Sailing In Ibaraki In The Rain


On October 2 I had the great pleasure to go sailing in Japan, for the first time. It was a terrific holiday. Ibaraki Prefecture is about two or three hours east from where I live, so I took the train and the bus in spite of the weather reports.

Yup, the forecast was rather gloomy, but peak oil pundit/pacific island blogger, the always brave Pandabonium decided that a bit of rain wasn't going to stop us from having a lot of fun.

P has managed to import to Japan the first Lido class sailing boat, that he named Bluesette, made by W.D. Schock in the US of A; it turned out to be a rather fine little craft (with two sails) and enough space for three adults.

As you can see from the photos, Kurashi (life, living) was having the time of his life. We had the best winds, and the worst rain, but somehow the first day of sailing was just pure fun. Lake Hinuma Yacht Harbor, Ibaraki. Glad I made it back, alive.


The skills you need to sail depend a lot on the boat - and who is in charge. I was lucky to have P at the rudder (why is the darn thing called a tiller in US English?), as he ordered his crew when to "come about" which meant, something like, "pull that string, watch your head, don't panic, hope we don't all fall into the lake - - - anyway, this lake ain't so deep, guys, we can probably walk back..."

One thing that I still don't understand is - directions. Once you turn, everything is w e i r d for a while, until you get your bearings back.

A lake in Japan in heavy rain is rather amazing, with fish jumping and looms ahead, in addition to the challenge: how do we get back to the pier? Thankfully, P had it all worked out. At least he made us feel like he did. A rather rare chance to feel the forces of nature (and they are strong) and an opportunity to learn about myself; how I deal with pressure, with powers that I cannot control, with Joie De Vivre or what we call leva livet in Swedish.

Thanks for a truly wonderful time.

PS There might be a Part 2 if P could only get his cameras organized ;)

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