Voyage of the Good Ship Westward

Our primary quest at Tanaga was the source of the name for “Hot Springs Bay”—-at the east end of the island.  This lovely anchorage, with overlooking volcanoes & a trappers cabin, showed no evidence of a spa, but a skiff-ride along the southern shore revealed a steaming beach which, on closer inspection, was fed by an extended seepage of 122 deg. water—-but, alas for these onsen-deprived shipmates, there was barely sufficient warm accumulation at the tide-line to soak your toes!

Post continues. . .

Kushiro Departure & At-Sea:

Kiska:

Arrival at Gertrude Bay,  Kiska – 8 days 12 hours, 1460 miles from Kushiro, 1000 gal. diesel burned

S.S. Borneo Maru,  Bombed & beached August 1942:

Roiling tides between Aleutian Islands, so frequently encountered here:

Remnants – Japanese triple-expansion steam engine (likely Westward’s vintage):

Kiska Volcano:

Springtime in the Aleutians:

Amchitka:

Officer’s Club?

Airfield from Amchitka’s nuclear age:

WWII fighter airfield:

Amchitka tired:

Post continued. . .

Safely arrived Adak at 0800h/10th, in time for lunch ashore at the local diner . . . . After obtaining temporary inward clearance (by phone to Homeland Security & Customs) to go ashore.  We depart a.m. 11th for Dutch Harbor (where ETA 15th) via “port or ports” (in the Aleutians read “cove or coves”) enroute.

Lots to tell, many pictures to share but that probably must wait for Dutch Harbor where time & internet access more available. 

Westward

0400/7th

A fine night for our passage to Tanga Island (ETA 1500h) from Amchitka—where “The Great Aleutians Stag Cruise” participants enjoyed, to varying degrees, the Amchitka Death March!—6 hours/10 miles of “booney-stomping” over sand & tundra to explore  minimal remnants of WWII and more recent nuclear test activities.  But for a newer T-pier & two (closed) airfields, their are barely races of either; Tanga has been left to driftwood, derelict fishing-gear, seagulls & eagles.  Amchitka is another far, far place . . . . way the back o’ beyond.  Marley again distinguished himself for his boundless energy, curiosity & appetite.

All’s well onboard
Westward 

Advanced clocks four hours to Aleutian daylight time (Seattle -2 hrs) resulting Kiska arrival daybreak/5th.

8 days 12h/ 1460 mi/1000gal.  0700h Entered Gertrude Cove for drive-by around sunken BorneoMaru before proceeding Kiska Hrbr where diminishing williwaws finally permitted afternoon landing for beach-walk to Japanese-dug caves, crumbling shipwrecks & quonsets on desolate, tree-less, wind-swept country  Saw every kind of weather, including the rare blue (but excepting snow, which covers Kiska volcano & highlands).

A grand day, enjoyed by all but especially Marley—who swam & ran and never stopped.  Chicken on the barby (air 46, windchill 26 sea 42.8).

Now underway overnight for Constantine Hrbr on Amchitka for a similar Sunday before 20hr run to Tanga—where have hopes of a hot-springs Monday eve before 6hr midnight sail to intriguing Bay of Islands @ Adak’s west-end.  Forecasts favorable to our pursuits into next week, but we’re not in Polynesia anymore.

All’s well on board
Westward

2nd July noon position: 48 58′N/162 48′E (250 miles southeast of Kamchatka) with 580 miles remaining to Kiska, our 1st Aleutian port (where ETA 4th evening).

We’re enjoying fine weather enroute—-moderate winds (abeam & astern) with some clear skies & bright sun and only occasional fog.

Standing three hour watches (with nine hours off), A-1 machinery, and rotating galley duty, we’re well-rested, well-fed, and counting our blessings.

All’s well onboard
Westward

Thursday, 26 June 2008
Kushiro, Japan
(Latitude 42 deg 59 minutes North + Longitude 144 deg. 23 min. East)

We last checked-in upon arrival at Akita on the Sea of Japan.  Our few days at Akita brought a most enjoyable side-trip to the old Samurai town of Kakunodate (locally & accurately described as a “little Kyoto”) and to the hot-springs of Lake Tazawa.  We had the pleasure of the company & assistance in Akita, and on our passage to Muroran, of an old friend from fishing days—-Teiji Ohno, a retired Taiyo Director; our time was enriched by his knowledge and companionship.  Akita Prefecture, bordered inland by a ring of alpine mountains, proved an intriguing place—-to which Teresa & I hope to someday to return.

A 30 hour run brought us to southern Hokkaido Island and the port city of Muroran—-a quiet and declining port that was nonetheless most welcoming, with fine rail connections for a visit to Toyako (site of July’s G-8 Summit meeting) and for two delightful nights in Sapporo.

We were all sad to bid farewell to Teresa as she departed Westward at Muroran for a flight to Tokyo & Seattle, opting understandably for the comforts of home (over a 2000 mile North Pacific crossing!).  It took three to replace her (all able hands with a wealth of experience in Alaska); we are well-manned for this next passage, but Teresa is, and will be, missed until she rejoins us in Dutch Harbor mid-July.

The five of us had an easy overnight passage from Muroran to Kushiro, a trip that enabled everyone to get settled-in onboard before we depart Japan for the Aleutian Islands.  Our two scheduled days in Kushiro (for fuel & provisions) have stretched to six, a consequence of a series of stark & lingering reminders that we are back in northern latitudes—-where cold, wet & windy are the norm.  A low pressure system passed slowly-by just south of Kushiro, bringing days of 30 knot & 40 knot northeast winds offshore, winds that would have been directly on Westward’s nose had we ventured out.

But the weather has cleared, the seas are laying down, and we have a favorable forecast for the days ahead; we will sail Kushiro at 1000 hours tomorrow (Friday/27th) for Adak Island.

In Kushiro we’ve continued to experience and enjoy the same warm hospitality which we have found throughout Japan; and we have been comfortable at an excellent, centrally-located moorage.  We put this unexpected time in Kushiro to good use—–we’re fully fueled & provisioned, everything onboard well-secured, and we have lexan storm-windows rigged for the pilot-house & side windows.  We are ready for whatever the North Pacific might bring our way and are confident of a safe (though perhaps, at times, cold & uncomfortable) passage to Adak—–1300 miles distant.

It is difficult to grasp that we have now been in Japan for three months (plus two delightful weeks in South Korea); every moment in this wonderful country has been memorable & enriching, we shall be sad to leave!  But we are, nonetheless, eager for the passage ahead, for the summer in Alaska, and our return home early September—–after 18 months away on our 20,000 mile journey around the Pacific.

We’ll likely not report again until we reach Dutch Harbor mid-July, but be certain that all continues well onboard

Westward

Akita

Hokkaido

Monday, June 09, 2008
Ryotsu port, Sado Island

Our northeasterly journey along the west coast of Honshu has been the unfolding of serial delights. We’ve moved away from the modern & industrial eastern coastline of Japan and discovered the charm of a more rural, and traditional Japan. There are still pockets of trade & industry here but we are now in a region where the dominant economic themes are agriculture & coastal fisheries, with modest impacts of (Japanese) tourism evidenced by modern ferries and high-speed passenger hydrofoils. 

The cities & towns on this side are smaller, the architecture more traditional, ancient shrines, temples and crafts more frequent, onsens more abundant, streets & highways more narrow and winding; there are no bullet-trains on this side!  Coastal traffic, and our passages, are no longer crowded and confused by the rapid transit of massive container-ships, bulk carriers & tankers; fog has taken their place as challenges to our navigation.

The countryside is steep, lush and verdant with spring growth & plantings.  The fabled prosperity of Japanese farmers, despite the small size of meticulously manicured individual plots of farm-land, is everywhere evident. Equally evident is the cultural modernization of Japan—–seen in the aging demographics of these rural areas. Youth has apparently taken-flight to the attractions of the modern east, leaving aging fishermen & farmers and family produce-gardens tended by stooped & wizened elders.

Hagi, Saigo on Dogo Island, Maizuru and Ryotsu on Sado Island—–each a welcoming destination.  Westward is quite a calling card in these harbors less-visited by cruising yachts.  Cruising yachts all report similar welcomes throughout Japan; but few are as large as Westward, none as distinctly classic & antique.  A larger yacht in these waters, and the extravagance that such imply, could be “off-putting”; Westward is perhaps received differently  than her newer sisters.  It is as if the commitment that bringing her across the Pacific to Japan is understood, and appreciated. 

Gifts of fresh fruits & produce, fish are oft our daily fare; smiles & halting English greet us wherever we venture. Chefs at local restaurants know from whence we come; we were hosted to a private tour, and tea ceremony, at a 200 year-old sake brewery and through the owners’ home and splendid ancient garden. School children greet us with warmth and curiosity. The extensive & efficient Japan Coast Guard has taken Westward under their wing, welcoming us at each harbor oft arranging moorage at ports ahead.

But for it all, the price in paperwork is high.  There is something amiss with a system that requires boarding party of twelve (12) officials, from up to five different agencies, for inward clearance at each new port on a coastal voyage!  We are most certainly and thoroughly tracked along our course.

We’ll sail Ryotsu today for Akita, namesake of Marley’s ancestral pack; we expect every dog in town to be on the dock to greets us!  Akita will be our last port-of-call, on Honshu, before ten-days at Hokkaido . . . and our June 23^rd departure from Kushiro to the Aleutians.  We can almost feel the bitter-sweet proximity of home, and the ending of this marvelous odyssey.

All continues well aboard
Westward

P.S. As I wrote these closing words we were visited, in reaffirmation of the preceding generosity described, by a familiar local fisherman who delivered the gift of a fish print (“yotaku”) of his own making—-a large, fresh-caught sea-bass whose image was inked and handsomely pressed onto a fine cotton cloth—-a treasure gift of skill, thoughtfulness & generosity.

We have failed in keeping Marley’s U.S.A. admirers apprised of his well-being after 15,000 miles at sea—-a fact to which our attention has recently been drawn.

Marley is thriving, and is eager to sit for a U.S.C.G. mariner’s license upon our return home. 

Marley, as you may recall, is rumored to be part Akita—-a Japanese breed; he is convinced of it, and loves being in his “tierra”!

And he has been most popular in Japan & Korea; large dogs are a considerable rarity both places (especially outside the stew pot-in the latter!), Marley typically develops quite a fan-club in each port we visit and is convinced that everyone who comes down to the boat has done so to see him! 

Hugh & Teresa (& Marley!)

With brevity & haste consistent with these busy times, we last reported-in upon arrival at Shimonoseki where we greatly enjoyed a three day visit—-warm friendships and hospitality, leisurely sightseeing, provisioning & fueling, and happy times together with old friends.  Fine spring weather, karaoke, the exciting navigation of busy Kanmon Straits & pleasant coastal bicycle-navigation from Shimonoseki to nearby, charming Chofu were memorable highlights. 

After too brief a time with our many good friends, old & new, Westward sailed 13^th May from Shimonoseki overnight to Busan, South Korea. 

Following recent weeks of daylight-only navigation in Japan’s busy coastal & inland waters, it was a demanding run—-a moon-less night of thunder-storms & dense steamer traffic, illuminated by brilliant lightening and fleets of fishing boats, both Japanese & Korean, often fishing squid with bright incandescent fishing lights which easily evidenced their presence but blinded us to other traffic.  It was an important night for vigilance and for radar & AIS navigation!

At burgeoning & bustling Busan, Westward moored in the yachting center built for the 1988 Olympics there—–center-stage beneath the monument where the Olympic Flame once brightly burned:

There were abundant highlights of our stay in South Korea—-a country whose history & hospitality rivals that of Japan. 

At Busan we scoured local markets, took care of business at the World Aquaculture 2008 Convention, witnessed the start & finish (at Westward’s door-step), of the Busan Marathon (with Teresa’s spontaneous participation in a rain-drenched 3 km walk (while I awaited delivery onboard of a new battery-bank for Westward’s 24 volt DC system in the midst of the Marathon’s excitement).  We attended a concert by, and visited onboard with, charming Thibault Cauvin, a fine French classical guitarist—–idol of innumerable young Korean darlings & pal of Spencer’s—–who was performing nine Korean concerts (in nine days) as part of his peripatetic annual concert schedule (see: www.thibaultcauvin.com).

We also enjoyed a busy week-end in Seoul, conveniently reached via Korea’s new French-built, high-speed train (300 km/hr, an equal to the TGV of France).  After the (modest) deprivations of life onboard Westward, we were especially comfortable at the Seoul’s five-star J.W. Marriot Hotel, owned by wonderful friends from my early shipping days.  A special treat in Seoul was sharing all with daughter Elena with her husband, Todd Madsen—–visiting artistic & historic Seoul’s extraordinary castles, museums & galleries.  Family, dear friends, excellent foods, some productive business meetings & introductions, and even a bit of nightlife all made for a most memorable Seoul visit.

We were sad to leave Korea, where there is so much to see & do.  But we reluctantly departed Busan at midnight on the 25^th, for minimal night-time running, to arrived26^th afternoon at charming Hagi, Japan—-an ancient samuri & castle town, also rich with recent history. as home of many of Japan’s Mejii Restoration’s founding fathers.  Hagi is noted also for its many onsens (hotspring bath-houses), the nearest adjacent to our moorage.  We shall try to check them all in our few days here!!

From Hagi we will turn northeast, along Japan’s Sea of Japan coastline, on the following (approximate) itinerary:

<Ports of call>      

•  Hamada: 29-30 May ??
•  Dogo Island: 31 May – 2 June??
•  Maizuru: 3-5 June ???
•  Sado Island: 6-8 June ? ???
•  Niigata: 8-11 June ?
•  Akita: 9-12 June? ?????
•  Muroran: 14-20 June
•  Kiritappu: 21-23 June

Our ETD Japan is June 23rd from Hokkaido for Aleutian Islands and Dutch Harbor.  Frustrated with the endless challenges of obtaining permission to visit the Russian Kuril Islands, we have forsaken that objective to extend our stay in far more welcoming Korea & Japan, hoping foremost for mild northern summer weather before we brave the North Pacific to the Aleutian Islands & Alaska.

We have a great deal of Japan still to see in the weeks ahead, but our remaining time feels short; we  will be sad to leave after so much enjoyment here, from seeing many treasured friends and traveling & sightseeing along this welcoming country’s beautiful & welcoming coastlines.

All’s well aboard
Westward

East meets Westward – morning at anchor off O-torii Gate of 6th Century Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island, five miles south of Hiroshima, enroute to Shimonoseki.

Teresa is safe aboard and we’ve now arrived at Shimonoseki, after a 13 knot westbound transit of Kanmon Channel (separating the islands of Honshu & Kyushi) on the ebb tide from the Inland Sea.  We’ll fuel here and enjoy a few days visit with old friends from fishing days. 

Weather permitting (there’s a typhoon lurking to the south, and headed towards Japan!), we’ll sail for Busan, South Korea on the 13^th . . .  an overnight run across the Sea of Japan.

Westward