We had planned to leave Chichi-Jima by 0900 but suprisingly for us we were ready to go by just after 0800. We are rarely early! Dean was very keen to leave early because we are expecting strong winds and higher seas on Sunday and he wants to get into Wakayama before then.
I felt bad because we had told people we were leaving at 0900 and I thought some would come down to see us off. Sure enough as I circled around while Dean stowed our ropes, fenders and boards we saw Shatomi (I am sure I have that spelling wrong) with her two children waving goodbye. She was waving a bag that she obviously wanted to give us so we passed close to the dock so she could hang it on the end of a boat hook. She had made us each a lunchbox of rice balls and sliced orange.
We were still in the inner harbour while we were putting up the mainsail and we saw Natsuko waving to us. We couldn’t go any closer but she sent a couple of pictures she took of us putting up the sail.
With the tourists only having a couple of days on the island the little tour boats were already out in force watching the whales and dolphins and people were in the water swimming with them. Brrrr too cold for me!
And with that we were on our way. Dean wanted to make good time and with the wind we were making between 7-9kn. Poor Dean was soon down with severe seasickness so I spent most of the first day on deck by myself. He relieved me so I could get some sleep then I did the night watch. It was bitterly cold, and we are heading in to the warmer months now!
I had prepared some meals, but ate Shatomi’s rice balls and they were delicious. Three different flavours and the one I thought was plain actually had a chunk of salmon in the middle. My favourite had seasoning and herbs and the last one was seafood with tiny shrimp through it that tasted amazing. It was a really thoughtful gift and perfect for eating on the go. And the less time I had to spend in the galley the better.
After wearing not much since we left home, I now had thermals, cords, flannelette shirt, jacket, balaclava, ugg boots, mittens. Oh gee, how will I be when it’s really cold? Oh that’s right I still have my electronic hand warmers in reserve!
I let Dean wake up naturally with the light then I went back down to bed when he woke up. Normally after my watch I have a quick shower as I sleep better if I am clean. Not this time, I only took my outer layers off, kept my ugg boots on and was still asleep when my head hit the pillow!
Dean has never woken me up from that morning sleep before but he must have been feeling terrible because he woke me up so he could lie back down. The poor thing looked terrible with big bags under his eyes, only able to sip on a bit of hydrolyte.
Luckily a doctor we met since leaving Australia had prescribed him some patches that you are unable to buy in Australia. He was saving them for our Alaska leg, but used one after being so sick and it worked! I guess he will be stocking up on those.
On the second day with the wind dropping off I had to motor sail to keep our speed up so we still get in to the mainland on time. We were expecting this calm before the storm. Another day by myself with Dean still recouping! Although he isn’t heaving he still isn’t completely well and I only felt a little bit bad scoffing down his lunch I had made him for the day before. I have refrained from eating his rice balls though. I am sure he will be able to eat them soon.
My second night was a wet one. When Dean handed over, I checked the radar and saw a line of squalls up ahead. Thankfyully the rain didn’t come with a lot of wind, but the rest of the night was pretty wet. I had my Onezee on tonight, so I looked like I was wearing a giant sleeping bag. I didn’t need my wet weather gear because the rain wasn’t driving in. Also Dean had hooked up a shelter with our clears so I was warm and dry. It was actually a good night and I managed to finish Harry Potter again, which I read every few years. Long sailing legs are great to chow through your reading lists!
I let Dean wake naturally in the morning again, and went straight to bed as I was exhausted. However I got another rude awakening when he yelled to me to come up. I knew something was wrong so as quick as I could I rugged up and put on my wet weather gear. We had been hit by a wave and the autopilot had tripped out. So I continued hand steering while he investigated. Luckily it was only a blown fuse, so it was a quick fix.
I was wide awake then and couldn’t go back to sleep. The rain cleared and it ended up a nice day, though still little wind. However the wind was due to click in during the wee hours of the morning, and with that, being closer to the mainland, would probably have more ship traffic. So for our last night we swapped watches, and I went through to 0100 and Dean did the rest of the night.
Of course with those plans in place the wind didn’t really click in and there weren’t too many ships. But it was amazing to get a good nights sleep.
The day deteriorated and got colder and colder as a cold front passed over. Eventually that wind did kick in and the shipping traffic did increase. By the time we were approaching Honshu (the main island of Japan) we were having to dodge cargo ships, tankers and even a cruise liner. We wondered if our new friends from Saipan were on it as they are currently on a Japanese cruise for Cherry Blossom season.
We are the black boat icon in the centre in the image below. You can see our wriggly track where we have had to dodge boats.
Then this is us where we had got through the first lot of ships and joined those heading in a Westerly direction. We only had to be in the line for a little bit then we were exiting for the harbour that I marked with a red cross, that already had a small ship in taking refuge from the storm. The lines extending in front of the ships show their position in half an hour on the current course.
We decided to enter Kushimoto instead of going through to Wakayama marina which is another day sail. For one we didn’t want to arrive at night, and second we didn’t want to be out in the gale force winds. The swell had already picked up and the wind was gusting over 30kn and getting stronger.
We reached Kushimoto late afternoon. Although it is very windy we have no fetch and it is calm. In the cabin you can hear the wind whistling outside but we are cosy and warm. I indulged in a long hot shower, since I had only snuck in one on the journey over, and for the first time since leaving home, was able to put on my winter PJ’s!
I had mince already prepared so just had to boil some potatoes and we had Shepherds pie for dinner, at our table downstairs. Excluding when we have guests, I could count on one hand how many times we have eaten downstairs since we left home.
With a gale building we will have a few nights here before moving on. On reading our travel guide Dean has discovered that there is apparently the third best onsen in Japan not far from here so wants to stop there on the way to Wakayama. Not sharing his passion for bathing naked in hot springs with strangers I will be happy to let him report if it really is that good. For now we are cosy and warm downstairs but the wind is bitter. This is me upstairs. Yep, it’s definitely Onezee weather!!
Run to Paradise 