sat there stunned that we had finally arrived a sweet voice said hello. We turned to meet Tomoko Koura , a beautiful and smiling young Japanese women. She was here to meet us, on her day off, and had arranged for the Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) and quarantine to come meet us and then she would drive us into town to meet with customs and immigration. She told us we could expect the JCG and others in about ½ hour and left us to continue to collect ourselves. Tomoko’s second angel act was to return 15 minutes later and with a finger to her lips handed us a bag of delicious food. She left again and we stuffed our faces, we hadn’t eaten since early the day before. Tomoko returned another ½ hour later with Quarantine who came aboard, walked us through a couple pieces of paperwork and declined the invitation to look around inside (though I don’t blame them, the cabin and it’s owners are not the most pleasant or sweet smelling). They walked away and then returned to remind us we could take down our yellow

Farewell dinner aboard Suuhaa with Tomoko and her lovely family.

quarantine flag. Down it came and up went the homemade Japanese flag I created from an old piece of sailcloth and a red Sharpie marker. The JCG arrived soon after; two guys, the junior one acting as interpreter. They had all the paperwork we had forwarded from Guam and went through many of the questions again. We asked some questions of our own learning that we are discouraged from anchoring, that it is recommended that we use marinas and to apply for visitation to closed ports. They had been with us a little while when Tomoko came back down the dock and after a few rapid words, the JCG officers were shaking our hands, wishing us a pleasant stay in their country and stepping off the boat. Tomoko ushered them out and our feeling was that she thought they had stayed long enough. She needed to get us to Customs and Immigration, we needed to rest and she probably wanted to return home to enjoy the rest of her day off. 

Local knowledge from marina club members.

We drove to the offices of Customs and Immigration and again, thank god for Tomoko, she guided us through each official tour and efficiently herded us back into her car. On the way back to the marina she stopped at a convenience store for us and arranged a time for the next day when she would take us to the grocery store. We were so tired and as we drove back to the marina there was a moment where Brad asked me something and I was so confused about what he asked and they were both looking at me expectantly. As Brad began to laugh I realized that in middle of our conversation I had rapidly dropped into unconsciousness.  I managed to stay awake for the rest of 20 minute drive back to the marina. We said goodbye to Tomoko and went back to the boat. It was 12:30 in the afternoon and we decided a nap was in order and that we would have dinner later. This was a fine plan though it didn’t quite go that way. We were asleep immediately and woke to birds singing. We had slept through the night and when I finally focused on the clock and groggily did the math, we had slept for 17 hours straight.

That day we took advantage of all the first world amenities offered to us by the marina. We had showers, did laundry and caught up with all our loved ones via the high speed internet and Skype. At 6:00pm, Tomoko finished her typically long day and took us on a field trip to the grocery store. Oh god, I was in first-world heaven. The veggies were a robust red, a sunny yellow and crunchy green. The first fruit I bought was an apple. How good that was, juicy and crisp. Tomoko patiently explained each item we picked up, rushing back to her asking, “what this?!” and “is this good!?!” We were pleasantly surprised at the cost of groceries, expecting to pay much more than we did. As Tomoko dropped us off she sweetly asked if we would come to her house for dinner the next night to eat with her and her family. We were delighted and accepted without hesitation. Dinner was everything deliciously Japanese, all cooked by Tomoko. Her family is warm and welcoming and her children are wonderful. We had a fantastic time.

Our engine, as you may recall, was in a sad state of disrepair. Tomoko arranged a mechanic for us and within the first couple days she introduced Brad to Hujiwara who quickly diagnosed the problem just from Brad’s description. As Brad and Hujiwara looked over the engine and worked out a timeline for repairs we realized that we would be in Wakayama for a while.

THE bakery.

Wakayama wasn’t described in any of our guidebooks which made every discovery a fun surprise. Tomoko told us we could rent bikes at the hotel next door, a common convenience in every Japanese city we visited, so finally refreshed and acclimatized, we went exploring on two wheels. In the first half hour of our tour we met Fume near the European theme park that is next door to the marina. Fume works at the hotel in guest servicse and her English is fantastic. She walked with us back to the hotel where she loaded us with English tourist’s maps and we made arrangements to meet in a couple days for some sightseeing and lunch. The cities in Japan are marvelously flat and we bicycled further than either of us had in decades.  We found the train station, a delicious bakery (which we visited countless times) and toured a beautiful garden. We made more and more friends as the days drifted by but the best surprise was the call from my friend Kate that she was hopping on a jet and could be with us within days. Bradley’s job for those few days before her arrival was to calm me down. 

Master sightseer/train conductor.

Picking Kate up from the airport was in itself an adventure. Her plane landed at the number two Osaka airport which did not have a direct train connection. So even though we were an hour and half late, she was very pleased to see us. We found a great little sushi restaurant in Osaka, down an alley and around a corner where we toasted her arrival and began to plan her stay. What an awesome little place to eat. The menu of course was in Japanese and through hand signs and a few words we communicated with the server guy that we would love to eat whatever they put in front of us. This worked out well many times in our future dining experiences. Though there was one “Yam Sticks on Paper Incident.” The three of us were in Gion and poking around for something to eat after a long day of sightseeing with what seemed like all of Japan (it was Golden Week, the biggest holiday in Japan after

Yam Strips on Paper.

Christmas) and we found a busy place that had three seats left at the bar, just perfect for us. An English menu in Japan is a wonderful things but some things do get lost in translation. We picked our way through the menu with Kate piping up constantly that we needed at least one vegetable dish and that we should order the “Yam Strips on Paper.” Order in, we were presented with our complimentary appetizer which turned out to be a mistake and was actually a dish intended for the customers next to us. The dishes we ordered started arriving and for the most part we could tell what they were, but then something strange showed up. While Brad prepared his chopsticks to dig in, Kate repeatedly harassed him that it was another mistake that it wasn’t a dish we ordered and we’re going to have to pay for it. As they went back and forth, Brad ate a mouthful and declared it gross. Now Kate was convinced that it most definitely was not our dish and because Big Mouth Brad ate some it, we will have to pay for it. Brad, still convinced that it was Yam Strips on Paper flagged the waiter over while making a deal with Kate that if it was indeed Yam Strips on Paper, she would need to eat it all up. Well, Kate got her veggies that night, a whole slimy bowl of Yam Strips on Paper complete with a tiny raw egg as a topper.

The length of our stay in Wakayama was determined by the status of our engine. The repairs were taking a while which created ample time to make friends. Hujiwara, our mechanic, spent lots of time on the boat and generously invited the three of us out for dinner and drinks. Actually, the invitation began something like, “Do you like to drink alcohol?” We spent an entertaining evening with Hujiwara and

An evening of great food, Suntory and Karoke. 

Tomoko at a beer and snacks restaurant and then at a private Karoke bar where Brad found a guitar and treated everyone to country songs and Kate and I gamely picked out songs on the machine and treated everyone to sweet and tuneful renditions of hits from the 70s and 80s. Hujiwara got things going in our engine room and we were able to plan our Inland Sea journey. So after two farewell dinners on the boat – there were just too many friends to fit everyone inside at once – we untied the lines and made our way over to Tokushima.

We only stayed in Tokushima for the one night but what a night. It’s another beautiful and friendly city. A yachtsman saw us coming in, there isn’t really a “marina” and helped us to raft up to another boat along the concrete wall and soon another local sailor showed up to welcome us. “Snowgoose-san” had watched us arrive and was excited to meet us

and show us his city. His English was excellent and his pallet non-discerning. So after a couple drinks of whatever we had to offer, he joined us for dinner. As it is his city, we asked his advice on where to go. He asked us was we wanted to eat and we told him cheap and delicious. “I know!” he said, “Number one cheap place! Do you like chicken?”  Sure, chicken sounded great. We walked along the river chatting away on our way to the restaurant. Most of Tokushima was destroyed during WW2 and in the rebuild, the city was planned wonderfully. The river is flanked by boardwalks which are adorned with flowers and trees plus art installations. Numerous bridges cross the river and at night, each bridge is decorated differently with lights. Snowgoose-san told us that Tokushima is the birthplace of LED. Wanderers are beckoned invitingly into the numerous shops and restaurants sprinkled along the path. It is just lovely.  Snowgoose-san led us into the downtown area and around the corner to NumberOneCheapPlace. We walked in and found our seats at the bar amongst only locals so right off we were a bit of scene.

No English menu here but luckily we had Snowgoose-san. He again checked in on our desire to eat chicken and began to order and after the beer arrived (and the sake) so did the dishes of chicken. Chicken in sauce, chicken on sticks, “soft” chicken, “hard” chicken and chicken livers. When what looked the second dish of “hard” chicken arrived, I was gamely popping the pieces into my mouth when Snowgoose-san asked if I liked the “hardt” chicken. It is tasty but the pieces were a little chewy so in my slowness to answer, he asked again thinking I didn’t understand. This time he used actions to make his question clearer.  So when he thumped on his chest and asked if I liked the HEART chicken I understood what was in my mouth. Little tiny chicken hearts.  And truthfully, they were not bad. Kate and I put back as much chicken as we could though Brad got a special little dish of crab guts that was only for him and Snowgoose-san as the health benefits of the crab miso are not girls, only for men. 

All liquored up, we paid the chicken bill and left NumberOneCheapPlace. Tokushima is famous for a dance, Awa Odori, which is celebrated by a large multi-day festival in August. We were too early for that but each night the dance is performed in a beautiful cedar theatre for tourists. Snowgoose-san was very excited to share this cultural piece with us and lead us to seats right down in front. The dancing is beautiful and interesting to watch though Snowgoose-san was much more interested in chatting about the ladies dancing in kimonos with no underpants on and standing up to take our picture. This was not a packed theatre nor was it very dark so again, we were a bit of a scene but Snowgoose-san had no problem creating a scene. The performance over, everyone one was invited up to the stage to learn the dance, this is customary with this dance. So up we went, the three of us trying very hard to imitate the movements of the dance. Snowgoose-san didn’t try as hard; he just followed each of us around, including MisterBrad, whacking us in the bum with the complementary fan. Finally the community dance was over and as we were moving back to our seats I was graced with a flowered lei. Apparently, I had been chosen for something. The MC began to speak, in Japanese, and then motioned for myself and two other women with leis to come back to stage. Much to my surprise and Brad and Kate’s amusement, I had won! We didn’t know, but there were dance awards! Kate and Brad were further put over the edge when our only way of understanding

the MC and the questions he was asking me was through our rather inebriated translator, Snowgoose-san. Anyway, I got a special certificate and a special flag which I shall proudly display when we get home. We left the auditorium, declined Snowgoose-san’s invitation for further fun and made our way home to the boat along that beautiful boardwalk.

Planning your stops through the Inland Sea is not easy. There is a convoluted bureaucratic system of Open and Closed Ports left over from when Japan didn’t let anybody in. There are not many foreign yachts visiting Japan so there isn’t a system for them. We are required to complete the same paperwork as the massive cargo company ships all of which have an agent working for them. There’s a lengthy application process to visit the closed ports but even the open ports involve contacting Customs and Coast Guard each and every time. Basically it’s as though you enter the country each time you decide to visit a new city. Every time we were required to go through this process we thought that this is crazy, this is ridiculous and we would never recommend anyone to sail here. But after the 3-4 hour process was completed, we were immediately making friends, dining on delicious food and enjoying beautiful cities so all the headaches were totally worth it. Tying up in Takamatsu was one of the longer headaches. Coast Guard came to visit and that went quite smooth but the visit from Customs the next morning was painfully long and unnecessary. Part of the issue was that they we hadn’t checked in in Tokushima, but Tokushima is an open port so… Anyway, after about 3 hours we were all sorted and free to go rent bicycles.

Single slab of granite

We had only a couple days in Takamatsu before Kate was to fly home. We made great use of the bikes and trams visiting temples, gardens and ruins. On her last night we had another fabulous dinner accompanied by many rounds of sake (enough sake that each of us was stumped by our bike locks). In a rough state the next morning we took Kate to the bus stop and regretfully waved goodbye. Having her come to stay had been a trip highlight and I was sad to see her go.

But as it typically went in Japan, we saw an old friend leave and by the next afternoon we were making new ones. We met Yoko and her family when Yoko appeared the day the after Kate left. She was volunteering as translator between the marina and us. She helped translate with a mechanic that came to look at the engine, which was acting up again, and generously invited us to her home for dinner. Yet

again we were treated to an unbelievable menu and we spent a fun evening in the company of her family, her friends that had lived in Whistler for a few years as ski bums and her exchange student from Germany.

Tiny neighbourhood roads.

Squid boat.

We stayed a few more days in Takamatsu riding bikes and exploring the city further and getting ready to move on. We planned our route according to both our closed port application and, in case of unforeseen challenges, the open ports spotted along the Inland Sea. On May 14 we called the Japanese Coast Guard and headed off. Timing was becoming a concern as we wanted to be in Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido by about June 5 so we could be ready for our passage to the Aleutians whenever the weather looked promising. The day was beautiful but there was little wind so we were running both the engine and using the sails – motoring sailing. The little day voyage to Tsuneishi was rather uneventful other than the super massive tugboat who, as we were crossing a shipping lane, herded us into a corner by speaking to us over their incredibly loud outside speakers in Japanese. We didn’t really understand what was going on but Bradley maneuvered the boat in the direction they were pushing us and I made a big show of our Canadian flag to try and communicate that we didn’t speak Japanese. This they understood as they yelled “THANK YOU!” in English as they pulled away.

We pulled into a quiet but well maintained marina in Tsuneishi and walked up to the clubhouse/office to pay for the one night that we intended to stay. The manager took one look at us and told us that the Coast Guard was looking for us. We were rather surprised that our movements were being tracked that closely but we found the same thing all the way through the rest our travels in Japan. Luck for us, the manager used to live and work in Vancouver so his English was excellent and he was happy to repay the kindness that he had experienced while living in Vancouver. Customs and the Coast Guard showed up quickly and the marina manager acted as translator. Apparently we had gone rogue. Our application was out of date and Tsuneishi is a closed port. It was very wrong of us to pull in there. Finally after about 3 hours we were ok’d to stay the night but we were to report to the Customs and Coast Guard offices the next morning in Onomichi. We stayed the night without cost due to the generosity of the marina manager. The next morning, after coffee for us and diesel for Suuhaa, we headed to Onomichi.

We arrived in Onimichi and tied to the dock in the centre of town and went off to spend another three hours with Customs, the Ministry of Transportation and the Coast Guard. While it was a long process,

Onomichi dock.

the staff was again kind and friendly. The guys at MoT prepared another closed port application for us and made sure that the timeline we created was wide and long so that we would not run into the same difficulties as we had with an expired permit. All bureaucratic processes completed we were free to discover Onomichi which turned out to be a sweet little city. We poked around that evening, found a couple random spots to have drinks and then a “point at the menu and shrug hopefully” type of place. The next morning we were up and ready to go and but had a few hours before the tide was right so we took the ancient ropeway car up a steep hill to visit a temple, shopped for a few last fresh items (strawberries!) and got back to boat to visit with the neighbouring Japanese sailors who shared all kinds of useful knowledge about Kanmon Kaikyo and Hokkaido.

We spent the next night tied up in Kure and were quickly on the move again in the morning. We arrived in Hiroshima and dutifully followed all check in procedures. Much like Wakayama Marina City Yacht Club, Kanon Marina is part of larger tourist spot. Next door to the marina is a huge complex with stores, restaurants

and amusement park rides. We became a part of the scenery as we were tied up next to the boardwalk. We planned to stay for two nights so that we could have a whole day visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Visiting the park was one of the must stops on the list of places to visit in Japan and we were not disappointed. The park is in the centre of Hiroshima and was once the city’s busiest downtown commercial and residential district. It was built on the open field that was created by the explosion and the city has done an amazing job of creating a space that recognizes the immense and truly shocking tragedy as well as one that instills peace and hope. We spent the day wandering around the park which moved both of us to tears a couple different times. Among so many monuments I think the A-Bomb dome, the Childrens’ Memorial and Hall of Remembrance were the most awe inspiring and where we took the most time to contemplate that horrific day. Inside the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum we were quite taken with the hundreds of letters that the mayors of Hiroshima have written to presidents and prime

ministers each and every time their countries detonate nuclear bombs. The letters petition the leaders to stop their actions, abolish all nuclear weapons and to work together for peace. We did not leave the museum without adding our names to the petitions. It was a remarkable place to see.

The next morning again we were on the move. We spent one night in Unokai Yama tied to the most dilapidate  dock either of us have ever seen. The office was closed, it was a closed port and there was absolutely no one around – this in itself is a rarity for this populated country. We had a quiet evening cocktail, listened to the birds and were off again the next morning heading for Ube.

Our stop in Ube was necessary so we could be ready to enter Kanmom Kaikyo with the correct tide. Ube is different than any of the other cities we had visited. It’s primarily an industrial town for chemicals, concrete and steel so it wasn’t quite as “pretty” as all the others. But one thing that remained the same was the friendliness and generosity of the people. As we looked for the customs office we

ended up in some kind of government office where the staff really wanted to help us, even though they

Ube's largest dog head.

didn’t understand what we were looking for. They wanted to help us so much that Brad got halfway through a form the lady handed us before we began to clue in that we were in the offices for seniors and she was helping him complete the forms for a Japanese pension. When we arrived at customs we were “lucky” enough to get a very thorough officer and again we spent four hours with the official. The manager of the marina, which was really just a two boat steel dock at a mechanic shop, was a great friend to make. He charged for only one night of our two night stay and even gave us a discount. He took us for the most delicious Udon lunch where the noodles were mixed from scratch, sliced and dropped into the pot before our eyes. The morning of our departure he showed up with strawberries and chocolate covered almonds for us. Again, just lovely people everywhere in Japan.

Kanmom Kaiyko is the strait of water separating two of Japan’s islands. It has to be the craziest 20 miles of water in the world. Not only does it twist and turn, the water can scream through there at 13 knots AND the whole strait is littered with cargo docks so the MASSIVE ships are literally driving all over the place. This was a daunting piece of passage for us in our tiny boat that reaches top speeds of 5 knots. Well, I thought we would be the tiniest boat in the channel but actually, since the fishing is so good, there are 15 foot fishing boats hanging out IN THE MIDDLE! FISHING! Maybe you have to see it to believe it, but those guys are ridiculous. They just hang out there fishing and absolutely don’t move until a 300

METRE cargo ship is bearing down on them, doing 15 knots and leaning on his horn. Then they get out of the way, but they move right back until the next freighter makes them move. Anyway, Bradley is a super captain so we took a deep breath, jumped in behind a slow moving tug and tow and basically sailed on the “sidewalk”  all the way through. We got out the other side, played with the idea of anchoring somewhere for the night just to relax. But we carried on, it was May 22 and it would take us at least a week to get to Hakodate.

We had heard about the fog in Japan but we hadn’t experienced any of it, so I thought maybe we were there at the right time and there wasn’t really any fog. Nope. Not the case at all. We had about 700 miles to go up the Sea of Japan and we had fog so thick that we could barely see the top of the mast. The near gale that came over us was super fun, it was also really fun when the main sail ripped and had to be turned out for the spare. As I said to Bradley after he got whipped repeatedly (though not dangerously) in the head with the sail “livin’ the dream dear, livin’ the dream…” Yeah, that didn’t go over super well at first – now it’s funny.

The day we crossed Tsugaru Kaikyo the sun was beaming and there was not a wisp of fog anywhere.

This strait is the path for the water coming out of the Sea of Japan and emptying into the Pacific.  As we crossed in the sunshine, we were picked up by the current and while the boat was only moving about 4 knots through the water, water underneath us was moving in the same direction at 6 knots so we flew over to Hokkaido at 10+ knots! That was the fastest our super little ship has ever gone! We found the marina and tied up to another rough steel dock. Again we surprised the staff by showing up but once again, once they got over their shock of us, we were welcomed with great hospitality. I don’t know how many more times I can write about the generous and kind people of this country without boring you. Ok, maybe just a quick note about Wataka, the manager, who took us that night to the

grocery store and then out for conveyor belt sushi! Corny or not, that was awesome! We stayed at Ichiei Marina for about 5 days. We fueled up there, used the great internet connection and did some shopping. During one of our out-trips we went in search of a Kiwi boat that Ian and Kim told us about. They said they were in Hakodate which was exactly where we found them, right downtown, tied to the tourist-area seawall, for free! It didn’t take much convincing for us to move over.

Hakodate

This area of Hakodate is much like Gastown; lots of brick, hanging flower baskets and tourists everywhere. We got to know Mark and Heather on Larissa really well, particularly after we had to raft up to them which meant we were walking all over their boat anytime we wanted to get off the boat. So we all waited for the best weather with which we could cross over to the Aleutians. In the meantime we did some sightseeing both on foot and by car together with Mark and Heather and their crew member. We also finally visited an onsen. An onsen is a public bathhouse that has non-stop hot running water. This is something special if you live on a boat. Hot water and as much of it as you want and if you are a typical BC girl like me, a water pig, this is heaven. There

was so much steaming hot water – you could fill buckets with your own personal tap, you could turn on your own personal shower, you could sit in the outdoor pool or in one of the three indoor pools that ranged from hot to lava-hot. It was awesome. Awesome.

Our time in Japan finally came to a close and while we were excited to move on and journey home to our side of the Pacific, we both agree that Japan was more than we expected and totally worth the journey.

Pagan Island

Pagan Island was an unplanned stop in our original itinerary. We didn’t know it existed and now we know and it’s a place we would enthusiastically tell any sailor to stop at. Our passage there was slow, we had very little wind and after a couple days our motor would not spin the prop. There was a moment when we thought something was stuck in it and Bradley had the fins and mask on to go swimming. Turns out it the prop shaft had slid out of the engine and was knocking against the rudder. Bradley burrowed into the lazarette and fixed it temporarily but it was not possible to complete fix it and thus began our experience of sailing without a motor. We could only use it to charge the batteries but we would be anchoring at Pagan and entering Japan under sail alone. 

We made it to Pagan after about four days of sailing and successfully dropped our anchor using only our sails to maneuver. On the beach we could see about four people and a bunch of dogs. We launched the dinghy and rowed ashore to meet this Pagan Beach Patrol. These were four young guys; Sandman, Jay, June and Ty. Sandman is probably the oldest at about 30 and is who we considered the chief of the island. He was born on the island and had been evacuated with the rest of the village when the volcano erupted in 1987, burying the village in masses of ash. He returned in 2002, determined to re-establish the village on the island. The other three guys, all younger than he, are his recruits and Sandman’s girlfriend, Chris, lives there as well. The island is a piece of paradise. The volcano is active, it steamed the whole time we were there but there is a lot of other life as well. Wild goats, pigs and cattle roam the island and the soil supports coconut, mango and lime trees. It’s absolutely beautiful. 

Our friends Ian and Kim on Astrolabe I, whom we had met in Guam and who were also on their way to Japan, arrived the next morning and the four of us set about exploring the island with Jay, June and Ty. The guys took us through the lava fields, up over the ridge and down the other side to the beach on the east side of the island. We had fresh coconut breaks and June caught himself a cow with the dogs. The guys catch young cows and goats from around the island and send them on the supply ship back to their families in Saipan to raise and sell or eat. When they first told us this, both Brad and I had pictured full grown cows that they put in the little skiff to take out to the waiting supply ship; much to the amusement of the local guys who let us believe this. 

As we arrived back from our hike and we crossed the grass airfield, we saw a number of tents set up and a ship in the bay. As we approached we met the occupants and these were researchers from the Alaska Volcano Observatory organization. There were also people from the communications company that maintains the solar panels and satellite dish. Did I mention that on this remote island that the residents have internet? A helicopter also showed up the next day to move the researchers around the island to check on the volcanic measurement tools stationed all over. 

 

That evening we had a bbq with the villagers and learned about the history of Pagan, the Japanese occupation, the volcano and Sandman’s determination to re-populate the island. The American Navy has plans for the island to make it into another base for missile practice. This would surely ruin a beautiful place. You can sign their petition to save the island from this fate at www.savepaganisland.org like we did. Or you could just move there like we have thought about doing. 

Kim and Ian left the next day for Okinawa while we stayed one more day doing some work on the boat, mainly trying to cajole the engine into some sort of proper working order. We wandered into the village in the evening after dinner looking for the guys for a last visit before we left the next day. We didn’t find them, they were out hunting cows, so we joined the scientists for a few beers and learned about what they were doing. We ended up spending a lot of time talking about the Aleutians since they spent lots of time up there studying all those volcanoes as well. We were able to make a pretty detailed list of recommended stops on their advice.

The next day dawned with a nice of amount of wind so we went ashore one more time to say our goodbyes and by noon we had the anchor up and we were on our way to Japan and to experience the most challenging sailing that we have to endure.

Guam

Our passage to Guam took longer than our hoped for timetable of 12 days. When sailing you can emphasize the “estimated” in ETA. It was the three days of unbelievable calms and the four days of heavy winds and big seas that threw our timetable out the window.  The sea was flat and glassy during the calms. I really should have taken a photo of my reflection but it was so hot that we spent our time lying beneath fans in the cabin out of the sun, trying to find relief from the heat. Standing outside to get a photo seemed like way too much work.  The wind picked up and for a few days we had perfection on the sea. The wind blew and because of the calms, the sea was smooth so we flew through the water. But after those few days the wind and seas began to change. The wind picked up to blows of 40 knots and the seas became the biggest we had seen yet. We couldn’t sail in these conditions so we pulled out and set the sea-anchor and hove to. With the boat hove to we rode over the waves safely and we waited out the weather for almost four full days. Finally the wind began to lessen and we pulled in the sea-anchor, adjusted the sails and made our way to Guam. By the time we were at the entrance to Apra Harbour on Guam we had been sailing for 17 days and we were exhausted.        

One does not just sail into Guam. You can’t just show up and drop your anchor, have a nap and then think about checking in. Guam is home to the largest naval base of the US and they know you’re there when you are within 50 miles of the place. We followed the rules and called both the Coast Guard and the Port Authority as we approached and were given a time when we could enter the harbor. We had to wait for the five warships to enter first as they came back from practice. When the time arrived we gratefully motored into the harbor. We were in radio contact with the Port Captain and he asked if we know where we were going. We had our chart and we had looked on Google Earth before leaving the Marshalls to be sure of the location of the yacht club we were expected at. We assured him that we were fine and headed to the corner of the harbor. As we approached the entrance to the channel that would take us to our place of rest and refuge, we were astonished at the massive warships between us and the channel. I was taking photos while Captain Brad wondered if he should go between the ships or cut close to the breakwater and go around them. 

The radio lit up, it was the Port Captain, “Suuhaa Suuhaa, you are entering the restricted zone. Turn around. Repeat, turn around.” Whoops. Brad swung us around and the Port Captain came back again, “You are on the wrong side of the harbor, you need to be on the south side.” Brad apologized and we headed to the other side. Ahh, there were the masts. We could see them now. From the chart we could see that one of the two channels ahead of us lead to that little harbor and as we got closer we waved at the Coast Guard and Navy skiffs leaving the channel. They all waved back and when we were in 50 feet of entering the voice of the Port Captain came over the radio again, “Suuhaa Suuhaa, you are again entering a restricted zone. You need to do a U-turn now!” I was on the radio this time as Brad was somewhat frantically trying to figure out where the hell we were supposed to be going. We were both so tired and just wanted to find the yacht club and rest.

“Suuhaa Suuhaa, you need to go east and enter through the channel in the reef.”

“Ok, I think we have it sir.”

“You should see Bob in his skiff waiting for you.”

We picked our way through the markers on the reef and as we rounded a bend, there were sailboats and Bob, who was expecting us, in his little rowboat. At that moment the voice of the Port Captain came back one last time, “Suuhaa Suuhaa. “ “Yes Captain?” “Suuhaa you’re going the right way. Try and stay safe out there ok?” I laughed, he laughed and I thanked him and we signed off. I went forward to pick up the mooring ball Bob recommended and thank god, we were here.

Guam proved to be a great place to stop and provision before heading on to Japan. The members of the Marianas Yacht Club were incredibly helpful and we found ourselves in the company of three other boats planning to sail to Japan at the same time. Check in was a breeze. Customs and Immigration all came to the club to sign us in and as Canadians we were immediately granted a six month stay and there were no fees. As the yacht club is far from the towns in Guam we immediately set about renting a car which we found cheap at Rent-a-Wreck. All the visiting cruisers had one of these and all our cars were in some sort of disrepair.  When the company looks over the car with you at the time of your rental they laugh and tell you they don’t care about the scratches, it’s just the large dents or broken door handles or the bumpers attached by plastic zap straps that they mark down. Thank god it doesn’t snow there, the tires were completely bald. But our little Nissan took us all around asking only for a few drops of gas. 

We spent 10 days in Guam. We shopped at K-Mart and the Cost-U-Less and we ate pizza and burgers. We visited the Chumurrow village on the Wednesday for their famous bbq which was delicious. We took the time to check out a museum all about the war in the Pacific which was more interesting than I expected. We watched the young navy guys get drunk at a beachside bar and shopped around the Japanese tourists, who came by the busload, at K-Mart.

The yacht club is a small place but it has all that the visiting cruiser could need. Great wifi and showers and friendly members. There’s dinner on Friday and Sunday nights and the young guys who run the kitchen make fabulous food. From the members we learned about Pagan Island in the Northern Marianas and from their stories we folded a visit to this island into our passage plans.

After this short visit in Guam we were ready to go and on March 28 we followed Astrolabe I and Delphin out of the harbor to Pagan Island and then onto Japan.