Kiwis cruising in Charioteer

Birthday delights

2012-02-18T16:43:00.003+08:00

The sky was blue, the sun shone and the fish just begged to be caught. grand daughter Tayla caught two Blue Cod but would not have anything to do with them once they got within reach of the landing net. Tayla likes her fish with chips and tomato sauce....not jumping in a bucket with several others.
My birthday sail was a success. No one was seasick and we did some gentle sailing that all the grand daughters enjoyed......even though we could not grant the request to ' do donuts like daddy does'!!!! ( Daddy has a very fast Malibu waterski/ wakeboard boat.)
Summer has been here for three days........but today it moved somewhere else :(
Brian is still busy getting at the rust...but is winning the battle. I am riding my bike to town rather then using the car, and a bit of gentle weight lifting in the morning....got to keep the fitness up.
The kitchen refurbishments are going well. And after a discussion with the paint shop man and Brian I am painting the fence a warm pinky/ pumpkin colour. I did want to do it burnt orange but they talked me out of it... :( but at least it will not be the normal boring colour. :)
All is well in the land of the long white cloud.....marmite, fish and chips, pie and tomato sauce, milkshakes, cheese,beetroot, grand daughters hugs...... :). :)
Hope life is good for you
love and hugs

Bye bye Facebook.....Hullo Blog

2012-02-11T11:12:00.002+08:00

So instead of Facebook I shall occasionally do a type of diary letting the interested know what we are doing while tied to the marina.
We are surprised wwhen looking at the calendar to find we have only been back for one month....so much has happened...so many things done and people visited.
We celebrated Tayla and Kendras Fourth Birthday.......three times.....once on the actual day, a few days later we went out for dinner to celebrate the birthday and then a week later the official party...with small children guests and birthday cake.
We went on a long bike ride into the back blocks with the family, and another ride along the riverbank......we enjoyed catching up with special friends over a lovely BBQ meal and and we have busy doing renovations in our house in Wellington !!!! This is all in a good cause, it will help with the cruising kitty.
Brian has been busy attacking the surface rust inside CHARIOTEER which meant all cupboards and other elusive storage areas were emptied into the main cabin.....and CHARIOTEER smelt like a paint factory.
And then I asked if for my birthday on Sunday we could take the family for a day sail and a BBQ on the harbour....so things have been restored to storage areas and CHARIOTEER is all ready to set sail tomorrow morning.
I am hoping for calm, warm weather. Tayla and Kendra have never sailed before and we want them to enjoy the day...and it is very hard to hold a hot sausage when the boats on a lean :)
All of New Zealand is waiting for summer to arrive......but the sun is shy whereas the wind is not......oh well hugs with grand daughters kind of make up for it.
NEW ZEALAND...you just gotta love the clean air ...even if the wind cuts right through you :)

Home again

2012-02-01T02:26:00.002+08:00

This is just a short item to let our followers know we wre home, safe and sound. You can find us back where we started from six years ago.
Pier D, No 10, Seaview Marina, Lower Hutt.
We shall post a blog about our trip from Port Victor later.

The captains view on SOLO SAILING. :)

2011-12-14T06:28:00.002+08:00

We all know about those intrepid sailors, mostly men...but occasionally women, many of whom circumnavigate the globe. This feat usually takes three to five years to complete. ( although we do know of one fellow ( yacht Sourdough) who completed his circuit this year after starting out 16 years and 8 months ago, his path wandered far and wide.)
But now do we have a new breed of solo sailors?? And this is my poser to set the mind ticking !!!!
The young man I fathered, who is also my wives son gave my crew member ( Carol) an IPad. For an avid reader this is great ......come bed time the lights go out and she reads on :(. But then this small pecs of equipment becomes a telephone for talking to NZ for almost no cost.....Even better....but wait....THERE'S MORE.....email and all that sort of invisible stuff fly into the IPad, somehow from somewhere ......
Next thing squeezed in is a GPS, which shows you where you are ...anytime, anywhere.......land or sea..day or night. A sweet electronic voice can tell you your speed, your average and how many thousand of hours you have been going.
Now on CHARIOTEER we have paper charts and electronic charts, so we are in touch with where we are....OH NO , now with the IPad we can add, at a small cost, Navionic charts...with a small icon showing our position , how far we have come, where we are going :)
Not good enough yet, you say ...... CORRECT.......as these charts can be over laid with Google Earth views. If Father Christmas has this aid he will be able to see right down your chimney :)
What a marvelous gizmo....NO NO ...we aren't finished yet...weather forecast six days ahead...anywhere in the world (Buoyweather)...you can find ships far enough away that you can not see them with the naked eye (ASIS)
Now where is this all lleading to.......I'm out there in the wind and cold tending sails, keeping a lookout....so I call to Carol...( all snuggly and warm in the pilot house) " a coffee would be good"...... The hasty reply..." can you do it...there is an email I want to answer , and I'll have one also" !!!!!!!!!
I ( Brian) am a new age solo sailor :)

The crew replies....ah yes but the captain does enjoy reading
www.stuff.co.nz or www.trade me.co.nz
and looking at the photos the family send, and the weather forecasts..........:) I just love being crew, who wants to go out into the cold to alter a sail........

Hilary harbour, west Coast Australia

2011-11-28T12:02:00.003+08:00

On from there we made Hilarys Harbour Marina and third time lucky found a rigger to repair our wounded yacht. He checked all the rigging and changed the lower aft shrouds from 8 to 10 mil. After one week we we're off again amongst the ever present whales. Stops at Mandurah, Bunbury, Quindalup, and Hamlin Bay.
We had met a solo launch heading the same way so we moved along together. At Hamlin Bay it was a wait for conditions to get around the southern cape. Eventually it was a go...so around to Albany. We anchored out by an old whaling station. whaling only ceased Australia in 1987 !!!!!
Next day we moved closer to the town. An old wharf is inside the breakwater, so we tied there for the weekend. Come Monday an official told us we would have to pay $AUS 7.50 per metre. that's $AUS700 per week.!!!!.....we could rent a house for half of that.
Our launch friend was at anchor in another bay, so we headed there. The entrance was shallow and narrow. With winds up tp 30knots, made things a little tense until at anchor :)
In this bay is an island now a bird sanctuary . In the early days local grew the vegetables here as it was safe from the rabbits. pelicans with their huge beaks and large bodies seem so ungainly. but in flight they ar so very graceful. Their flight is a mixture of slow wing flapping and gliding.....great to watch. At a fishing wharf here our friend took on 1200l of diesel, by tanker...and we filled containers with 100 litres. Prices vary considerably t ports. marinas charged up to .20cents a litre more than pump prices...but here was our best buy so far.
Our next sail was a 900 mile run across the AUSTRALIAN BIGHT.
We left behind a low so seas were a little boisterous at first, but we often exceed 9knot boat speed. Nights we were usually light winds, with our speed dropping at time to under three knots. After 962 nautical miles we anchored in a desolate bay for the evening...a couplemof day hopes and on to Victor Harbour. Our friend went into Coffin Bay and will stay there a while.
The leaking water pump on the genset was now putting more water in the bilge than out the exhaust. A bus ride to Goolwa and at the third chandlery , where owner Murray spent an age endeavouring to help us.
On the way across the BIGHT our haliyard again broke dumping our gennaker into the sea. Murray had a roll of 10 m spectra rope which was old stock, and as all the local yachts are considerably on the smaller size we purchased the rope at $ 4.00. :) Later Murray and his wife Denise, invited us to dinner at their place. Their property being thirty minutes out in country. On the way a gum tree across the road held us up while a local farmer, with tractor and chain saw cleared the way. Our hosts were in a thirty acre block in a really nice setting.
Shopping in Victor Harbour is great, with some giving discount when paying with cash. Fuel vouchers from supermarkets gave us 08cents discount plus the stations gave an extra 02cents for cash.
With our trolley we carted 120litres back to Chrioteer. Access to town was nice and easy...a dinghy ride to the wharf and then a walk along the causeway from Granite Island to the mainland and one was in the middle of town.....

Carnarvon, Geraldton, Port Dennison. West Coast Australia

2011-11-25T12:27:00.003+08:00

We motored into Carnarvon .....tie up at a rickety old wharf and go to find Customs....of course one of the officiers had to be of the rude type..full of his own importance........Quarantine was based five hours drive away so our quarantine inspection was done over the telephone...at a cost of $AUS 340.00.
It was with relief all round that our crew was able to get a flight to Perth that afternoon.
Brian was able to strengthen our damaged rigging a bit more, and rather than pay over $AUS 50.00 for another night tied to the disgusting wharf we left the next day.
We were able to refuel before we left....the fuel operator charged us $AUS 30.00 to walk 100 metres to the pump.
These charges came up time and time again as we sailed down the West Caost of Australia.
WE have seen so many whales on this coast it is almost a case of "look whales"....
" oh yeah whales....."
At Geraldton we met a lovely couple ...Ursula and Colin, who put themselves out to elp us source what we needed..... at $AUS53.00 to tie to the wharf we planned on staying for a short time...but look out ..here comes Murphy again...our engine would not start....injectors on strike. Fortuately Ursula and Colin had a friend who was a mechanic and there was an injection specialist business just across the road...so after another few days we were mobile again. And joy of joys ...no charge for tieing to the wharf as it was an emergency :)
further south at the Port Of Dennison we tied up in an empty pen...the owner had his boat elsewhere and after checking it was okay for us to use the space at no charge. In the pen next door was a launch in the same colours as Charioteer. Conversations and a very enjoyable drinking session followed, with a breakfast on board Charioteer invitation and a dinner at their house invitation being extended...
During the dinner they presented us with the most amazing cruising guide for the South of Australia.....glossy colour photos, charts and sailing directions... :)

From Christmas Island to Mainland Australia

2011-11-25T12:06:00.003+08:00

Straight Line to Carnarvon from Christmas Island...950 nm. We do our exit formalities and leave early in the morning....winds were always around SE, which meant we couldn,t head directly to our destination. No staysail really hurt our into the wind progress and though we changed three different headsails, it was like pushing jelly uphill with a rake.......After a few days our course was taking us no closer than 500 nm from the Australian coast...we could make it to Africa just fine !!!!
The winds strengthened , but the sea never got into that lovely easy long swell which meant we had to cross at an angle. Then early one morning...with a loud bang a lower shroud parted from the mast and whipped around on the deck. Quickly the sails were doused and the engine started...and what now.....The lower mast was gyrating so much with the swell that we swear it would of been able to hold up a hula hoop. A jury rig was made with the spinnaker pole and various ropes. With winds in the 30,s motoring with small sails was our only option...until the diesel ran out.
WE put out the drogue while we thought about things.

Our crew member had found it hard going ( two captains on one yacht DOES NOT WORK) At 79 years of age he was rather shaky and not open to suggestions, but he was to be admired for doing this at his age. He was was unable to cope with this situation and was all for using our EPIRB. Carol was pleased all our safety gear had been checked out earlier in the year, but she agreed with the captain...lets see how much fuel we can suck out of the tank before we call out the search and rescue planes.....we could sail...not to Carnarvon but either back to Indonesia or over to Darwin. With a drill pump going we were able to scavange the bottom of the tank and were overjoyed as the containers filled up. The weather was finally easing and Carol was supreme controlling the autopilot for best speed and direction (She did not want to go to Africa).
By the time we rounded an island in the bay near Carnarvon the wind was such we could hoist the Code Zero and sail in the company of whales to our destination. But MUrphy wasnt finished with us yet. The entrance to Carnarvon requires a daylight entry so we readied to anchor for the night...but Murphy had allowed the anchor chain to become buried in on its self and the winch would not work. So we motored in small circles as Brian untangles everything....and so to bed

Christmas Island

2011-11-25T11:46:00.003+08:00

Indonesia requires yachts to have a permit to transit their waters. We chose not to follow that line, and we used the main shipping channels and not stopping. First we had to head NE for a day before clearing island and turning South. Sometimes sailing, sometimes motor sailing we were able to make good progress....had we known the future we would of sailed more and motored less !!!!!!!
Clearing Indonesia via the quiet Sunda Strait (we had heard horror stories about the ships here and the currents) We set course for Christmas Island.
Surprise, surprise Christmas Island eventually came into view along with an Australian Warship which came to say hullo and shadowed us to Flying Fish Bay which is the only anchorage on the island.
Customs, Quarantine and Immigration met us under the coconut trees on shore and were very enthusiastic that we had actually arrived with the correct visa !!!!!!Seems as if we were the first and only to get it right. All formalities went well, leaving us to wander around. Two other yachts were at anchor also. Internet coverage and speed was almost useless...but we perservered and were able to tell family and friends of our safe arrival and expected departure.
Supplies to the island are by airfreight...which adds $7.00 per kilo to costs...so a lettuce can cost $20.00, but ca packet of 20 cigarettes for $2.00 (two), and good whisky for $15.00
The local supermarket was had quite a lot of marked down/out of date stock....but they gave us cordial sachets they could not move....so now Brian has 1500 litres of red cordial to drink !!!!!! :)

Relaxing on board it was noticed the inner forstay seemed rather slack...as weawatched it came slithering down to the deck.....when we had replaced the rigging Brian kept one of each of the original......but after six years he had no idea where in this HUGE boat it was stored....three day later we found it....hiding with a 20kg bottle of freezer refrigerant,the spare hot water cylinder etc etc....(god we have so much unesassary stuff onboard :(......) and of course all the stuff we took out would not fit back in again.
And now Murphys Law kicked in........the wire we wanted wasn't one of the ones we had kept, as the original was in too bad a state to save. :(..Crying didn't help...swearing sort of helped......

Danga Bay Marina, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

2011-11-25T11:30:00.003+08:00

Oh well , up anchor and do the night sail thing. Now, Singapore is a busy port in its own right, but it is also used for laying up ships not in service. Plus there are also huge tankers at anchor, from which smaller tankers refuel. It is said that there is excess of 1000 ships at anchor here and we believe it. Trying to recognise those ships at anchor from those moving is daunting. At one stage when we were almost around Singapore we got really confused...we ended up doing circles and reverses but we never hit the tugs and barges, or the oil rigs......Eventually clear, we anchored in a designated area and settled down for the night.
Next morning it was a clear run to Johor Bahru to Danga Bay Marina. Four years ago this marina was only a picture on a billboard. Berthing here is free, and consequently most berths are taken. We were staying long enough for a sailor fromNew Zealand who wanted to do a passage,to join us, and to aquire visas for our Christmas Island entry.
We took thje opportunity to connect again with Neeta and Simon, Michael and Phillip...a lovely family we had met four years ago, and withthe Australian yacht Gentle Lady, who we had met in Darwin.Frank and Vuma, a Singaporean couple on a motor yacht were extremely friendly and helpful.
Refueling was an interesting exercise as foreigners (in Johor Bahru) are only allowed 20litres of fuel per day. However on Tuesday and Thursday the marina staff do a fuel run and one was allowed 50 litres in two containers with your boat name on it.Of course all the boats shared and swapped containers!!!!!! so one could double or triple up the supply.
Now we were visa legal and stocked up with fuel and food so on a high tide we untied and motored to our first anchorage, to await and early start the next morning.

Miri to Danga Bay

2011-11-25T08:55:00.003+08:00

Next stop was Miri where we were able to meet up with long time cruising friends Mike and Barb from S/V LEV....so nice to be able to play crib again.
From Miri, it was either to Kuching or direct to Johor Bahru. Johor Bahru was where the winds sent us.
AS we approached Singapore, although the currents were giving us a boost, we had to use the engine to keep us out of the path of shipping. By about 5pm we dropped the anchor, thinking it was safer to wait for daylight to continue to Johor Bahru. An hour after anchoring we were approached by a Singapore police boat with a man onboard holding out a net on a pole, wanting our documents so they can book us in to the country. We explained we were just stopping until morning and didnt want to enter Singapore. Okay they said and off they went. But an hour later they came back ...either book in or move on!!!!!!!
Oh well...up with the anchorand do the night sail.

Taiwan to Kudat, Malaysia

2011-11-25T08:24:00.003+08:00

Its been a while since we updated our blog so here goes.

Whilst in Taiwan circumstances developed that meant we would have to fly home for a month or two. As Charioteer needed to be lifted out for new antifouling. we could leave her in Taiwan or head for Kudat, Borneo Malaysia again.Though it would be against the wind we opted for Kudat.
The weather was okay heading for the Philippines, but only for a few days. Just short of Subic Bay it became impossible to make headway so we took shelter in a large bay. Our new Air Marine (AIRX) wind generator is supposed to shut down when winds get up to 30knots. But it spit the dummy here and would not shut down. so it screamed away with winds up to 46 knots. We eventually made it to Subic Bay for fuel and marina rest.
The officials here have joined in the corruption big time...now charging $USA 50.00 for each visit. This could come to $USA 250.00 plus the harbour board charge of $USA 15.00 for each harbour entry and exit. !!!!!!!!
We got away with paying $USA 115.00 and escaped early in the morning.
From there to Kudat was easy going, except for the last fifty miles.
Lift out at Kudat went well. We now learnt our New Zealand crisis was no longer a crisis and we did not need to fly home.
Oh well...clean and repaint the antifoul, repair a seal to the windlass motor in the hope it would help it continue to generate,and we were ready to head for Johor Bahru via Brunei,and Miri Malaysia.
Malaysian diesel was cheap so we stocked up, before heading to Brunei.

Brunei has a yacht club not far from the main harbour, but we understood a further yacht club was up the river near the city.
So off we went, getting right into the city and not finding the club.We flagged down a passing police launch, who gave us an escort back to a small dinghy pontoon by the Royal Brunei Yacht Club. Actually, its a Memembers Only set up, which happened to be closed for maintainence. However we could anchor and use the dock and use our bycyles to look around.
Diesel is cheap here.....30cents a litre, but for foreigners it cost .80cents. We were very lucky and did manage to get some diesel at the locals price.

Spelling mistakes

2011-06-12T14:49:00.001+08:00

After I have typed out the item, I then check it for spelling mistakes.....
I have decided I absolutely hate these self correcting machines......yes I know it's user error......
But it is frustrating.
So in future I decline to be responsible for any errors:)
:)

Taiwan 2011

2011-06-12T14:36:00.002+08:00

This lovely country once again came up to our expectations.....
With our friends we circumnavigated Taiwan...but it was on land via train, bus and taxi..and so we do not think we can enter these miles down in our cruising log.
Since arriving here we have taken part in two sailing regattas.....the one in Keelung went quite smoothly but the one in Kaohsuing was beset with starting fiascos......but hey..we continued to follow the yachts we thought were sailing in the right direction and yep they knew where they were going ...so at least we finished.
Www have just purchased and Brian has installed two new solar panels. Almost overnight our original panels stopped generating and upon inspection the sealant around the fittings going into the panels had broken down sufficiently enough to allow salt water to penetrate.
And today we had to purchase two more batteries......
Oh yes we also had to purchase a multi meter........hands up those people who knew that multi meters can NOT swim.......mmmm, yes and Brian now knows this also.!!!!!,!,
Tomorrow we hope to start heading south........the winds will be against us, but they seemed to be that way inclined when we came up and they were meant to be with us. so will just wait and see.
We have had a small but expensive change of plans and we will be flying home for six to eight weeks........and no it is not just to cool down.
Safe sailing

Heading south

2011-05-02T21:41:00.002+08:00

Island hopping was mostly good sailing and uneventful. Cows dining on bamboo, smoking, belching volcanoes,
To meet our friend who were flying in to Taiwan..meant we had to keep moving and we were slightly ahead of our cruising schedule.
Arriving at AWASE on the south west coast of OKINAWA was another one of the Japan Coastguard Keystone Cop routines.....offer to help and then not know what to do...we watch, trying not to laugh as they try to decide where we should go, why we should go here and not there.....much arm waving and discussion...eventually we go to the spot we had marked on our chart at the time of applying for our cruising permit.!!!!!
The next evening we had a call from the walkway..and a friendly American came to visit. his wife had watched us sail in......and so began another of those special encounters. In fact it was so special that instead of leaving Japan from further south (Ishigaki) we spent time with David, Annie and there army (actually only four) of neat kids........
Eventually we set sail for ITOMAN...only to find the Marina and fishing harbour we in league......first we couldn't stay in the Marina ....then we couldn't stay in the fishing harbour.....then www could stay on the marina...they only wanted two arms and one leg.....by now we had spent three hours motoring from point A to point B...and were getting really pissed off.....
The very efficient and friendly Customs officers were able to arrange a berth for us in NAHA port so we t sail again and eventually ain darkness we tied to the wharf.
Departure day arrived...we were able to get duty free diesel, our forms were stamped and at 0600hours we left Japan for the last time.
Good sailing conditions for twelve hours was all we were to get. The wind did silly things and made life difficult but not uncomfortable.
Look out TAIWAN here we come

Still in Japan

2011-05-02T21:26:00.002+08:00

We had a good sail to Kagashima Sendai. Our ropes were taken and we were tied to a small tug. One of The workmen was all excited as he remembered us from two years before. And they had a rule tied to the barge...they were expecting a tsunami...and this was the first we heard of the major earthquake that had hit Japan and was going to cause all the problems.
Our friend Gorgie was getting used to the fact that he was getting married in the next 48hours ( Internet dating is alive and well in Japan) and we enjoyed a lovely evening with him and his bride to be.
With gennaker up we left Sendai...it didn't last though. By the time we reached Kagoshima we had head winds, rain and very low visibility. Unable to find the customs office we asked for directions at a service station......next thing we know we are in a car, being driven to the customs office. No one in the office had any English...but e entually we had our Customs document stamped, we were assigned a berth and before we knew it we were tied..stern to....amongst fishing boats.......
Kagoshima is a TUNA town...everyone is busy chasing, processing or cooking tuna......the smell from the fishing boats was disgusting.....and the town wasn't much better. But it was blowing a gale and we were stuck here so we just breathed shallowly........
We were being inundated with emails from worried family and friends...the tsunami and it's after effects were the main a global news story...radiation fallout.......
Once we were able to move on we were able to reassure everyone we were completely safe....I mean by now we were tied to a wharf just below an erupting volcano !!!!!!

Korea to Nagasaki

2011-05-02T21:03:00.002+08:00

Korea to Nagasaki was a little under 200nm. We had completed our Customs and Immigration on board after a lovely dinner with Stephen.
Blowing a gale all night made for rough seas. We sat waiting for things to calm down but after a while we said "what the hell".. and set off.....
OK..it wasn't he'll, but winds up to 43 knots made going uncomfortable, so we anchored up behind an island for the next thirty six hours. Finally the wishes were in the low 20 to 30's......so it was a case of "let's go"........we used our staysail and a wee piece of headsail. The seas were about 4mtr, so we rolled a lot as we were running with the sea........Carol did very well..until evening when the handy bucket came into use.
Prudently skirting a group of islands during the night we made good time . Even with our small sail we made Nagasaki by 1500hrs..averaging 6knots. One quarantine and two Customs officers completed their part of the entry procedures painlessly...then came COASTGUARD.......six men, no English= Keystone cops officers. They had to call the Customs officers back to help ....and the 'big' man was convinced we had not done the correct entry procedure they require.......but after waiting while one of them went back to their office to get the email we had sent we were given entry clearance........writing it down sound s like it was a minor event...but it wasn't. On one hand it was hilarious watching these supposedly intelligent, well educated men posturing, arm waving, on the other hand it was frustrating.....we we're only doing what they wanted us to do..but they just were unable to accept the use of email rather than snail mail.......(uniform on...brain out)
But eventually they were satisfied and the patiently waiting Immigration official drove us to their office, eye photos, finger print, passport stamped and we were once again officially in Japan.
The small Marina at Nagasaki was lovely and free for seven nights? We arranged our cruising permit and while waiting for it to arrive we did the tourist thing and viewed the Nagasaki A BOMB memorial. The city has a tram system for getting around easily and we made good use of it......

Special People Korea

2011-04-24T16:44:00.008+08:00

Many people helped to make Korea special...some people made it extra special

We know we know

2011-04-22T05:41:00.002+08:00

Sorry all you followers, but we have been having far too much fun to spend time tied to our computer.
We are now in TAIWAN after successfully leaving Korea and Japan.......the terrible earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power station event in Japan did not impact on us at all. Fortunately we were too far away from the area.
We promise to spend time next week writing about our continued adventures.

SOME OF THE SPECIAL PEOPLE FROM KOREA

2011-03-08T09:40:00.002+08:00

Leaving Mokpo

2011-03-08T08:50:00.001+08:00

Leaving mokpo at 2pm to catch the tide meant we didn't go far before anchoring for the night. Same again the next day. leaving the mainland islands didn't mean there wouldn't be any currents, so it was hard work to make a group of islands half way to Jeju. We had been told the harbours here wilder too shallow for our yacht and itnwould be best to anchor outside the breakwater . However the winds were strong and onshore, so we had a look inside. To our surprise it was showing at least three meters und our keel. Two attempts at anchoring failed, then a fishing boat indicated for us to tie along side......BONUS....fresh fish for dinner...... We stayed rafted up the next day as winds were still very strongly and of the wron direction . Early the next morning the fishings boats were off...so with bleary eyes we left also.
We had been given good information about Jeju Island, but between coastguard, harbour control and radio Jeju, things became a circus....even the pilot boat took us to a wharf we could not stay at.
Eventually we were taken to a small marina....we tied up, customs and immigration visited ( why immigration?.....who knows....)woe were taken into the office, given coffee and told this was a private marina and staying onboard was nota allowed....but itnwas late so for one night we were given the okay to sleep onboard.
The next day we headed south toward Kim Nyeong Marina , fourteen miles away. It took us five hours beating intoma head wind..to get to this new six berth marina.....we were on our own.
Going tomthe wrong marina first had it's good points. Mr.Ra, ( the owner) came to check that all was okay. Then he tookmus to meet Fred, into his lovely new Mercedes and off to Freds.
What a character ..Dr.Fred built a Maze with many unique features..600,000 visitors each year attest to its attractions.
After a while of ' getting to know each other' a dinner date was organized at a lovely Korean Beef Stew restaurant...so off we went....Fred,Mr.Ra, Kenny Kang(. Marina developer, Benateau agent) Stefan and wife, office lady.......,the food and the companynwas fabulous......The next day was overcast but fine...so Welty cycled off to the World Heritage Lava Tunnel Complex.....being of a certain age we were given free entrance and also a volunteer guide with good English joined us. One kilometer of the tunnel is open to the public...iet is amazing.......the strata showing the path of over eruptions was amazing and beautiful....very impressive.
Frees amazing maze is on the same road....so we call in to say hullo and enld up dining on cheese burgers and chips and supping on strawberry smoothies....yummy.......
Some time in between this Fred has told a retired priest about us. (father) Jerry came for a visit and invited us to have lunch with him. at the Retreat we had a lovely three course meal, wine and apple pie and ice cream...........
Tis cruising life does have it's hardships!!!!!
No tv interview this but we were interviewed by the Jeju News. Some people are disappointed that we are leaving so soon, but we are meeting upmwith NZ friends this April in Taiwan.
Before leaving for Japan we had dinner with Stefan and his wife in their lovely house that he built half way upmthe mountain...the outside appears as an ordinary two story brick bungalow...but what he has done to the inside is magnificent.
In return for all this hospitality we reciprocated by inviting our new friends for thank you dinners onboard.........

WE HAVE SPENT TEN MONTHS IN KOREA, WE HAVE STOPPED IN APPROXIMATELY SIXTY PLACES, WE HAVE VISITED MANY TOURIST SIGHTS, AND MET MANY PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE.

THANK YOU KOREA.....WE HAVE HAD A FANTASTIC TIME

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2011-02-15T10:14:00.007+08:00

we are back in Korea and freezing cold...it is one of the coldest winters Korea has had for a long time, according to the news,. So we have been hibernating waiting for the storms and snow to pass. Charioteer is snow free, we have filled up with fuel and we will be heading south perhaps Thursday or Friday. Our first stop will be Jeju Island and then it will be goodbye Korea and Hullo Japan......

Home for Christmas

2011-01-10T14:46:00.001+08:00

Cuddles, hugs, lots of kisses and that is from the puppy !!!!!!!
We are having a lovely time getting reacquainted with our grand daughters, and that includes lots of hugs and cuddles.

Once the racing at Mokpo was over we did more exploring around Korea, then after making sure Charioteer was secure we left for home.....
Sunshine, blue skies, clear skies, sheep, green grass, family...what more can anyone want.
We have had a lovely time and now our thoughts are turning back to Korea.
Once we get back to Charioteer we shall clear off the snow.....that's right at the moment Charioteer is hiding under a lot of snow !!!!!!!
and continue the adventure.
Thank you all who follow our adventure
May the coming year bring only good things to you all

MOKPO KOREA

2010-10-27T09:45:00.002+08:00

ANOTHER WEEKEND OF TRUNDLING OUR HOUSE AROUND A WET RACE TRACK. IT IS QUITE INTERESTING VIEWING OTHER YACHTS FROM THE BACK....AND FROM THE FRONT AS THEY RETURN TOWARDS THE FINISH WITH THEIR SPINNAKERS FLYING.
WE NOW HAVE FORMULATED A RACE PLAN.......AS THE FIRST BOAT PASSES US ON THEIR HOMEWARD COURSE WE TURN AROUND AND TURN ON THE MOTOR. SO WE PASS THE START LINE AND THE FINISH LINE BUT WE NEVER GET TO SEE THE TURNING BUOY........
WHILE THE FAST YACHTS HAVE THEIR CREW HANGING ONVER THE SIDE WE ARE SIPPING COFFEE.....

HERE IN MOKPO WE WERE MEANT TO DO AN OFF SHORE RACE TO JEJU BUT UNFORTUNATELY THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE CURRENT TYPHOON MEANT THIS WAS CANCELLED ...SO INSTEAD WE DID AN INSHORE AWAY FROM LAND (I KNOW, I KNOW) RACE.

THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME MOKPO MARINA HAD HELD THIS EVENT SO THERE WERE A FEW TEETHING TROUBLES BUT SOME THINGS THEY DID EXTREMELY WELL. EACH DAY WE RECIEVED LUNCH BOXES AND THE OPENING AND CLOSING CEREMONY DINNERS WERE FANTASTIC.

WE HAVE HAD A LOVELY TIME MEETING NEW PEOPLE...RUSSIANS, SINGAPORE, INDONESIA,CHINESE,CANADIANS,ENGLISH...THIS WAS TRULY AN INTERNATIONAL EVENT

FOR THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO WE SHALL DO A BIT MORE EXPLORING AND THEN IT IS BACK TO MOKPO TO LEAVE CHARIOTEER AND WE WILL BE HOMEWARD BOUND FOR TWO MONTHS OF HUGS AND CUDDLES ...CAN'T WAIT.

TONG YEONG KOREA

2010-10-14T07:57:00.002+08:00

THE 4TH YISUNSIN CUP INTERNATIONAL YACHT RACE

We arrived here yesterday after four days of no wind and often a contrary current. Yesterday I had to don snorkel and flippers and attack rope that had decided the best place to be was tightly wrapped around our shaft and propellor.....

Here in the Chung Mu Resort marina an extra floating finger has been set up between the poles, there are many yachts here for the race...Korean, Russian and New Zealand (thats us)

We are not sure if we will be competitive..surely after four years of cruising we have learnt something about sailing. Okay lets compare Charioteer with some of the other yacht here......

On average it seems as if these yachts weigh about seven ton......

On Charioteer
.....we have seven ton of lead in our keel ......
.....we carry water for showers, laundry, cooking and drinking.....
.....we carry four gas bottles for cooking and we have just filled them up...
.....we carry food for about three months.......
.....we carry winter clothes, summer clothes, southern ocean wet weather gear..
.....we carry a six man lift raft, flares, first aid, life jackets and other safety
equipment
.....we carry souveniers and gifts from four years sailing
.....we carry spares, welding sets,sewing machines,vacumn cleaner,
washing machine,microwave, cruising guides, books,charts....
Actually you name it and we probably carry it.
Charioteers launch weight was (we believe) 25 ton...now it probably a lot more than that.
So the question is .....
will we be competitive against these light weight yachts, crewed by sailors and not cruisers?.
We think not, but we will certainly do our best.
For our crew we have two Canadians, two Koreans and of course us (two Kiwis)....so we certainly are an International yacht...and we will have fun and get to meet many sailors.....

2010-09-27T15:01:00.000+08:00

CHINA MORE PHOTOS

2010-09-27T14:53:00.004+08:00

MORE PHOTOS FROM CHINA

2010-09-27T14:15:00.003+08:00

PHOTOS FROM CHINA

2010-09-27T13:56:00.003+08:00

Korean Cruising Adventure September 2010

2010-09-27T13:03:00.002+08:00

On Sunday we were invited onto a Korean yacht for a day sail. Almost no wind and good visibility. Five Koreans crowded in the cockpit, Carol and Brian on the fordeck.
Aware of a fast approaching large fishing boat dead ahead, we called to the helmsman to alert him of this danger, but he didn't hear us. With the fishing boat fast approaching Brians yelling became VERY loud.
50 metres away one of the drowsy fishing boat crew members lifted his head up in response to the yelling. At last the fishing boat skipper heard something but too late.
Luckily the impact was down the side taking out the yachts staunchions...with one hell of a loud bang!!!!!!! He must of been travelling at between 10 and 15 knots.
Had the impact been head on the damage and injuries would of been major.
What really annoys us is the Korean Coastguard/Police make such an issue about yachties (local and visiting) doing everything by the book. Yet fishing boats seem to break every law with impunity.
Japan has the same problem with their fishermen being a strong union politically.

MARIA

2010-09-27T11:47:00.006+08:00

We had intended staying longer in China, but having assisted MARIA back to her home por meant going 200 miles further norh that n we had intended. MARIA's owner told us we would be reimbursed for fuel used and as Captain Cho wanted to leave on theFriday despite the wind on the nose forcast. So over three days and two nights we motorsailed for 51 hours.
Upon arrival we discovered that Captain Cho is 'famous in Korea' (www.udtseal.or.kr).
To us the Captain was just plain Mr.Cho an old guy who had lost his mast and needed help. Back at MARIA's homeport we were greeted like heros ourselves.
Because we are up in this area we have now been able to visit the DMZ, been whitewater rafting, visited temple sights, theme parks museums and got naked in a public huge hotelspa sauna .
We are now tied to a huge barge. It has been madeover into accommodation etc, almost like a house boat. Here we are able to relax and unwind. The sky is blue, the air is clean, life is good.
On the 29th we start siling southward to Tong young....believing we are entered in a race there...(better luck this time)

STILL IN CHINA

2010-09-27T11:37:00.002+08:00

Our time spent in Qingdao has felt a bit like being in 'Wonderland'
WE were unable to travel much further than 30k outside of Qingdao. What we saw was dirty rundown towns with narrow ugly streets, people doing laundry in buckets.
The contrast with Qingdoa is like comparing chalk with cheese....did we perhaps get a glimpse of the real China?????

Qingdao is a city that was constructed especially for the Olympics to be used for the sailing activities. The shops are great...but DO NOT DRINK THE WATER.......

China appears free but everyone must register with the police within 24hrs of arriving anywhere...(foreigner and chinese alike). If staying in an hotel this is done for you and you do not know you are being 'tracked'

We think we always had a minder and we were passed along a chain.

So we have yet to visit China but we have been to Qingdao.
Not sure if we enjoyed ourselves here or not...when one is used to freedom this was an unusual experience.

Visibility was always restricted because of the smog/pollution but we hope you enjoy the photos we shall post later.

CHINA ....NOW AND THEN

2010-09-27T11:31:00.002+08:00

Talking with a family who were here during the GREAT LEAP FORWARD and the CULTURAL REVOLUTION has been interesting

The family lived in the shadow of the church. The grandfather and father were preachers and the mother was a doctor. The daughter was eight years old and can remember the flames as the Red Guard burnt their possessions...books, clothes and furniture that had the slightest western tinge, and other unburnable things were broken.
The grandmothers feet were bound inblack cloths and she used spare feet bindings to wrap a bible in and hid it in a dark place. For ten years it was the only bible the congregation had to read.
For this family, advice given to them from survivors of those terrible times is......
do not be proud, let people see you sharing your wealth how ever little you have, and try to be invisible just in case it happens again.

CHINA and the MARIA

2010-09-27T11:28:00.002+08:00

MARIA

The Korean yacht Maria arrived in Qingdao the day after us. Whilst sailing one day MARIA lost her masts and while the Chinese Coastguard was helping her she sustained more damage. Once back at the marina, not one Chines official or sailor offered her Korean Captain any help. The remains of her masts and sails were in the sea still tied to MARIA and the wharf.
Brian helped with the mast and sail recovery. No one from the other crews (Beneteaus) offered a helping hand. Most unusual as sailors usually assist each other.

CHINA 3

2010-09-27T10:41:00.003+08:00

On the surface all is free and easy, but little things show us reality.
Information freedom is not allowed. We were unable to access Facebook or our blog site (hence the big lot all at once)
People are not encouraged to freely visit us. All need a special Immigration pass!!!!!!
And we have been handed along a chain of people..with dumplings always on the menu. These dumplings are what we call wontons...but instead of being fried they are boiled in plain unsalted water...and the highlight of the meal is to drink the dumpling water.

QINGDAO (pronounced Chingdo)was the Sailing centre city for the 2008 Bejing Olympics and for this city the freedom genie that has been released will not be easily recaptured.
90% of the tourist attractions relate to the Olympics, supermarkets are almost like shopping at home, western style bakeries are everywhere. Shopping malls are full of expensive stores (Tiffanys, Cartier, Gucchi...you name atop expensive store and it is here. And not just in one mall. We have been infour malls and the customers are spending, not just looking.
The roads are clogged with cars...modern and expensive...BMW. Mercedes,Audi, Range Rover, Porche...etc. Talking of traffic it is amazing. Not much speeding, the rules are....there are no rules!!!!!!!! People usually drive on the correct side, they side fromlane to lane with a gentle toot. It is amazing to watch a major intersection.(6 roads) gridlock work its self out with the minimum amount of horn noise.

CHINA 2

2010-09-27T10:24:00.002+08:00

FOOTNOTE

As we were celebrating with our 'crew' one of the 'media' guys showed us his Police Badge.
We had assumed we would have a 'minder'and we had privately surmised which one it was and we were right. Most of the government officials we have met have been suspicious of us. But the ordinary people we have met are friendly and welcoming, and eager to practice their English. Each night we are taken out for dinner and last night we were also treated to a foot/leg massage.
But we still have to climb the marina fence.........

CHINA AGAIN

2010-09-27T10:22:00.001+08:00

Sorry about any spelling errors etc...pushed the wrong button before editing.

CRUISING IN CHINA

2010-09-27T09:38:00.001+08:00

After recieving our official invitation to join the Qingdao to Dalien China we race, we arranged our Chinese visa and set sail for China.
With our yellow Q flag flying we arrived at the Olympic Harbour Marina Qingdao. Tying to an outside pier we waited for entry officials. After several hours we were able to borrow a hand phone and contacted our host who called Customs, Immigration etc.
AND THEN THE FUN STARTED:

Quarantine insited we exit to outside the harbour where we rolled around waiting for their delayed arrival, three quarters of an hour later.
Quarantien Official" hullo, you ok, no fever?"
Us: "no we are well"
Q.O: "Ok take down yellow flag and come to marina"

So we returned to the marina.
Our host collected our exit port information and we now hads an 'agent'...Surprise.
Customs and Immigration officials came onboard. Brian had to intial approximately 40 (forty) pages of pre-prepared forms....we understood normal cost is Yuan 4000 for this but ours was free.
We were not allowed on land until all our paper work was cleared and so after eight hours we were officially allowed to step onto Chinese soil.

THE RACE

The following day we went to Yacht Race registration only tobe told by an official that "no were not allowed to be in the race"
"ok" we said.
"but if we took Media crew with us we could follow the race" the officials said

By now we had two new Chinese 'friends'...Nathan and Xiao....who were our designated crew for our 'non' race. The race is made up of two classes..ten Beneteau 40ft yachts and ten open class keel yachts over 36ft. The Beneteaus are Hong Kong registered, there fore foreign yachts and were crewed by 'foreigners'......(definition is as follows..they either live or work in China/are married to chinese/or are born overseas chinese). The open class yachts belong to the same catergory of people as the Beneteau crew.
There were only two genuine International Yachts here but we may as well been invisible. The organiserstotally ignored us, left us out from joining the skippers meetings and gave us no sailing or weather information.
One hour before departure two 'Media" guys arrived. Sunnhy and Mr.Lee. At our departure time (1700hrs and two hours after the Beneteaus) we were visited by a group of officials, we were handed a seal envelope to be handedto officials in Dalien, plus shore passes....(remember we are not leaving China) and Custom clearance. And we have to LEAVE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

So we set sail and exit the harbour into squalls of rain and rolling seas....hooray we say to each other (yeah right) oh no say our crew...(Ever seen a Chinese go green just before throwing up??????? it is an interesting skin colour)
So hear we were sailing to the race start we were nopt in, with four crew who by now..one is on his hands and knees vomiting in a bucket and the other three are dosed up to the eyeballs on seasick tablets and all in a 'coma' and deterioarating weather to 35 knots on the nose, confused seas, thunder, lightning and heavy rain.

With all the crew safely stowed, Brian and I resumed our three hour on three hour off night passage routine. With the engine running we plough through the night sending heartfelt thanks to who ever desisgned radar.
MNorning dawns and he crew surface briefly.....cigarette, toilet,cigarette, throwup, drink water, cigarette, throwup...the only English speaking one, Nathan, tells us they are okay and we musy keep going because our 'media' crew must be in Dalien to film the start of the race proper. So we continue to punch on towards Dalien.
Monday passes and by Tuesday morning the weather has cleared somewhat. Unable to see the sky through the pollution smog but the wind has abated and the seas have flattened. This effect on the crew is amazing. No longer are they tinged green, Carol makes pizza which is consumed with gusto.
All are busy with their mobile phones and then at 1400hours Nathan tells us that the organisers (who couldn't organise a beer drinking contest in a brewery!!!!!!) have said we must return to Qingdao. "Why" we ask we have only 80miles to go" We are told there are no officials there for us !!!!! so we turn Charioteer around and head back to Qingdao.
We now have a tail wind but the seas pick up a little and once again we have green tinged crew. Once in the afternoon and again late at night two Chinese dibleberately tried to RAM US.... our crew are upset about this and very concerned about lack of face. And suddenly we have four crew who can UNDERSTAND AND SPEAK English, busily apoligising and tryin g to explain it is 'an accidient' even as they are standing gripping the stays and yelling in Chinese to the fishing boats to 'go away please....( or perhaps telling them to F******K OFF NOW!!!!!!!!)
We learnt later that one of the Beneteaus was caught in a trawler net and winched up to the stern of the trawler. Of the 9 other 'internationally' crewed Beneteaus the only two that stopped to help were the boats with either NZ Chinese/Australian Chinese onboard. Until we arrived back in Qingdao Brian and I were on 'high alert'.
Once we returned to the marina the FUN CONTINUED....
Our first morning visitor was an excited Border Policeman who had not been kept in the loop. Then came someone else to collect all the papers etc given to us when we left and finally we recieved the all clear to land againfrom Immigration. The Beneteaus started arriving back...people were curious as why we had turned back. Word was out from the organisers that we had 'problems' ...we guessed that is called 'saving face'
The eight day "International "event ended with us joining inthe Finishing Parade and everyone was given strict instructions to 'be happy for the cameras'
WE wouldn't have missed this for all the 'tea in China' we just hope access to land can be made easier for us. Fence climbing is not a sport Carol enjoys!!!!!!!!!

FOOTNOTE

As we were celebrating with our crew

CHINA

2010-09-20T14:10:00.000+08:00

CRUISING (YEAH RIGHT) INCHINA.......

CHINA

2010-08-05T14:14:00.002+08:00

Yes thats right.....
we have on official invitation to Qingdao International Sailing Week and we are not foolish enough to pass this up.
So today we applied for a visa and on the 10th we collect a month visa.

Cruising life is such that if you are wise plans are not set in concrete...
Never thought we would be sailing in China...

Once the laptop is repaired we should be able to put mores photographs up for viewing....

Weather here is Korea is STICKY and HOT.....

HISTORY

2010-07-26T15:10:00.002+08:00

In 2002 we ventured from New Zealand to the South Pacific in Pewter,and travelled approximately 4890 miles.
In 2004 we again ventured to the South pacific and travelled 6990 miles

Then we sold Pewter and bought Charioteer and since then we have travelled approx 14606 miles.......and we are still sailing.....The next destination has yet to be decided...China or back to Japan...decisions, decisions.........
In all the miles we have travelled we have been very fortunate......we have only 'nudged' a couple of reefs...(and both times Brian was on the wheel!!!!)
we have laid on our side in Australia waiting for the tide to come back in,we nearly lost the skeg from Charioteer, we broke a shackle and our code zero sail took a short swimming lesson, the main sail drive motor broke,as did the alternator, the GPS, the laptops...and of course we 'broke' a marina in Korea...
But otherwise we think we have done pretty well
We are still here in Mokp and thoroughly enjoying ourselves.....on Friday we are taking part in a parade on water for the Mokpo Marine Festival....should be fun.
Onbce the computer is up and running again we should be able to show photos......

Korea.....catching up 2

2010-07-13T10:55:00.002+08:00

Heading out to sea the next day suddenly became full of drama as the fog came. Somehow by following our chart plotter track we got into open sea but fog everywhere restricted visibility to about 20 meters.

WE actually heard two ships collide...the lead up took place on the VHF radio something like this......
Ship A....ship on my starboard bow why have you steered to starboard...go to port NOW!!!!!!!!!

Ship B....I changed course to avoid a fishing boat.....

Ship A ...@@@###*******@@@###### the fishing boat...GO TO PORT NOW

The next exchange was metal to metal.

And this explained the barely contained hysteria we heard on the VHF over the next few fog filled days.

Along this coast is a mass of island. Mostly rugged but some we could off load our bikes for a good look around. Others we just anchor off for the night.
Eventually we made MOKPO which is where we still are.
A good marina, we are getting help with the fixing of both our broken laptops, and the chance to stock up on food which is probably cheaper than in New Zealand, certainly cheaper than Japan.
Tides are still 3 to 4 meters but nothing like up north with its 7 meter range.
So now we are looking again at where next. WE managed to extend our visa by 30 days....where our next report comes fromwe do not know other than it will not be Afghanistan or North Korea....do they have inter net at Farallon De Pajaros Island?????

Korea.......catching up

2010-07-13T10:12:00.002+08:00

First thing to our continuing tale of travel is .....yes we are still alive..
Its been a while since Pohang in April. Our mission was to go from Pohang on the east Coast to Tando Port near Incheon on the west coast. Not far really as the crow flies but we thought taking Charioteer around the coast would be easier. (She seems to prefer travelling in the water !!!!)
On the way we visited our friends at Power Marine again, then ventured on mostly island to island. There are thousands of islands around the south west coast.
South Korea has so many many police and craft...from ocean going armed ships , hovercraft and samall day boats, we were seldom without an escort."For your saftey" they say.......
On one day of misty rain, they 'lost' us, but a day or two later in comes a helicopter and it does a couple of circles and then flys off. A few hours later in comes an approaching police boat....with a man in front vigorously waving a flag...'where are you going etc etc'
Told of our intention to anchor and where, their reply is "one moment please" then they come back with..."follow us, we know a better place"
Off they went at ten knots, off we went at five knots. We rounded an island and there they were waiting. Fenders out and roped along side we spent an hour on their ship...coffee, cake...english practice then time for them to go.
They quickly attached our ship to the mooring and off they went.
Normally we prefer to anchor but we remained on the mooring. Somehow an extra rope on this mooring found itself well wrapped around the prop. Next morning at 6am Brian is in the dinghy off to a nearby fishing boat. Sign language to explain our problem and they eventually understood and called coastguard on their cell phone for us.
A ship was dispatched and on arrival quickly proceeded to take us in tow whilst we were still attached to the mooring. After much shouting and waving that brought to a stop so we could cut the mooring line.
Okay we are now off, towed at nine to ten knots, with our dingy being towed behind us.Seven miles later we are in a bay being attached to another buoy, with a small KCG craft standing by with a diver onboard.
Soon pieces of rope were drifting away. Once the diver had done this we needed him to carefully check the prop to make sure it was okay as it is a folding type.All was okay...hooray.
Caryying on we had little wind so relied on the current to make progress. The reason we were going to Tando Port was to view a national boatshow.
Fish farms in Korea are like nowhere else we have encountered in our travels. Spying a blue police boat we headed in its direction and they obliged us by leading us through the maze into port.
The boat show was huge, but different to what we are used to. Hundreds of food stalls and thousands of people.
Racing was also taking place here for the World Match Race circuit...so there were plenty of Kiwi sailors here.
We have spoken of the generosity of the Japanese people and this can be said of Koreans as well.
A korean we had met in the Philippines, drove for an hour from his city to collect us. He showed us around Suwon and its tourist sights including the castle with its 5.6km fortified wall. That evening we had dinner with several of his friends before being delivered to a very upmarket hotel.
Oh my god, do we have enough money???????.....but oh no our friend has paid for this himself.
Next day he took us to a world heritage site we where learnt about ancient living conditions and customs. One building that was run by two elderly twins in which they forged traditional eating spoons, a process of heating and shaping eight times to the finished product.,On seeing the price of these we shied away, only to see our host purchase a set as gifts for us. We dare not look at any thing else after that.
Near the exit was a photo studio with a variety of tradional and very colourful dress wear. We were outfited as nobles and had our photo taken. Again not cheap and also once again our host paid before we had the chance.
Another meal with our friends and this time we bedded down at our expense...budget love hotel.
The next day we were driven back to Charioteer.

STILL IN KOREA

2010-07-08T16:42:00.002+08:00

HI THERE ONE AND ALL,
We are now in the south west corner at a city called Mokpo......the heat is incredible...and its very muggy.....the navigation programme on the main computer decided to stop working and the back up computer decided that this was a good time to start turning its self off for no apparent reason.
We have been incredibly lucky and with the help of Korean Coastguard / Marine Police we have had a technician working on computer number one....nav programme working again, and computer number two is in the workshop getting a good telling off.
To keep busy while we are tied up to this lovely marina Brian is rebuilding the box that holds the navigation instruments...(wind speed, depth etc) and me...well I'm just enjoying myself.
We have had a lovely time here in Korea..the Marine National Parks are just beautiful. The only drawback would be the unmarked fishing nets, but we have been very careful and so far have only needed one diver and one tow....whats that you say???? Ha well that is another story and will tell you all about this next time.
We are well and hope all you people are well and happy.

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM PO HANG

2010-05-13T12:51:00.010+08:00

PO HANG PHOTOS

2010-05-13T12:48:00.002+08:00

KOREA 2010

2010-05-13T10:41:00.003+08:00

PO HANG CITY
is several miles inside a deep bay so we reduced sail so as to enter in daylight. By 9am we headed for Coastguard office and after a couple of mis directions tied up at the right place, (or so we thought). Yachts don't enter here usually, so there was much confusion with authorities. Quarantine was quick and easy, immigration took 30 minutes, customs had no idea what to do, but with our explaining how our first entry went, we got it sorted. Then two Custom officiers took us to lunch.!!!!!!!!

Where to park Charioteer had them all thinking, (especially as their directions had already RUN US AGROUND)...finally we were placed between a huge police ship and an equally large catamaran ferry. Only downside were the many fishing boats making quite a wash.
We stayed two weeks at PO HANG which is quite a large vibrant city. Also here is POSCO the 2nd biggest steel plant in the world. You can drive along the road beside POSCO for 11 km..... it is huge. It was too involved for us to organise a visit...the words..industrial spy, 007 were mentioned so we gave up.
Night time is magical as all the chimmneys, conveyors and high structure are alight with multilevel colour, often changing lights.
One afternoon we cycled back to Charioteer where a large black car was parked. A couple of men were looking at our boat so, as usual, we invited them to a visit.
Their English was poor but we understood they would like to take us for a tour. Well okay of course. This lead to a walk around the huge market and then on a drive into the industrial area. (Just incidently the car had a driver.) This fact should of been a clue. Anyway we entered a factory gate where the guard saluted us...this factory handles steel making bridge components and ship building forms. The steel beams and plate are in 22m lengths. Huge buildings for profile cutting, automatic welding, shot blasting and painting. It is so big that huge tractor trailer units are in and out of the plant four (400) hundred times a day...that every 1.2 minutes average.One of these two guys was the owner!!!!!!!
Later we were taken to a restaurant where about 20 from the same college were having a reunion.After a splendid meal we were returned to Charioteer.

Several years ago in Singapore we met a Korean family and had kept in touch and now we were getting together again. Sang Dae was in the Embassy ,but is now back in the navy and in a rather high position. Again we were off in a chauffeur driven car, this time with a navy trained driver. The restaurant was the usual low table where you sit cross legged on the floor. This restaurant had charcoal burners set in the table centre and dirctly overhead a flexible copper snout hung down from the ceilimng. This is a vacumn to take away the smoke. There are all manner of dishes but here the main was a huge plate of pork. This is as much fat as therreis meat which has been marinated. Now I (Brian) don't usually eat the smallest amiount of fat but this was delicious ...I gorged......A populkar way of eating was with a special lettuce leaf which you hold in your left hand whilst loading on morsals from various dishes. Curl the edges over and pop the whole lot at once in your mounth...(hope like hell no one asks you a question in the next minute or so) That was on a Friday.
On the Sunday we were again picked up and taken to Gyeongsangbuk-Do, to view the historic Sila City. This part of Koreas history dates back to the 6th century. They were incredible engineers and craftsmen. Their achievements are probably under rated in world history. Well of course we had to complete the day with a great evening meal. It is almost impossible to pay as you are there guest.
Back to the wharf where we are berthed....here is a huge sand storage. Ships unload sand and this is placed in a heap about 10m high, trucks in and out loading up for concrete making. We got friendly with the loader driver who took us home one evening. Here we met his wife who sews by hand the tradtional Korean dress...Hanbok... and a lovely meal of Korean Spaghetti.
Naturally the dinner was not enough so now we have some momentos of her work. Saturday afternoon he drove us up a small mountain where there is a very very old budhist temple.
The night before we left he arrived with a cake, candles, coca cola. On lighting the candles he sung a Korean farewell song. Now here is a twist...the Korean cake was adorned with kiwi fruit, orange wedges and what we thought were large grapes.....but no.....they were small tomatoes !!!!!!!!!!!! now thats different...tomatoes and cream!!!!!!!
Earlier our steel plant owner and five friends had descended on us also that evening
On that same afternoon another man spoke with us. He was once a seaman and had been to NZ. He is now on a research vessel and we accepted his invitation to a tour. We joined a group of scientists having dinner. Choosing with care as we know some dishes are FIERY HOT we did well until I (Brian) tried the soup. Well I swear the top flew off my head, fumes exited my nose and Carol said I went so red that with that and my white whiskers I could of replaced Santa and his reindeer. Great mirth from the onlookers.
The cook must of noticed because he especially made a huge bland pancake for us....it only contained green chillis.....real bland....not !!!!!!!!
In between all this we took an intercity bus to Deagu, Koreas second biggest city where we spent several hours browsing thru the multistory market of 4000 shops.
Then it was onto another bus and off to Haeinsa Gaya. Haeinsa is home to the Tripitaka Korena, a complete composition of Budhist scriptures carved onto 81258 wooden printing blocks. This monastery is not for display only. It is a living working thriving centre with more than 500 monks in residence. Well worth the bus journey.

Japan Again 7

2010-05-13T10:19:00.003+08:00

Sakaiminato was our last port in Japan. Here we had the best and worst of experiences. Best was from the 3rd service station we tried to organise duty free fuel from. The lady owner went to great efforts for us with
Customs to organise it all. Result was we got 600 litres at a saving of 30yen per litre. She and her husband later treated us to a meal at their home and an overnight stay. The other side of the coin was an encounter with a policewomen. We think she must have thought we were illegal the way she chased us demanding to see our alien cards and passport. passports were on the boat so off we went to get them with a police excort. She had arrange TOP BRASS to come to the boat as well. Of course everything was in order but all in all not a pleasent experience.
We left Japan on a Saturday but winds were not favourable so it was midnite Sunday before we made contact with Korea.

Photos Inland Sea (Seto Nakai)

2010-04-12T07:55:00.009+08:00

Photos from Kitagi

2010-04-12T07:42:00.013+08:00

Japan Again 6

2010-04-12T06:37:00.003+08:00

Japan from a yachties prospective is a peoples of contrast. Those with a government uniform seem to sometime need to prove their authority. It is difficult for local yachties as well.
We all know about VHF radio, a variety of choices available, from NZ$300 - 500. Now in Japan JRC produce a VHF, very old technology... as in no digital screen, tuning by knob, no scan memory, etc ....the charger is almost valve radio era, huge and cumbersome. Who would buy such a radio at any price. Well now Japanese regulations require Japanese yachties to purchase this one and it costs NZ$3000.00. Yes ten times more expensive. We all know LED lights use a fraction of the power and outlast conventional bulbs at least ten fold. Navigation lights are a great place on a yacht for LED...oh no... the Japanese government have banned them.

But the people themselves...we have said previously how giving they are,.. so how about this.......
We got behind our permitted schedule somewhat and we were required to re apply. this was for a change of dates only for a few port, and would take a couple of days and we could do this at Kochi City. Arriving at Kochi we had no idea where to tie up, when Carol saw someone waving to us, so over we went. We were assisted to a friendly free private marina with about 30 yachts of up to 38ft in length. We at 53 feet were show offs. Their club house had internet and great showers.
Kochi has the inevitable castle also but this one is original. Most others are concrete replicas rebuilt after fire or war damage. Seeing the size of wooden beams and the construction method was really interesting.
Saturday evening our host took us to his home for dinner with his wife, an accomplished yachtie. A huge dinner with many different dishes. Carol admired a painting of yachts sailing at sunset. "You like it, its yours"!!!!!!! said our host. But wait.... the artist lives not far away, a phone call and an hour later the artist arrives and joins in our still in progress dinner. He just happened to bring with him another painting. This one a moonlight stormy beach scene at Kochi. Brian liked that one, but Carol preferred the sunset portrait so, Brian (knowing his place), agreed to Carols choice. Come time to return to Charioteer and would you believe it we were given both paintings.!!!!!!!!
For over three hundred years Kochi has had a Sunday street market. This was a must see so this couple took us there. The stalls are mostly fruit and vegetables, flowers and plants, the usual clothing and odds and ends. Brian mentioned hoe tomatoes are expensive...oh dear not long after that he was given a bag of tomatoes!!!!. A shop caught our eye for a wander through. A Japanese set of stacking dishes of pleasing style caught Carols eye....will she, won't she...decisions, decisions....the shop owner gets our autographs and takes photographs,...us,...him with us etc etc..... Will she wont she...still no decision from Carol..then yes she will. But wait on...what goes ? Our hosts wife has bought it for us.....we dare not look at anything for the rest of the day.
For lunch we were taken to a lovely hotel where we join the deputy mayor and several dignitaries and their wives. A very formal affair. We learnt about the difficulties facing the Japanese Government and Industries. Seating on the floor facing a low table does not suit Brian's old bones so that was hard going for him.
Later when we were on Charioteer a call to Carol from Juichi (our host) who came aboard with a large flat parcel. Unwrapping it exposed a complete kimono. "My mothers" he said. "A gift to you". Carol was close to tears.....we have admired these kimonos in shops. Could you buy one for less than NZ$2000.00, we doubt it. The intricacies of the fabric are superb.
Monday had our permit delivered, but winds were wrong so Tuesday saw us on our way. Whilst we were at Kochi the yacht next door was being readied for a local couple who plan to head for Canada, Alaska and later the Med....a great couple lots of fun. Seeing him learning to make pizza on Charioteer, was hilarious enough without the mis-understandings of English.
On the island of Taku Shima are the 88 sacred temples of Shikoku (Buddhist). For over one thousand years pilgrims have walked the 1400 kilometers taking 30 - 60 days visiting each temple. Actually it ends up as 89 temples, as you return to the first to complete the circle. We saw several people walking the circuit..distinguished by their attire.
Kochi, formerly Tosa, was remote in old times, the people led tough lives. The women had to be tough. Local name for them was 'hachikin'. Hachi means 8, and kin means testicles......this implication being they had the strength of men with 8 balls. Brian made sure he never asked a women if she was ' hachikin' !!!!!!
So back to our journey with the need to make up some lost time. This time of year there seems to be endless highs followed by low every few days. Consequently we will be out on a flat sea all sails up. leisurly mooching along, then all hell breaks loose and we run into 40 knots against us. Once we had to anchor in an exposed bay for two days.....not pleasant.!!!!!
There can be many over falls around points of land and we struck a beauty one afternoon. All at once we had sloppy seas and winds whipping 'williwaws' off the surface. One wave came from behind so steep it washed over our stern deck !!!!!!! This has never happened previously. Charioteer was so heeled over trying to get up and over it. We found a nice bay for the night...flat as with cherry blossom trees all around us on the steep hills. It did not last..wind changed for driving right into us for two days. Then a couple of days later we awoke to mill pond conditions.
The Kanmon Strait, actually more like a dog leg, there are light signs showing current speed and direction. When we arrived we could see from two miles away that it was running at 7 knots against us, so we anchored for the night. It was mid day before we could proceed through. Before the economic downturn 600 vessels passed through the strait, but now it appears considerably less. We sauntered through at a leisurely 5 - 7 knots, being overtaken by mostly coasters, all keen to wave as they went by. On one bend we had a container ship scrape past...huge ship with containers staked 16 wide and 6 high...scary!!!!!!!
But the strangest off all was a coastguard ship which only waved as they went by...unbelievable.
The following is not usual but certainly not rare either. Our first stop after Kanmon was a sleepy port. Being low in fuel we went in search of a petrol station. This town was too small but nothing to loose we enter the post office for directions.Oh no not here, but one of the two staff took us the few kilometers in her new car with our Jerry cans to the station. She refused payment and instead gave us a gift. After lunch we tried to make progress towards Hagi, but the seas were too rough. Whilst heading for shelter Carol spied a lot of yacht masts in a bay. Heading in we were met by two locals who helped secure Charioteer. marina costs Yen3000 per day...ouch...some pleading saw this reduced to Yen1525. Later that day went walking looking for some bread. Wecould not find any shops and a young mother we spoke with said they were closed. Never mind we said and started to return to Charioteer. A few minutes later a car with Mum and three children pulls up beside us and she is holding out a bag....it was her own loaf of bread which she insited we take and refused payment for........
Even after nearly nine months in Japan the generosity of these people still amazes us.

Photos as promised

2010-04-11T17:35:00.000+08:00

Photos as promised

2010-04-11T16:37:00.001+08:00

Finally some photos

2010-04-11T09:58:00.000+08:00

The Tea Party...Kitagi Island Japan

2010-03-15T12:07:00.002+08:00

Say the words Afternoon Tea Party and to his Kiwi it conjures up visions of fine china, fancy cakes, delicate sandwhiches, freshly brewed tea.
We had already been entertained by the three fellows we had dubbed as The Three Musketeer at a (homemade) pizza party ...in return we had had a dessert party...(pavalova, lamingtons, chocolate self saucing pudding, lemon meringue pie....)
We had named these three...Mr.Happy, Mr.Smooth and Mr.KisseyKisseyand now....
Please come tea party my house, siad Mr.Happy. Okay we said and at the correct time arrived to be greeted at the door by our host clad in the appropriate japanese attire. We had another marvelous time with lots of laughter,thoroughly enjoying the fancy Japanese cakes and special tea and throwing peanuts at the winter devil......Wait isnt that what you usually do at a tea party ......NO Well thats what we did. It is a ceremony where you THROW out the Winter Devil and welcome in Spring.......it was another one of those very special times.

THREE MUSKETEERS PIZZA RECIPE:

Get Mr.KisseyKissey to make a really nice dough.
Get Mr.Smooth to roll it out to fit the pan
Put dough into pan. If doing rolled cheese filled crust and the rolled edge will not stick to the base, then pour in some red wine, add usual toppings.
Pop pizza into MR.Happy designed and built oven.
Drink some more red wine and enjoy pizza when it is cooked.

I wish I could include photos of the special times we spent here...maybe next time

Kitagi Island Seto Nakai Japan

2010-02-23T13:28:00.002+08:00

At last the repairs are 99% finished, the cruising permits are in order, the Alien cards are tucked away in our wallets and we are once again ready to cast off and continue with our adventure.
We have had a very enjoyable time here. The island, (like so many other islands in Japan), has an aging population. Once it was a thriving granite mining and manufacture of granite products island. It must have been very busy and well populated. In the port we are at there are two very large schools, one closed down and the other to close at the end of the year, and one closed down kindergarten type of place. And there is at least one other port with the same type of buildings standing empty.
But the people are friendly. We had an open day on Charioteer the other day...we announced it over the towns public address system.. and we had about 30 people come to visit. It was a great day. Only wish we had done it earlier on.
Once again sorry for the lack of photos

Japan Again 6

2009-12-27T13:47:00.001+08:00

YANAI

Our claim to fame here is that we are the first foreign yacht to visit, according to Coastguard, who once they got over their surprise at our appearance in their office, were extremely helpful. They gave us maps marking shopping areas, KFC etc. Tourist Information were also surprised to see us. They gave us great information all in English. We wandered through the Street Of White Walls and an open house. The English speaking guide gave us a very informative tour. Yanai is a clean and friendly city. We had a steady stream of curious visitors who have enjoyed our conducted tour of Charioteer. We had a very enjoyable evening with our new friends, dining from Bento boxes, talking and laughing.

IWAKUNI

Another wonderful place. Officials are extremely helpful as is the local ferry owner. Being tied to a commercial wharf means we have had very few visitors and this has enabled us to catch up on housework. Everyone we do meet is warning us to expect snow...and YES we have awoken to find snow on Charioteers deck.
Iwakuni has the most amazing bridge, opriginally built centuries ago. After a typhoon semi destroyed it, it was rebuilt in 1953, to original plans. There is also a Castle and an Art museum.Our bycycles have been in daily use which ios just as well as we are eating heavy winter food. Our diesel heater is a godsend.

HIROSHIMA

Here we spent Christmas. Our present to us was ....a marina stay, a new outdoor table, two deck chairs and about 20 second hands books,
Here we were to meet our fishermen friends from Ya Shima. When we were collected in a chaffuer driven Lexus we began to think there was more to these fisherman than we had realised. We were driven on a tour of Hiroshima city and one of the places we visited was our hosts business which has 75 employees........we had a lovely afternoon tea at his house that had the most incredible views over Hiroshima. That evening we had a delighful meal complete with Christmas cake at a beautiful restaurant.
By now we were sure that Kozi and Tochi were not your average fisherman. Kozi invited us to join them at the Rotary Christmas party the following evening. Once again we were collected in the Lexus and upon arrival meet the President of the oldest Rotary Club in Hiroshima....guess what it was Kozi !!!!!!!!
To return their hospitality we invited them to Charioteer in the afternoon of the 25th December for Christmas pudding, cake, pavalova . We had also meet a lovely American who we had invited to join us for Christmas Day.
And so a day that can often be sad when one is away from home became a joyous occasion. Plus we had the added bonus of actually being able to talk to our family.

Hiroshima is one of the Japanese citys that had an atomic bomb dropped on it during World War Two. We visited the Peace Park and viewed the sad remains of buildings that had survived and are now preserved, the museum thats hold the memories of survivors. We thought we may have felt guilty....we certainly felt sad...but not guilty. We will only feel guilty if we do not help the world to stay safe from this type of weapon.
The people we met were once again friendly and giving...Charioteer is over flowing with oranges...I maybe able to start up a roadside stall!!!!!!!!!
Today we leave Hiroshima and continue our crusing. To any yachties planning a trip here the Kanon Marina is clean and friendly. The management were happy to negoiate a good price and the showers were fabulous.

Japan Again 5

2009-12-26T13:59:00.002+08:00

TOKUYAMA

Here is where the Human Suicide Torpedo was built during the war and there is one on display just near where we are tied up.
Our first stop here was the Transport Bureau and once again we found people eager to help. Leaving everything in there hands we explored Tokuyama and found, to our delight, all the shops located by the railway station and a supermarket close to the rail line. The streets were lined with trees wearing autumn foliage giving us technicolour pleasure. Charioteer was side tied to awharf and for company we had two big tugs and ten coastal freighters that were all tied stern to. We felt rather insignificant amongst them all. Our permit arrive, and were finally free to start cruising.

HIKARI

A huge sports complex with a pontoon was our destination. Upon arrival we were inundated with visitors, mainly sailing school students. Once things had quietened down we went for a walk and discovered a huge hardware/homeware store. We spent an hour in their drooling and decided to return to Charioteer, make a list, and return the next morning with our wallet.
But oh no horror..the Sports Complex had a rule...No over night stays......by now it was too late in the day so we were given permission to stay for two nights. Next day we spent time in hardware heaven.

AIKA SAKI

At anchor in the beautiful bay, sun sparkling in the calm water, fishing boats dotted around, peace, birds song and ....oh no here come Customs. They had no paper work at all with them and after 'discussions' they drove us back to Hikari to the sub office and once again we put the same info down on the same form. They then drove us back to Charioteer. It gave them something to do and wasted several hours for us.
This place has many shrines and temples and we would of loved to be able to have found someone who could of explained the history of the place. But other than people praying and giving money there were no monks around. The peace and serenity of this bay is wonderful...a little bit of heaven.

YA SHIMA

Wind speed for 12 hours average of 20 knots, high of 39......the barometer plummeted and this was the weather we got. We were tied to a small wharf and every now and then the waves threw saltwater over the seawall and onto us. Weather aside we have had a lovely time here. Dark at night, torches flashing we found ourselves invited to a local house for drinks and karaoke. The owner lives in Hiroshima and had come over to the island with some friends on a fishing trip. The next day wev were fed a Japanese breakfast and then driven over to the other side of the island to view a 150 year old shrine. Upon the return of the fisherman we were given two fish for our evening meal, but taken to the house for lunch. The 120 year old house has been modernised inside with the upstairs being a private art gallery. This island was once home to 3000 people, but now there are only 30 locals. The empty houses are derilict, but this island is not dying without a fight. There are flowers growing everywhere, even old boat hulls have flowers planted in them. There is an incinerator for rubbish and vegetable gardens are well tended. Every house has a wheelbarrow, cars are almost non existent. Our kindly host has invited us to a Christmas party on December 23rd in Hiroshima.

HEIGIN TO

Japanese oranges everywhere, there are just like mandarins. While we were out walking we met the local post woman who took us to a house where we were give a box of oranges. Then later she delivered another box to us. Everywhere we went we were given oranges. We met several older people who had visited New Zealand and it was a pity that we did not have enough of a common language in which to share experiences.

Japan Again 4

2009-12-26T13:37:00.002+08:00

Finally we approached the huge bridge on the Kanmon, a passage between Kyushu and Honshu. We had been told and read about the ferious tidal currents (7 to 8 knots)., the huge ships and and we were both rather nervous. But we were able to wait until the current was slack and beginning to turn in our direction and we motored through in the company of many ships, which was not a problem and we reached the wide open spaces of the Seto Nakai unscathed and relaxed.

UBE.

We knew nothing about this city other than it was here that we would apply for our cruising permit. Coastguard were extremely helpful, translating into Japanese all our proposed anchorages and we left them with their assurances that they would be able to organise our permit. Next stop was Customs and the many forms to be filled in, then we were free to explore.
The City hall was our first stop and here we found the very helpful International Section, staffed by friendly English speaking Japanese and lots of information in English.
Ube is a city of Sculptures, they are to be found everywhere. Tokiwas Park has a vast area dedicated to works by International artists and was worth the effort to cycle there. There is also a beautiful lake complete with ducks, swans and pelicans.

The next day we decide to devote to retail therapy or in our case window shopping.
We were meandering along when we were accosted by a voluble women who insisted we join her for coffee. This led to us having eight people on board for a look see and coffee. They reciprocated by collecting us in the afternoon and taking us to view a private European style garden and then to a feast....marinated beef, homegrown salad, rice, shrimp rolls (Vietnamese style, chicken on dumpling wrapper, fruit cake, fruit salad, lemon tea made with freshly picked herbs from the garden followed by coffee. Our hosts inundated us with grapefruit, huge huge radish, mandarins, exotic jelly type of sweet and two amazing pot plants.
By now Coast guard had let us know that we had to proceed to Tokuyama to finalise our permit. So once again we waved farewell to friendly people, untied from the pontoon and set off towards an area that had not been on our schedule and so was going to be an unexpected treat.

TOKUYAMA

Japan again 3

2009-11-30T13:11:00.001+08:00

ENJOY THE PHOTOS

Japan Again 2

2009-11-30T12:56:00.002+08:00

O Shima.
We motor sailed to O Shima...another island with an aging population. The weather was beginning to deteriorate..our baromater over three days went up and down like a yoyo..from 1032 to 1020 to 1018, We had 48 hours of continual winds inthe high 20's with our maximum gust being 48knots. We were only going to spend a night here but it was six days before the weather was settled enough for us to move on and even then we should of stayed another day.
On our walks around O Shima we came upon a temple with a resident monk and we spent an enjoyable hour with him, drinking tea and learning the history of the temple.

Next stop was Aino Shima. an island with two small harbours, a clean well stocked supermarket, WIFI accessable from onboard, friendly people, cats everywhere, abandoned fishing nets, polystyrene buoys, old abandoned vehicles filled with old tvs,heaters,radios,bycycles,old fans and rubbish. In one harbour rubbish was burnt on the seawall, leaving tins and plastic floating at the waters edge. In the other harbour the rubbish was thrown into the sea or into the jungle/bush/scrub growing beside the breakwater. There were many fishing boats tied to the wharf but no signs of the fishermen, many houses appeared to be closed and empty. This island felt to us, desolate and unloved.

Japan Again

2009-11-30T12:39:00.004+08:00

We arrived back in Japan on October 27th and it has taken us until then (Nov 30) until we reached the Seteo Nakai with our Cruising Permit.
We knew that winter was coming but we never expected the type of weather we have been having. The locals are also surprised.
Our first stop after our entrance port was Iki Shima and the port of Ashibe. This place has one of the biggest supermarket department stores we have seen in a long time. Once our bycycles were unpacked we set of towards the ferry terminal which we have usually found to be a good source of information. Even if it is in Japanese there will usually be a map with numbered pictures and we have found many interesting sites this way. Iki did not lets us down and we found the brochures and then we met the delightful ladies who ran the ferry terminal concession stalls. Amid lots of laughter we finally managed to get away, knowing the ladies were going to join us for coffee in the afternoon. A very enjoyable time we had with them...lots of laughter and lots of miming.
The next day we cycled for miles...up and down hills until finally we reached a shrine/temple that had stone monkeys as guardians.
On the way we had stopped for a breather and were invited in to the house of a Kite Maker......the room was filled with tiny wee kites to gigantic ones. We left carrying two medium sized kites as gifts.
That evening as we were relaxing onboard we had another visit from one of the ferry ladies who had her family with her.
The following morning as we were getting ready to leave they arrived bearing copies of the photos they had taken. So from arriving unhearaled we departed Iki with new friends waving goodbye.

2009-10-25T16:03:00.006+08:00

South Korea (not north) continued

2009-10-25T15:32:00.003+08:00

Sailing is pleasant, with something of interest along the coast line..( we have seen many Nuclear power stations...). The south caost has hundreds of islands, often rugged, all interesting. We sail only in daylight because of the many fishing obstacles. Also many islands have huge bridges connecting them to the mainland, and electricity cables are strung between islands. Neither cables or bridges have air clearance posted. Power cables are suspended from pylons high on the cliffs, but in the centre the clearance is not great. So we hug the coastline watching the cables and the fishing buoys close to shore. Currents are often running which can help or hinder progress.
Marinas are rare, so it has been mostly tieing to a seawall. One port had a marina which consisted of floating plastic pontoons which looked good. Seven local yachts and several small fishing craft filled the three piers. This was a most unusual setup in that there were no poles, instead there were cables holdong everything in place.
A local yachtie had arranged to take us to a Historic National Park on a particularly windy day. His English was about 12 words, and you know our Korean is less. We were enjoying ourselves when his cell phone rang......oh no disater...."we go now" he said setting of to the car at fast trot. "Whats wrong?" we asked..but the only thing he could say was....marina broke.....hell we were not interested in the martina..what about our yacht....to this the reply was ...not good!!!!!
It took us an hour to drive back and as we approached the port over the hill, we could see Charioteer at right angles to where she had been and instead of being on the outside of the pier she was in the middle. Winds were under 40 knots but our pier broke away and swung Charioteer side on into the next row of boats which were rough fishing craft.
So we could see much gouging on the side and two broken windows in the hull...(but she was upright and floating...hooray). After packing as many fenders as we could between us and the fishing boats we managed to organise for a large launch to hook a rope to our stern and haul us out. We had a local guy on board who directed us to a very strong mooring and helped us endeavour to pick up the mooring rope in 35 knot winds. We thought this guy may have been staying the night but eventually a fishing boat came and collected him. Next day a TV news film crew arrived and once again we were on Korean TV.
The broken windows were of thick toughened glass, the same as a vehicle widows, so yes there was ( and is ) glass everywhere, some of it is like grains of salt it is so small. They have now been replaced with the polycarbonate and epoxy filler to the hull bashing. We firmly believe that if our hull had been of any other material than steel, we would of been holed.
We are now back in Pusan and the very helpful and friendly Mr. Kim, of Power Marine, organised the polycarbonate for the replacement windows and the correct sealant, while Brian epoxied over the chipped fairing.
We have walked miles around the narrow streets of the fishing harbour looking for two pot primer paint and eventually finding a 4 litre pack that cost only NZ$30.00.
We also tried for a filter but the language barrier was to hard to surmount.
So now we are stocking up on food, clothing etc as here is cheaper than Japan. We are also buying two new bikes.
Photos to follow in the next blog

Korea South (not North)

2009-10-25T08:53:00.002+08:00

Korea, south that is and not north..if it was north I would be writing this from jail.......
South Korea including the most southern island is only 500 km long. With a population of over 50 million it is one of the most densely populated countries. (actually nearly 500 people per sq metre)...So urban living is in appartments, multi storied, from 15 to 50 stories. newer appartments are much higher and have Helipads on top. the rural areas are mountainous, up to 2000m, covering 70% of the land. anywhere flat and rural is used for rice growing, vegetables, fruit.
Roading is extensive and great. All tunnels and bridges. Fast trains and and extensive city subways.Buses are very cheap and frequent. Food costs are about the same as new Zealand, although fruit is expensive.

But what about sailing Korean waters....Like Japan there are protected harbours every few miles but officials are the bane of sea travel.Permission must firstly be obtained from Coastguard.Their forms are in Korean only...great......"when will you depart? when will you arrive"..this gets me (brian) most aggitated. I point to the sails, asking what are the winds, currents etc.......how the hell do I know !!!!!! but to no avail..we must have a time. yet it doesn't matter at the next port. then at ports with Customs the same again, except the questions are for first arrival from another country..To all this paperwork we smile through gritted teeth, muttering something about 'just another tree'. But rules are rules and as in Japan procedures are followed to the letter and never questioned.

Cruising Korea 4

2009-09-01T10:50:00.002+08:00

Ater all that had happened to us in Busan we were thinking it was time to move on. We had learnt that we had to let Coastguard and Customs know that we were leaving. We thought this would take us only a few minutes but that was not to be ..so our exit from Busan took place nearer to lunch than breakfast.
Trouble was continuing to follow us.....the motor for the mainsail drive would not work, the main engine generator would not generate and the GPS had stopped talking to the laptop with our navigation programme on.
So we were doing it the old fashioned way, eye ball and we were able to use the electronic charts as if they were paper ones, marking our course as we went.
Coastguard kept in touch all day....driving us mad witheir continual requests for location or wanting to know how many people were on board. We found a nice bay and pulled inpreparing to anchor for the night.
Suddenly the air was full of the noise of gunfire..and we do not mean little peashooter things.....did we stay there? No we high tailed it out and moved to the next bay where it was calm and quiet.
Next morning we decided that Tong Yeong Marina would be a good place to head for and try to get our broken things fixed..so thats what we did.
This is a simply stunning area, many islands and sheltered waters. The marina has only one finger with poles in place for another finger. Within in an hour of our arrival Brian was out getting introduced to a man who fixed out sail drive motor and repaired/replaced our main engine generator. We have had no luck finding someone to help us with our gps/laptop problem though.So until we do it will navigating the old fashioned way for us.
The marina is part of the Choung Mu Resort and because of that we have very good, very fast wireless internet connection onboard which is why I have been able to enter so many blog chapters. Enjoy them please and I hope to be able to add more at our next port/ anchorage...but there maybe a bit of a gap.

Cruising Korea 3

2009-09-01T10:15:00.003+08:00

Early next morning we were up and Charioteer was jerkily sliding back into the water...oh the relief to be there right way up and with a clean bottom. We motored back to the marina. In their wisdom they put us on a different finger, right at the end. There was a typhoon battering Taiwan and we were getting the outside ring of weather in Busan. We carry with us polystyrene fenders of several sizes...and the wave surge in the marina was terrible and we banged and crunched against the finger all night,decimating our fenders.
Morning arrived and we had another problem.....Brian had another kidney stone moving on down. Doctor Jenny arranged for Brian to attend an out patients clinic so I put out another fender or two and off we went. Poor Brian in agony in the back of the taxi, the taxi driver with no English and us with no Korean. But Jenny had drawn us a map so after fighting our way through rush hour traffic we arrived and within half an hour Brian was again hooked up to an IV and being used as a pin cushion. the day passed and we returned to Charioteer to find Mr.Kim had given us heavier ropes. After a visit to the marina office and a request for another berth, one with a bit more protection, we moved. Brian was only capable of standing and hanging onto the steering wheel and geeting us into our new berth. Mr Kim and his staff were there to help do the tieing up. Without them I do not know how I would of managed.
Once we were secure it was time to relax...Brian was a lot better but not one hundred percent. For the next week he suffered on and off with kidney stone attacks. But we managed to keep the pain at a controlable level with pain killers from the hospital. Doctor Jenny gave me lessons on how to and where to administer injections, but thank goodness that skill was not required.
We now had two other European yachts for company....LEV with Mike and Barbara and YELO with Daniella and Rolf. Oh the joy of being able to talk in English without thinking.
Brian spent several days in recovery mode and slowly regaining his strength and energy.
Busan Marina was built for the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and is still used today for the Asian Games. So the maintainance is pretty good. The marina is nestled beside a 7.2 kilometer (seven . two) double tier suspension bridge....a most amazing sight.The marina was not built with todays size of boat (up to 80feet) in mind so many motor launches and yachts hang well out from the end of their fingers. The river surge in here can be so bad that there are usually one boat per pen.
The types of boats range from huge motor yachts to wee dinghy sized yachts, jet skis are a frequent high speed passerby and on the weekend every man and his dog get onto a yacht or launch and go out for an hour or two of enjoyment. Numbers can vary but we have counted up to 25 on a 40ft yacht......

Cruising korea 2

2009-09-01T10:00:00.002+08:00

So here we are, high and dry. We had arranged for black antifouling paint to be delivered. But oh no it is very dark blue. "But we wanted black" we said. In all seriousness we were told.... "this is so dark that when it is wet it looks black"....
what could we say but..."ok".
Brian and I were doing the job ourselves so it was on with old clothes,..(and after all this time cruising we have plenty of old clothes to chose from) and armed with scapers on poles we set to work. It had been two years since we had antifouled and we were plesently surprised with the state of Charioteers bottom.
At the the end of a hard day, we had a shower and wandered off to buy pizza for dinner. As we walked Brian complained of a pain in his side...like the stitch...we just thought that he had strained something moving the heavy ladders. But no....by
10pm he was writhing on nthe bed in pain and by midnight he was in hospital, on a drip and pumped full of pain killers....kidney stones..
We had been very fortunate in that one of our new aquaintances was a Doctor and she was able to assist us in getting Brian to hospital. So there we were...Charioteer high and dry, Brian flat on his back and me beginning to melt down. For Brian it was a rugged night even with pain killers, but by 8am the stone had moved on down and he was pain free. So he discharged himself and Mr Kim from Power Marine Busan was on hand and drove us back to Charioteer, via a restaurant for lunch. Mr.Kim had been instumental in negotiating the good slipway price for us and was proving a real asset with his assistance and support. He had contacted the slipway for us and by the time we returned to Charioteer they were underway with doing the antifouling. Brian of course was rearing to go and so we both continued the painting with able assistance from the slip yard crew. Two coats were put on and we retired exhausted but happy that the job was done and that Brian was feeling well.

Cruising Korea

2009-09-01T09:43:00.004+08:00

Korea..
We arrived at the Busan Marina and after locating the office, we waited for Customs and Quarantine to arrive.Then off we went to Immigration. The young man whose desk we sat at was most surprised to find we wanted three months...."why ? " he asked. "So we can cruise around and visit the islands" we replied. "Okay" he said and stamped us in for three months. We felt a bit braver on our return and we took the underground train. Several people on the train 'adopted' us and made sure we knew where we were at each station. At one stage we had to change trains and lines and once again we were 'adopted' and helped each step of the way.
Once back on Charioteer we thought ..hooray a wee rest and a relax....but no way. We arrived at the tail end of the main holiday break so there were plenty of locals and out of towners to view us. The questions are always the same....'why are you here? when are you leaving?..... Without thinking we said 'oh we wanted to do the antifouling (bottom paint) on Charioteer. Before we knew it there were about four people arranging with the slipyard to haul us out. This was great..except for one thing. At the slip yard there are two operators, side by side. The first one was going to charge us 1.2 million won, the second one's price was six hundred thousand won....and he was the one we went with. The haul out was arranged for Wednesday and so we had a few days in which to explore.

Wednesday morning arrived and with trepidation we motored over to the slipway. We had as our aiming mark a piece of bamboo sticking up out of the water which we had to keep to our port side. After a bit of manoeuvring we were in the right place and slowly and jerkily we hauled out and up the slipway.

Cruising Japan...Kyushu

2009-08-08T12:26:00.003+08:00

FUKUOKA.....ODO MARINA

This council owned and run marina offers visiting yachtsmen 14 days free.....after 14 days it cost us (in July 2009 for a 16m yacht) Yen 4700 per day. Water is an extra Yen400. There was no power and rubbish disposal facilities were very hard to find. Hot showers are available at a cost, but we did not use them so I am not sure of the cost.
The visitors berth are neglected and deteriorating and we would not like to be there in bad weather. The marina Management suggested that if a typhoon came we would be wise to move to the better private marina next door. The marina manager had very limited English while the office staff had none and were a hinderance rather than help whjen we applied for our continued cruising permit.
We were fortunate in being given the contact details of a local sailing enthusiast - Mena Santo - who was able to help us in so many ways.
Family were coming for two weeks and Mena was able to arrange a friendship house for them...never having heard of this before we now thoroughly reccommend it. for Yen500 per adult per night the accommodation was a two bedroomed house...with large family room, cooking facilities,shower, toilet and this house had the added pleasure of a lovely outdoors area. The friendship House was very close to bus, subway,supermarket,laundry, fantastic park with fly foxes,grass sled rides......
All we needed to add was some cutlery, a few extra towels and food.

WE had a fabulous two weeks reaquainting ourselves with our (now) eldest grand daughter, meeting our new twin grand daughters and enjoying the company of our son and daughter in law. We did all the tourist things we could including a ride on the bullet train.
The Friendship House owners gave freely of their time and one evening took us to dinner at a local restaurant where we all sat with our feet in a pit under the table while dining on local cusine. At other times we at from the "take a way' section of the supermarket...never quite knowing what was under the tempura batter, or we ate from the local Hoto Moto Food chain store.
Our dining highlight was being guests of Kojie and Masa at a very upmarket hotel restaurant. We entered a private room and their was a big "Welcome Boswell Family" banner.
While the children dined on exquistly designed and served soup, tempura prawn, potato and other things , plus icecream we were also spoilt with the feast for our eyes and stomachs that kept on arriving at our table, The highlight being the 'melt in your mouth' Beef. (Although I think Brian enjoyed the dessert the best !!!!)
We had met Kojie in Subic Bay Philippines and enjoyed his company there so it was pleasure to be able to renew our acquaintance. We enjoyed his company several more times either onboard Charioteer or sampling horse meat in a local restaurant.

Our exit port in Japan was Izuhara on the island of Tsushima. This is a town where tastefully modern rubs shoulders gracefully with ancient temples and castle remains.
We changed some Yen into Won at the 18th Bank, did our clearance formalities and once the weather was in our favour we left Izuhara. The plan was to go through the strait, under the bridge, an over night stop and then off to South Korea.
And thats what we did...under the bridge sideways as the current grabbed us and spat us out on the other side into calm waters. Through the bay and into the open sea for our passage to Korea.
We had checked the weather, watched the barometer and talked to the weather gods.....but as usual the wind was all but on the nose, the sea was a bit rough...in fact we had our usual sailing conditions.
But we made it and now we are in Busan south Korea.

Cruising Japan...Kyushu

2009-08-08T12:06:00.002+08:00

HIRADO STRAITS

We had heard the stories about the extreme currents, tidal rips and flotillas of ships using the strait so we approached with trepidation. Favourable tide was due the following morning so we anchored out of the way of the expected busy traffic. A few fishing boats roared by along a with a couple of coastal freighters....all taking advantage of the tidal flow.
A fishing boat approached us and with hand signals indicated that we were anchored over their crab pot area. They led us to another spot and as we reanchored they presented us with two live optopus and 5 large crabs. After they left we released the octopus, but the crab we njoyed for our dinner.
The next morning we went through the strait with no other vessels for company...it was a wee bit of a let down, but perhaps the world economical situation has affected the number of ships in the area.

Our last night before Fukuoka was spent in a bay at anchor. In the middle of the night we were visited by the Coast Guard Police who were very excited with the change in their routine we offered. We filled in the forms by torchlight they passed to us via a fishing net, answered their questions and then they disappeared into the dust and we went back to bed.

Cruising Japan...Kyushu

2009-08-04T15:48:00.002+08:00

Mie Nagasaki
32.49n....129.46e
This is a large commercial port and we were able to easily spot where the fishing boats went, but what about us. After motoring around, trying to (once again unsuccessfully) contact someone on channel 16 a friendly fisherman pointed us towards a brand new pen area. Nice wharf steps, inbuilt fenders, typhoon fencing and all for no cost.
Once secure we did the usual walkaround. past the gambling palaces, found a supermarket, had an icecream and returned to Charioteer for a good nights sleep.
Next morning we were joined in the pen by a fishing boat and recieved a gift of a just caught fish.
After breakfast we cycled off for some exploring. In the window of a store we saw the unbiquous polystyrene fenders...hooray a chandlery. Inside we were met by the smiling fish giving fisherman, who we learnt was the owner of several boats and the chandlery. Shinichi greeted us as long lost friends and in no time we had access to their computer, were drinking tea and Brian was negotiating the purchase of engine oil. The engine oil was delivered to Charioteer along with a Japanese teaset and a huge wall hanging flag. After thsi amazing time we continued exploring enjoying the contact with the locals. The previous night we had watched a dragon boat team practising and to our delight we were able to watch the competition.
We spent our last evening dining with Shinichi and his son Koji at a very nice Tempura restaurant. After dinner we returned to their house. Koji showed us his english lesson books and we had an enjoyable hour talking English with him.
Time was pressing and we still had a way to go before Fukuoka so after a couple of enjoyable days here we moved on.

Cruising Japan Kyushu

2009-08-04T15:00:00.004+08:00

Sendai 31.50 north 130.12 east

The Sendai river has been divided in two by the ever popular high concrete wall. This way the port does not silt up and the fishing fleet have a safe harbour. Once again we tied up to an uninviting disused wharf, putting out plenty of fenders. The tidal range was about 1.5 metres so at low tide our view was of the busy crabs on the walls andit was impossible to see land from the deck. We have a ladder which helps exiting at these wharfs, but I find it a bit daunting.
After we were secure we did our usual stroll around the area..."hey you guys, where are you from, I'm Malaysian" came a voice. We turned around and met Chai and enjoyed another one of those unexpected experiences. Chai is a busy man who flys arounds visiting the various branches of his business.He was as happy to spend the evening talking English as we were. He drove us into town, took us to a beautiful restaurant, where we dined in style, gave us access to his office computers for weather reports. And the next morning he was gone to another part of japan.
A macgregor 26ft yacht arrived as we were having morning coffee and Brian went to help with the ropes and invited the owner over for coffe.
Hiromi arrived, wearing a big smile, clutching a big book and with his brain desperately trying to dredge up any english he had learnt at school 60 years ago. The book was a very upmarket atlas on japan and after proudly showing us where he had sailed from and where he was going, Hiromi presented us with this marvelous book. Later in the day Hiromi caught the bus to Kagoshima and his anxiously awaiting family.
We off loaded our cycles and explored for as long as the heat would allow, before returning to Charioteer.
As we sat enjoying a cool drink and some shade Jiyoji (aka George) arrived for a look see.....and this became another of those very special experiences. Jiyoji is a film director and during our time in Sendai we were priviledged to see a sample of work from this talented person. Jiyoji and his daughter Kyia really spoilt us..taking us on a visit to an extra ordinary temple at the top of a hill, giving us access to his computer for weather reports, taking us to the supermarket, arriving bearing the most delicious fritters....crumbed camerbert fried.....yummy. Jiyoji celebrated his birthday while we were here so I cooked a chocolate and walnut cake which we served complete with candles. Another enjoyable evening in very enjoyable company.
In between Hiromi coming and going to Kagoshima and always returning with another special delicay for us to sample, Jiyoji and Kyia spoiling us we met a merchant seaman who had fond memories of his times spent in New Zealnd ports and was keen to return the kindness he had recieved. We were inundated with fresh homegrown vegetables and fruit plus he arranged for us to buy diesel at fishermens prices !!!!!
Due to the weather we stayed in Sendai longer than we intended. But the company was so good we were not complaining. What we didn't enjoy was the sand blown onto Charioteer during the strong winds....the cockpit began to resemble a sandpit!!!!!!!! and we were happy at lowtide for the opportunity to use our washdown hose to clear the stuff away.
Fukuoka was calling and it was with regret that we cast off our lines and continued our journey

Cruising Japan...Kyushu

2009-08-01T12:37:00.003+08:00

Kusi Wan Bo
Latitude 31.16 N Longitude 130.13 E
We arrived late in the afternoon and tied up to the empty wharf. After dinner we had a small walk to stretch our legs and then we went to bed. In the early hours of the morning we were awoken by a gentle knocking on the hull...."please would we move, the fishing fleet need the wharf space. We had a quick wash, put on our clothes and motored into the middle of the harbour looking for space. Eventually we dropped anchor and went back to bed.
Looking around the next morning we thought that perhaps we had finally arrived in the 'real' Japan. WE could see a temple a all the houses looked 'Japanese". We launched the dinghy and once ashore we meandered through the small town. We enquired about internet at the post office and after a staff group discussion we were directed 'over the hill...big town' (and far away). We returned to Charioteer with those important necessities - mild, bread eggs, potatoes..and for Brian...icecream.

Next morning we returned to land intending to explore the other side of the town. A large building flying the Japanese flag was found to be the library and information centre. the reception area was manned by an enthusiastic english speaking local who had soon organised an internet connection and then gave us tourist brochures in English. Hiroyuki then took us a short waliking tour of his area. After a refreshment break of green tea and sticky buns in his office Hiroyuki oversaw the closing of the library for the dayand then we piled into his car for a trip to the supermarket.
In the cool of the morning, armed with our brochures we discovered more of the hidden treasures of the area. That afternoon as we sat in shade on Charioteer we heard someone calling us. Imagine our surprise to see a middleaged man in the water asking if we wanted to go to the 'supa'...we were so surprised we just said a polite 'no thankyou' and watched him dog paddle away to land.
Our last night here was spent with Hiroyuki eating homemade pizza. We knew he was enjoying it when even before he had finished his first slice he was asking for a 'doggie' bag to take home for his mother........

Cruising in Japan

2009-07-08T19:32:00.002+08:00

My first introduction to Japan was about 40 years ago when I read a story about Miss 1000 Cherry Blossoms. Since then there have been many books and many films, the last one being the last samurai.
The southern Japanese Island were severly damaged during the intense fighting in WW2 and after the war it was the Americans who did the rebuilding so intially all the buildings looked familiar. But as we have slowly moved up the chain of islands the Japan of my imagination has slowly begun to appear.
Our routine is the same at each port. We tie up and make sure we are safe and secure. Then its on to land and off for a quick look around. ( I am looking for that elusive gheisha, Brian is looking for a shop that sells icecream !!!!!!)
The people we have met have been generous and friendly. Generous with their time, given freely, to show us the special places where they live, generous with their gifts from the vegetable garden and orchard. And generous with their acceptance of our fractured Japanese.

The things that have amazed us so far;
the amount of concrete that is used to build safe harbours for a few fishing boats, the huge wharfs for an island that has a population of 120 people....
the number of discarded bycycles..all they ned is a bit of TLC.....
the drink vending machines that can be found everywhere.......

Every day we wake up and wonder what will be the days highlight.....here is some of them..
a gift of three new blades and a nose cone for our damaged wind generator...which is now know as the Mighty Quinn...(thanks Mike)
Fishermen giving us `just caught` fish
Our first Onsen...Nude thermal bathing....(thank goodness the sexes bath in separate areas)
Islands with a population of 120, 11 of whom are of school age, and the school has a staff of 12......
the polystyrene fenders washed up on the shoreline..(they look like legless sheep)
seeing more turtles here than in the South Pacific
Supermarket shopping...by picture and by feel. ( I cant read the labels!!!!!)

We are now in Fukuoka. Andrew, Avril and the girls have arrived for a two week vacation and one of Andrews jobs while here is to get my computer organised so we can have internet connection onboard. We are hoping that this will enable us to keep our blog more up todate.

We will be leaving for South Korea early August......
so keep watching this space

Japan at last

2009-05-29T14:51:00.001+08:00

01 May bye bye Taiwan, next stop Japan.

First though customs and coastguard. Exiting the harbour in Taiwan had us beating into a big rolling swell. The swell gradually eased but there was that old head wind again. Thirty four hours of zigzag motor sailing saw us arrive at the Japanese Island of Ishigaki. It was late in the day so weanchored out for the noght. Next morning we were invited to raft nex to Spirit of Lorilie an Aussie yacht. First official was quarantine, next customs followed by coastgurad. Coastguard seems to be a means to employment and this did not go well as we had not done our arrival procedure correctly. Lastly Immigration...off for photo and fingerprinting. Did not feel like it somehow but we are now in Japan.
We stayed a week in Ishigaki cycling around and organising our required cruising permit. Not an easy thing to do. Japan has closed ports and open ports, with arrival and departure times. Our application had destination names and their latitudes and longitudes...that was useless as the Marine office only had a Japan Atlas. The difficulty we had with this (also at Naha) could fill a chapter in a book...but it was all done with smiles and bows.
Time came to move on so at 6am were about to leave when a local yachtie presented us with apples and passionfruit, just as we were moving off he reappeared with a huge bottle of Saki.
Next island Tarama....small and low with two ports. We cycled around the very narrow streets of the town,　the country was mostly in sugarcane. These ports are where there is a break in the coral reef and have a series of man made barriers to stop the ocean swell. Inside is a complex of concrete walled dividing pens to tie up to. Later that day, three police arrived who had no English, so they had organised for a woman to help...why were we here...who gave us permission etc...they were shown our permit (all in Japanese) our passport visas (which they could not read). After about 30 minutes Brian became a bit tetchy and said ...so arrest me and call my embassy.....shock horror, that worked...Oh no all is okay.
Next Island...Onikawa and to its capital Naha. We entered where we believed there was a small marina, but it is no longer. Some local fishermen ( one the size of a small sumo wrestler) helped us tie up to a wall. The trip to here was 160 miles and although the wind was light we were able to sail using the code zero.
Next morning we moved to the new marina at Ginowan. WE stayed three days, with more cruising permit applications. The marina cost for us was NZ 45 per day. but when we came to pay we were only charged for one day,
Ikema was our next stop. Again tied to a wharf...Two coastguard officials came to check us out and were very friendly and helpful. Next day we had another five from Coastguard come...they are really curious ....
A local business couple took us to their house for internet and for the three days we were there every morning they provided us with a weather forecast printout.
The next day was a longish trip with a 6am start, this couple had already given us strawberries but came runnig down to wave goodbye and present us with some more gifts.
Ariving at Ie Island we saw two other yachts, but it was too shallow for Charioteer to go where they were so we once again tied up to the main wharf.
The yachts were Japanese, one owner cycled around with lots of advise for the next port.　Another local is building a Wharram Catamran and he also was full of information. This island is flat except for one sharp hill that shows up for miles out at sea.
These southern island were hard fought over during the second world war as Americans and Allies advanced northwards. It really showed at Ie Island where there is a monument with the names of all those who died.... 3500 peopl, or put anotherway...no survivors.
A short voyage next to Yuron Island. A couple of locals had been advised of our arrival and came out in a small boat to guide us in. Just as well as it was not easy. A welcome party for us that night. Now we had read about a custom on this island involving saki made from sugarcane. A group of people each one in turn makes a speech then downs a full glass of saki. Not a good feeling the next day. There generosity knows no bounds...one day we went to the local internet ...the usual questions were asked and name cards were exchanged and our one has a photo of Charioteer on and is quite a hit. They gave us coffee and a bunch of grapes. We invited them to visit us next morning and when they arrived they were carrying rock melons and a 10 litre box of water.....
It is a catching attitude in Japan...in Ishigaki an expat American with a yacht charter saw our damaged wind g enerator..the next thing he presents us with three new blades, plus a nose cone...probably saving us about NZ1500.......

The winds have gone back to the north and in the hifh thirties so the seas are rather rough. We will wait it out, kepping it in mind that there are still 500 miles to go to Fukuoka.

Taiwan Cruising....Kenting...Huelien

2009-05-20T10:36:00.003+08:00

Seemed logical to go north around the top of Taiwan to head for Japan. Oh no we were told. Bad currents, bad winds,bad everything. Okay all the way south again into Hobihou Marina, Kenting. Sadly the Asian thing, built beautiful but now on its way to ruin. It is close to the Nuclear Power Station, some wind generators and a huge solar set up. Well now, where there are wind turbines...its because there is wind. This was the only time we have taken off the bimimi and lowered the boom. Alas it was too much for our wind generator. One hell of a bang..WHAT WAS THAT?...a blade took off damaging one other on the way.
For some reason immigration drove three hours to book us out, even though we were heading north to Haulien. This trip turned into an overnight, calm at first but gradually that weather god that has it in for us started up....30knots going up to low 40's from right in front. Rain and blowing spray until we crawled into harbour to the usual security check stop. A MT.Chou was there to meet us and help with formalities. Immigration didn't know what to do, but eventually gave us a Ships Pass for the area for another seven days.
Sometime past a Japanese sailor lost his eyesight by getting to close to his wind generator, result being he donated his yacht to some keen people at Hualien. Mr. Chou and friends looked after us..the highlight being taken to Taroko Gorge. A mountain pass across the island. The mountains as over 3000 metres high, mostly of marble with a river cut through at an incredible depth. Fifty years ago Army personnel cut a road through, using hammer and chisel...over 450 people lost their lives building this road. The walls in many places are sheer so you drive on a road that is like a tunnel, with the outer wall missing. There are tunnels as well to make it a truly incredible place.
One night we came back to our boat to find several bags of fruit on board with a business card. We txted a thank you and the next thing we were invited to lunch next day. This turned into a huge affair, followed by a drive to the supermarket to stock up on basic supplies. We made it clear that we were paying for these things, but did not notice that our host had already left money at the checkout. So $NZ50.00 worth of groceries made this man so happy he danced out of the store singing...I fooled you, I fooled you......
This is just one case of the generosity of the people we met in Taiwan.
We had dinner with another young artist couple that evening, before leaving the next day.
Next morning we cleared Immigration and then security and used up our left over Taiwan dollars buying diesel. We had friends to see us off, so with lines cast off we left the wharf. "Whats this?"...a car pulls up and out jumps a man carrying bags....everyone is getting excited as we reverse up to the wharf to get this gift of biscuits,cakes and lollies.

Taiwan Cruising...Kaohsiung

2009-04-18T09:17:00.002+08:00

Tomorrow we head north ...actually we are heading south first and then north up the east coast of Taiwan. There is a rally leaving from the top of Taiwan...(Kee-Lung...Bisha Harbour)...for Ishigaki Japan and we are joining it. For a change there will be more than just us out there on the ocean.
Kaohsiung has been a pleasure to visit. The people have been great, the scenery fabulous and the food just amazing.
We took the fast train (300k p h) to Alishan where we were going to watch the sunrise, but it rained...so instead we saw mountains reaching through the misty clouds.....but it was a great trip.

Taiwan Cruising

2009-04-11T08:37:00.005+08:00

It is inevitable that we compare country with country. Compared to Philippines Taiwan's streets and waterways are so much cleaner, buildings are finished...none of the Philippine tax system rip off....(unfinished buildings do not attract tax).
Prices for food here in Taiwan is comparable to Philippines but wages are much higher so the living standards are soooooo different.
On the second night I (Brian) was sitting on the front deck relaxing and people watching when I was approached by a young woman and her parents....'were we really from NZ, How long will we be here..etc etc......We invited them aboard for a look see and WOW...the next thing we were being taken to the night market and the offer of a trip to Kenting National Park the following day. We gratefully accepted this offer and the following morning we were picked up at 8am.
This is an absolutely beautiful park...forests, mountains, golden beaches and right on the waterfront beside the most popular beach is a NUCLEAR POWER STATION !!!!!!!
The whole day was a totally amazing experience...we were treated like royalty, feed,watered and not allowed to touch our wallets once.
The nuclear plant had the most amazing visitors centre, showing both the good and bad side of the system.
Not far from here is another marina...space for three boats...

We have also met a university student (age about 25)who yachting crazy...he has also been able to find the bike tyre we desperately needed. And last night they took us to a HotPot restaurant where we had the interesting pleasure of eating, among other things, ducks blood which was like a wobbly jelly. Today we believe the taste sensation is going to be 'stinky tofu'
Today we are off to Tainan and then on Monday we are off for an overnight visit to Alishan.......
So our next report will be a few days away.
Brian and Carol

TAIWAN.....Cruising

2009-04-08T10:27:00.002+08:00

We have arrived here in Taiwan.....how did we get here?...we sometimes felt as if we were stuck in the Philippines and would never get away. But the wind blew favourably and the time was right so we untied from Vascos and headed north to San Fernando and did our exit there. Brian has now got very good at looking the corrupt official in the eye and asking them..."are you a christian?....."yes, oh a good catholic....have you heard of the commandment..thou shall not steal. Did you know that wanting money from us is a bribe and is stealing?" This has been a very good way of getting them to stop asking. Brian of course always checks to see if they are wearing a gun before he goes through this routine.

We sailed to the top of the Philippines, checked the weather and thought..okay it looks good, lets go. Of course the real weather and the weather forecast just didn't agree. What was meant to be a great sail turned into a two nights, (from dusk to dawn) of winds between 34 to 38 knots. The day between was calm...down to 15 to 20 knots.
We lost count of the ships we saw heading north, south,east and west. As we got closer to Kaohsiung we began to concentrate on the moving ships and ignoring the ships at anchor. The harbour is inside an island that runs parrall to the coast. Entrances are at each end. We needed the north entrance and followed a HUGE container ship in. Once inside we were intent on being out of the traffic and findin g the marina. Suddenly we say a big orange flag being waved at us and it was clear that we were required 'over here..NOW'. So we tied up at the security wharf. We had a brief security search. Then it was decided we were not dangerous...and we were given a six pack of beer, a specially cooked meal of noodles. They organised health and immigration. And then a guy (Kao)from the marina arrived and helped us move to the marina. Kao then took me on his scooter to the bank for an ATM and then organised marina paperwork for us and then got us a sim card (so we are now connected in Taiwan).
the cruising fraternity here in Kaohsiung is small (maybe 10 people)...they are so helpful and are looking after us so well.We have been given beer, had a curry, rice and lychee beer for dinner. Nothing is to much trouble. Currently I am sitting in a private office with a large cup of milk tea, using the company wifi connection.
The temperature is a lot cooler...down to 24 from 34 and we both feel great snuggled under the duvet at night.
We got a bit of water onboard during the crossing so we have spent the day drying out. Next on our agenda is to brave the traffic and head to the tourism office.
To all of you out there.......thanks for following our travels.

seize the day

2009-02-09T13:55:00.002+08:00

We met a man who runs a training facility for sea men. Part of the training they do is learning how to evacuate the ship in times of disaster. After a few whiskys we were able to convince him that this was the very thing that we needed training in. Of course our life raft is nothing like what the big ship boys use...but we knew it was going to be knee knocking fun.
When we arrived on site we first had to sign waivers, then we were given the step by step briefing. Once that was finished we donned overalls, raincoats, gumboots and life jackets. We then clumped our way up several flights of steps and proceded to wedge ourselves into our seats. With our seat belts pulled as tight as could be we were unable to move at all. Then the man in charge asked "all okay back there". With our answers being in the affirmative, the all clear was given, the release mechanism was released and for a brief instant we were in free fall, before the vessel went under the water, then bobbed to the surface. The whole thing took seconds, but the buzz it generated in us lasted for hours.

It is not something I want to do again, but I am glad we did it.
Neither of us needed a change of underwear.............

After this experience we partook of another, more familar water activity. A hoon in a rescue jet boat.....YAHOOOOOOOOOOOO

New Zealand v Australia

2009-01-27T07:11:00.004+08:00

Brian Homan has had a very successful career diving on wrecks and recovering artifacts, hence the name Pirate Brian. We are currently tied to his bar/restaurant, which is a lot cleaner and more fun than being in the Subic Bay Yacht Club Marina. But we all know that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and once a treasure hunter, always a treasure hunter.
We came back to Charioteer the other day, to find that we had been "arrested". Pirate Brian and one of his staff had woven yellow construction 'keep off / danger' tape over the duckboard ladder and hung a Philippine flag and a (very well done) "arrest warrant".
Oh no, what are we to do...Oh we know lets organise a Kangaroo Court and have a fun evening. And so on Saturday evening the "court" will convene...should be a fun evening. We have four counts to answer to .....insufficient consumption of alcohol, damaging the dock and mooring, failure to fulfill cooking lesson contract, failure to talk good old aussie bullshit........
Will let you know next week what the outcome is, but one thing we know for sure is that it will be a great evening.
until next time

The boys will play

2009-01-26T19:48:00.005+08:00

But Cruiser Brian and Pirate Brian went out to play and guess what ?????? they needed the services of something big and grunty to get them out of the sandpit......
No matter where we are Brian usually manages to find 'heavy' equipment. Diggers, concrete mixers, big trucks...these bring a gleam to his eye. Where we go walking we have to pass a huge, and I mean huge yard full of diggers, trucks, front end loaders, etc etc....all second hand from Japan. Every few months this place has an auction and I am thankful that we have a small yacht and not something big enough to take this digger.
Kids and water...no matter what country we have been in our dingy is not only our favourite method of travelling to shore, but it is a magnet to kids.
The weather is still great, the people are till fun and friendly but we are getting itchy feet. Once the part for the auto pilot arrives we shall look at starting to head slowly north. 'What part for the auto pilot' you ask...' oh just the part that allows us to go where we want rather round and round in circles.
Love you all

Photos

2009-01-17T17:03:00.000+08:00

if I can figure the system out this blog will include more than one picture. So here goes.

oops I pushed the wrong button

2009-01-17T16:32:00.000+08:00

now where was I.....oh yes
plus other nationalities. The place is huge and the exterior is painted in corporate colours which happen to be a very vivd blue.
We were the guest of a Polish guy who is overseeing the manufacture/quality of the boats his company is purchasing. We were driven around the factory site and then we had a lovely lunch with senior Korean Personel. After lunch and the obligatory bowing and thank you's Carol was handed a gift of a beautiful wooden mother of pearl inlaid jewellery box.
Subic Bay presents a slightly seedy appearance to us. The USA legacy is interesting to see in the hands of the Philippine. The security guards at the 'gates' which cut Subic Bay of from the rest of the area, the policemen at the traffic lights...who have been known to shoot people who run a red light.....the buildings that were once kept to a high standard are now sporting broken windows, droopy eaves. And then there are the buildings built and being maintained by the new 'invader' the Koreans.
From what we can see if it wasn't for these people and their money this part of the Philippines would be no different fromany other Philippine city.
The marina was built about 15 years ago and maintanence done on a 'oh look something has fallen off, lets think about fixing it' basis it is a sad, dirty, expensive place.
We are really lucky to be tied to Vasco's private dock.

We have met some super people......Christmas day was spent in the Company of many nationalities...French, Norwegian, Australian, English, American, Polish, Korean.
We ate more than our fair share of ham, turkey,fruit salad, salad.
To return the hospitality Brian and I cooked a Roast Beef with yorkshire pudding, roast vegetable, brocolli in cheese sauce, beans dinner for 20 people. I was able to use the restaurant kitchen and with lemon meringue pie or trifle to finish the evening was a great success.
We have been lucky with the new friends we have made....Ben the new comer to sailing who on his first ever trip connected with Typhoon Frank between Hong Kong and the Philippines, and survived....he did need encouragement to disconnect the security lines attatching him to the marina but he is now out there enjoying life,and windsurfing,
Captain Jerry who is in charge of a REALLY BIG SHIP,who has the unusual habit of smoking a pipe when on shore leave,and a fabulous sense of humor,Crafty who owns the biggest supermarket in Borocay and dishes up a great Indian Curry, Bryson a fellow Kiwi who is currently cooling down in NZ while his lovely Lady Emma chaffs at her ropes awaitng his return,Pirate Brian and his wife Rose,Micheal and Jannet, Slawek and Inna and their adorable daughter Alexandra, Chriz,...the list goes on and on

Brian has been busy varnishing and doing general boat maintainance....oops the auto pilot is playing up !!!!! damm ...the bike has a pucture.....bother i can't find clean clothes...... while I have been making a quilt, reading, cooking at Vasco's
Life is good. Take care
Brian and Carol

Staying put in Subic Bay

2009-01-17T16:16:00.000+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL.
No matter what you may all think we are not here for ever, but only until the wind and currents are right for us to head to Taiwan. In the meantime this is a pretty good place to be. We can't give our actual location...but we can give clues.....
1) we are tied up to building that houses a bar and a restaurant.....
2) the owner of the bar is a 'pirate treasure hunter'...now retired

The costs of staying here are many and varied.....we eat here once a day, Carol is intiating the kitchen into the delights of self saucing chocolate pudding, lemon meringue pie, lamingtons etc etc.

Subic Bay area was originally set up as a Pacific Naval Base by the Americans to compliment Clark Air Base. It is a natural harbour about the size of Wellington NZ with much to-ing and fro-ing by tugs as they lead in petrol tankers of varying sizes. The USA closed the base approximately 13years ago, but there is still a fair amount of USA activity.
On the far side of the bay is a Korean owned ship yard.We were fortunate enough to be invited to tour this huge, in fact monstrous, business. There are approx 12000 Philippines employed here, plus other nation

2009-01-05T16:47:00.000+08:00

Philippines

2009-01-03T10:08:00.000+08:00

This is a country of 7107 islands. We have anchored in 98 diffent places and visited 30 different island. We have seen four actual 'cruising' yachts, the number of european women we have met can be counted on one hand. I can not buy fresh coriander, eta peanut butter or marmite.......but we are not complaining...this place is fabulous.

WE HAVE EATEN IN (or at):
5 star restaurants, markets,street stalls,private homes,restaurants over the water,over mangrove swamps,over drains,with expat Europeans,Filipino families.

WE HAVE BEEN IN:
buildings made of coral blocks two metres thick,or made of roofing iron,or bamboo and banana tree leaf or concrete blocks and tiles

WE HAVE SEEN:
churches with the most incredible stained windows, full of treasure- sliver or gold jewellery/tiaras for the statues to wear,clergy vestments embroidered in gold and silver, churches with no walls and only termite eaten benches and a fwe flowers for decorations and churches that are so 'special' that they are fenced in and the gate is locked!!!!!!!!!!

WE HAVE RIDDEN ON (or in):
air conditioned buses, jeepneys, hubal hubal,trycyle,taxis,horse and cart,chauffer driven private cars, diplomatic vehicle, motor bike and of course our own pushbikes.

WE HAVE SEEN:
anchovy drying 'factories',jellyfish processing 'plants', marble factories (with child labour and no safety equipment)rubbish recylcling done by the people scavenging at the dump site,schools over flowing with children, but lacking resources and maintainence.
men in small canoes having to go miles from land trying to find fish in an ocean that has been overfished, outrigger ferrys, licensed to carry 50 people, crammed to the edges with well over that number,oil tankers, barges, tugs,jet skis,rafts,container ships. Actually if it floats...we have seen it!!!
Water buffalo working the rice fields and the people doing the backbreaking planting,
harvested rice spread on tarpulines on the side of the road to dry

WE HAVE SEEN:
giraffes,zebras,wildebeest,tasir,crocodile,boa constrictor, a USA Bald Eagle, Philippine Eagle,Swallows,a few dolphins, mangy dogs, pampered dogs,mangy cats, water buffalo, Asian cows, ducks being herded through the traffic,buttlerflies of assorted colours and sizes,gheko's,emus,turkeys.

WE HAVE PURCHASED:
meat and poultry from upmarket supermarkets, from markets where someone fans the flies away!!!!!!, where yesterdays meat is todays sausages,vegetables that are familiar and those that are not.

WE HAVE BEEN IN:
supermarkets that make the ones at home look old fashioned and dowdy and supermarkets where you can not move because the stock is all over the place..in department stores with as many mezzanine floors as regular floors, in malls the size of small towns, in local markets where the owner is so proud if you chose to buy there produce

WE HAVE BEEN IN:
places where they have night time curfews, where electricity is available only if there is diesel for the generator, and places where lights are left on 24x7.

This is a country of beauty,poverty,riches and friendly people. If you get the chance to come here, grab it with both hands

Philippine Cruising

2008-12-20T10:01:00.000+08:00

Hi one and all,
well here we are still in the Philippines. Amazing isn't it, we were only going to be here for six weeks and when we exit we would of been here for one year........
This is an amazing place to cruise. We expected to meet many other cruisers but no one knows about this place. We met three other cruisers only. WE did meet a few other yachties but they were just hanging around...in fact in one place some of the yachts have not moved from their mooring for NINE years......The first questions from people at home is always 'what about the pirates'. The answer from us is 'what pirates'. We have visited 30 islands ( and there are approx 7000 islands in the Philippines), we have anchored 100 times. We have only met with kindness and smiles. But the fishermen look like we imagine pirates to look. For protection from the weather they wear balaclavs and are covered in clothes from head to foot, only the eyes and their smiles show.
We sleep each night with our yacht open. The biggest concern for us has been the 'typhoons'. Coming from New Zealand we have found that often the weather is no more scary than a decent weather front passing through. We get weather reports via our mobile phone (we do not have internet onboard) each morning and that has been enough to keep us safe.
But we are not stupid about things...............
This is our first attempt at blogging and we hope you will tune in and read as we go. Not having email onboard means that we have to rely on internet cafes as we go, (its a great way to meet the locals) so sometimes there will be gap in our communications. But if you want to join us as we continue to sail around the RIM OF FIRE then read about us here.
Next year we will be in Taiwan, Japan and Korea.d Brian
I have a question.....is anyone interested in our anchorages or shall we just put general news
Carol and Brian