Scarlette

today on boat

2010-06-28T21:46:00.001-07:00

crew

2010-06-28T19:08:00.001-07:00

First summer sail

2010-06-22T02:39:00.000-07:00

EAST CHINA SEA -- (June 22, 2010) Sailed Scarlette today for the first time this summer. Wind wasn't too bad. Better than I thought it would be. Had a hard time getting the jib (front sail) up need to look into getting some type of silicon for the the sail edge so it goes up easier when I single hand. Well left the GPS on the boat so I'll try to get the image of my crazy sailing up tomorrow.

Scarlette 2010

2010-06-20T21:34:00.001-07:00

GINOWAN MARINA, Japan (June 21, 2010) -- Cap'n J checking e-mail and facebook accounts at the main harbor office at Ginowan Marina, north of Naha, Japan. The marina has free wireless service for marina members.

GINOWAN MARINA, Japan -- (June 21, 2010) Today's project was to remove some of the netting from the stern area. Problem was the tiller handle kept getting stuck in this netting on wide turns. Was going to try sailing today but too windy.

GINOWAN MARINA, Japan -- (June 21, 2010) Lunch aboard Scarlette consisted of curry udon and coffee. Both heated up on board the new portable gas butane range.

GINOWAN MARINA, Japan (June 21, 2010) Cap'n J dons his reading glasses aboard Scarlette to read. Started having blurry close up vision back in January. Age.

Labor Day 2009

2009-09-07T05:10:00.001-07:00

GINOWAN HARBOR, Japan (9/7/2009) -- Kai Johnston lowers the U.S. flag on Scarlette at Ginowan Harbor at the end of Labor Day.

We hung out around the boat and harbor today, just spending some father and son time.

Had a great day.

Sail on Aug. 30, 2009

2009-09-06T03:08:00.000-07:00

Cap'n J (right), Tanaka and Kelly Dolan cruised off the west coast of Okinawa Aug. 30, 2009.

GINOWAN HARBOR, Japan (8/30/2009) A crew of three left this typhoon protected harbor early Sunday morning for a three-hour sail off the west coast of Okinawa.

The sail was uneventful but it was the first time two of the crew had been aboard Scarlette, a 1985 J/24 sailboat.

Tanaka, a neighbor of mine from mainland Japan, takes the tiller during his first sail ever! Whoo hoo! Tanaka doesn't speak English but Cap'n J's pigeon Japanese got him through.

The look forward. We were actually following another sailboat as we cruised past the Chatan.

Kelly Dolan -- a coworker of mine who just arrived on island from mainland (he was at Yokota) -- takes the helm with a full relax smile aboard Scarlette.

Tanaka at the helm with the South China Sea horizon on his back as we headed for home.

2009-09-04T04:01:00.001-07:00

2009-08-21T06:21:00.001-07:00

Scarlette's new home

2009-08-17T02:52:00.001-07:00

Lots o' boats, stillwater & dockside power and water.

Ginowan Harbor Sunset

2009-08-15T18:27:00.001-07:00

Second mate Kai cheeses for the camera as Scarlette heads back into her new port at Ginowan Harbor.
GINOWAN HARBOR, Japan -- (Aug. 15, 2009) Scarlette and a crew of two headed out for a maiden voyage from the 1985 Nissan-made J/24 sailboats new home.

The trip lasted 2 hours 6 minutes and 33 seconds and the crew traveled a distance of 7.8 miles.
"Basically this was an out and back trip," said Cap'n J.

Cap'n J is silhouted by the sunset on the South China Sea as Scarlette returns to her new home port.

"We also stayed aboard Scarlette for a father and son sleepover." While Kai watched a movie on a portable DVD player, Cap'n J, did some internal rearranging of the inside of Scarlette. "We were also waiting for our trailer to be delivered from Kadena Marina to Ginowan Harbor."

Kai stands aboard her new slip at Piling 13 at Ginowan Harbor as the sun sets on the South China Sea.

2009-08-12T01:09:00.001-07:00

Going 2 Ginowan

2009-08-12T01:06:00.001-07:00

Scarlette back in water

2009-08-10T10:21:00.000-07:00

Today boat back in. Out since Apr. 19, 2009. Getting ready for move to Ginowan Harbor. Will check on slip tomorrow then, may move Scarlette to Ginowan on Wednesday.

Typhoon Etau misses Okinawa and Scarlette

2009-08-10T05:44:00.000-07:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan (Aug. 10, 2009) Typhoon Etau is headed toward mainland Japan as of Monday night. The green area to the left of the blue track is Okinawa.

The typhoon's path -- away from Okinawa -- allowed Scarlette to return to her moorage at Kadena harbor.

Typhoon misses Scarlette

2009-08-09T05:20:00.000-07:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan -- (8/8/2009) Typhoon Morokat missed Okinawa and headed straight over Taiwan.

The typhoon caused military bases in Okinawa to go to Typhoon Condition of Readiness 2.

All of the boats at Kadena Marina were pulled out of the water as a precaution.

Scarlette prepares for Typhoon

2009-08-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan (8/7/2009) -- Scarlette was tied down with cargo straps and huge concrete blocks as we waited out a typhoon heading toward Okinawa.

The typhoon slowed down the skipper's efforts to get Scarlette back in the water by Aug. 6, 2009.

2009-08-05T17:28:00.001-07:00

2009-08-04T03:21:00.001-07:00

2009-08-04T03:18:00.001-07:00

Hatch clean & seal

2009-08-04T02:57:00.001-07:00

Boat cushions

2009-08-03T03:58:00.001-07:00

New boat cushions

2009-08-03T03:55:00.001-07:00

Scarlette's new varnished interior

2009-07-22T05:55:00.001-07:00

Hatch Rail Repair

2009-07-22T01:35:00.001-07:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan -- (July 22, 2009) Scarlette's main hatch got an upgrade at this marina on the South China Sea. The rail on the main hatch comes stock as plastic under the one-design concept of a J/24 sailboat.

This plastic however becomes brittle with age (Scarlette is 24 years old) and several times during the sailing season last year, small pieces of this rail would break off when stepped on.

Underneath this rail was lots of sealant. I didn't re-seal it yet, as I'm about to head out on vacation but will have to deconstruct the project and use Sekaflex -- a caulking type sealant -- to seal the hatch area.

The replaced rail is made out of aluminum and therefore won't be prone to breaking like the previous plastic rail. I wish this was my original idea but Delaine Rivenbank manufactured this same project on his J/24 that he's turning into a trimiran.

I even bought the aluminum railing from the same store. While this rail is available for purchase on the Internet it's not available in aluminum. I placed a large piece of red plastic on each rail to help the hatch slide easier along the rail.

I had to saw the end piece off to match the doorway of the hatch a little better.

Pretty proud of this small project. Didn't think I could do it but pulled it off pretty good.

2009-07-17T23:05:00.001-07:00

2009-07-17T22:18:00.001-07:00

2009-07-17T20:57:00.001-07:00

Scarlette's Rudder Gets "Tattoo"

2009-07-17T17:04:00.001-07:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan (July , 2009) -- Scarlette's rudder got a "tattoo" at this seaport on the South China Sea.

The "tat" designed by Cap'n J takes it's concept from the "nose art" of airplanes from World War II. Scarlette's art however is displayed at the back instead of the front of the vessel.

The girl -- a volupious blond with a large posterior -- isn't Asian at all. Wanted Scarlette to remain as unique as posssible and since she'll be flying an American flag under sail, I wanted her to look more "American" than Asian.

I also added two coats of varnish over her to ensure water wouldn't wash away the sticker I printed on my computer.

The inspiration for Scarlette's name is Scarlet O'Hara from the book "Gone With the Wind." I contemplated adding a confederate flag to this logo but was a little afraid it'd be taken the wrong way.

If I can find one, I will be purchasing a confederate flag 12" x 18" to fly while underway on the new mast halyards I created before raising the mast.

Mast goes up on Scarlette

2009-07-15T01:19:00.001-07:00

Scarlette gets crucifix

2009-07-13T03:33:00.001-07:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan (7/13/2009) -- Built a crucifix to help make stepping Scarlete's mast a little bit safer. However, winds from a dying tropical storm near the Phillippines are preventing the mast to be raised as conditions are not as safe to raise the 30 foot, 2 inch mast at this marina about a mile north of Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.

Skull 'n' Crossbones tops Scarlette's Mast

2009-07-12T02:08:00.001-07:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan (7/11/2009) -- A Skull 'n' Crossbones sticker now rides the top of Scarlette's mast as the ship prepares to return to the waters of the South China Sea.

"I was orginally looking for a U.S. flag sticker to permanently ride the "crow's nest" of Scarlette," said Cap'n J. "But when I saw this sticker at a local store with Kai, I could just couldn't resist."

Upon seeing photos of the new addition, Cap'n J's sea widow, Tomoe remarked. "Well if the boat sinks they'll be able to identify it along with your arm."

Cap'n J has a similar tatoo on his arm.

A riveting story

2009-07-09T23:52:00.001-07:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan -- (7/10/09) -- The consolidated steaming and deck light was installed today using rivets.

This was the first time I'd ever used a rivet gun. But, I'm sure it won't be the last.

The top light will be turned on at night when I'm using the engine according to Maritime rules. Previously, Scarlette had no such light.

The bottom light -- not required to have -- was something I wanted to add to ensure people could see at night.

I've added the light statics photos so I don't have to climb up or step-down the mast again to remember what amps was what, etc.

Mast Project

2009-07-09T06:26:00.001-07:00

Spreader fix

2009-06-27T22:49:00.001-07:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan -- (6/27/09) Delaine Rivenbank donated two spreader parts for Scarlette's mast to help quicken the mast project. Last week when the mast was lowered, one of the spreaders -- the piece that holds the standing rigging off from the mast.

"I was just about to throw those away," said Rivenbank. Not only did Rivenbank donate the parts he also helped grind off the broken piece and rivet the new piece to the mast.

2009-06-27T22:47:00.001-07:00

2009-06-27T22:46:00.001-07:00

2009-06-27T22:45:00.001-07:00

Summer Maintenance begins

2009-06-15T03:35:00.001-07:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan -- (6/15/2009) --Rainy season is changing plans for Scarlette slightly. On rainy days will work on inside & rainless days will scrape/paint bottom.

Going to try to get the boat back into the water as quick as possible this year so I can get as much sailing in as I can get.

Scarlette weathers storm

2009-04-06T01:54:00.001-07:00

TOKASHIKI ISLAND, Japan (April 6, 2009) -- Scarlette's rainsoaked crew weathered 10-foot waves -- while the Japanese Coast Guard searched for the beleaguered father and son crew with two ships and two airplanes -- during a return trip to Okinawa that lasted nearly 11 hours.

The return trip included a host of problems that included:
-- a break in Scarlette's rig after heavy winds ripped out the traveler from the port side of the cockpit;
-- running out of gas twice;
-- dead running lights;
-- GPS battery failure;
-- Cellphone battery failure;
-- an out-of-reach VHF radio;
-- breaching humpback whales.

"We definitely were happy to dock Scarlette," said a worn-out Cap'n J after the mammoth journey. "For most of the day we had severly light winds as we shoved off from the dock at Tokashiki Island at 11 a.m. and attempted to sail to our homeport at Kadena Marina."

Around 3 p.m., former "Mental Floss" owner and fellow sailor Delaine Rivenbank, called Cap'n J with a weather warning. "You better put a reef in the sail Adam and break out your storm sail," said Rivenbank. "There's a storm headed your way. Where you at?"

"Just south of Chi Bishi," said Cap'n J.

As the winds started to pick up, Cap'n J was glad to finally get some wind in Scarlette's sails, but could see the dark clouds looming on the northern horizon.

Storm coming, Cap'n J failed to head Rivenbank's warning.

At 3:50 p.m. Rivenbank called to check on Scarlette's progress as she was approaching Chi Bishi -- a small reef area about half way to the Keramas from Okinawa -- that lays home to a shipwreck and at times strong currents.

Nine minutes after that call, the skies opened up and rain started dropping in buckets.

With seasick Second Mate Kai laying against the starboard side nets, the rain started to fall. "Kai you need to get inside the cabin," said Cap'n J. "But I'll get even more sick," complained Kai. "If you stay out here you're going to get soaked."

Then came the 20 knot winds and 10-foot waves.

As Scarlette's skipper wrestled with the ship, the sails went crazy, and he lost control of Scarlette during one of several 180 degree wind whips. "My main concern was to stay off the reef at Chi Bishi," said Cap'n J.

"I kept looking at my GPS screen and could see us drifting closer and closer to the area where a barge had shipwrecked on the shallow reef there. It was a struggle to keep us off that reef and the wind and current kept pushing us toward that reef," he said.

First thing Cap'n J did was drop the sails while steering the boat with his foot.

"I dropped the main sail and sheeted it down, but the wind was strong. As I moved forward Scarlette was healing pretty steep but I had to get the jib sail (front sail) down so I could regain control of the ship," he said. "I was tethered to the ship -- like Kai -- so I wasn't that afraid of getting knocked off. Paying for the extra safety feature was great for piece of mind," he said.

"I could remember telling myself, 'stay calm, you're the one that's going to get us out of this -- you and only you," he said. "After I got the jib sail down, I told Kai to hand me the sail ties so I could tie down the sails," said Cap'n J.

Despite being sick and already throwing up, Kai was able to muster the strength and hand the sail ties up to the skipper like an expert crewman. "Kai was pretty brave for a 7-year-old," said Cap'n J.

After getting the sails tied down, Cap'n J dropped the 5hp Yamaha engine into the water, cranked it up and headed toward the wind trying to keep Scarlette from getting knocked down (tipped over) by the waves.

As Cap'n J regained control of the ship, he pointed the bow north toward the wind and started riding over the waves.

As the bow started slamming down after each wave the stern would lift out of the water and the propeller would scream through the air without the restraint of ocean water. Hearing this ghastly sound, a scared Kai started repeatedly yelling, "Daddy, it's time to call the Coast Guard."

"No, not yet," said Cap'n J. "The worst part is almost over," he said trying to reassure his scared shipmate.

For nearly an hour, Cap'n J battled the waves and current as he kept drifting toward the reef.

"Finally I started "winning" and we were pulling away from the reef, then the traveler pulled out and the boom swung out all the way to the end not in the main sheet," said Cap'n J. "I looked up at the boom and the first thing on my mind was to get that pulled back in before it became a deadly catapult," he said.

Trying to jury rig the traveler as he pulled in the boom, Cap'n J couldn't fix it. With the rig broke, Scarlette started to redrift back toward the reef. "At this point I was a little scared," said Cap'n J. "But I didn't want to show how scared I was to Kai because he was depending on me and I thought if I sound panicky he's going to tell and really get scared."

Several times, Kai yelled "Daddy, are you out there?" after hearing water splash, the bow smack the backside of the wave as he climbed over or the engine scream. "I knew Kai was terrified and I didn't want to make it worse so I kept telling him, "We're almost through it, Kai."

"Frankly, I didn't know how long it was going to last," said Cap'n J. "But he's my kid and I remember telling him, "Don't worry. Stay calm and don't panic. Daddy won't let anything happen to you."

After nearly two hours, Scarlette finally got through the storm. As the seas calmed to about six to eight foot, we ran out of gas.

"Uggh!" said Cap'n J. "You've got to be $#!$ kidding me!" As he sat on his knees in the cockpit of Scarlette he started thinking. "Now what are you going to do." Last summer, Cap'n J had bought a new engine but the gas tanks didn't match and the hoses couldn't be interchanged.

Reaching into the portside laserette, Cap'n J pulled out the spare gas tank and the active tank and poured half of the spare into the active. "Gas was everywhere," he said. "I totally doused myself. The cockpit got really slick but I was able to get both tanks stored and crank up the engine after several pulls between swells."

Chugging toward Okinawa at a slow speed of about 3 mph dusk was approaching. "Right around dusk, I was looking to see if I could see land when I noticed the wake from a black object. At first I though it was a huge speed boat headed our way," said Cap'n J. "Then I saw the flippers follow through."

Whales.

I said to myself, "you're shitting me."

Humpback whales on their way from the Antartic travel near Okinawa on their annual migratory path. Tokashiki even hosts tours that get close to the whales. Here's the link: http://www.vill.tokashiki.okinawa.jp/en/photo_g/gy_1/gy_1_004.htm

I wasn't on a whale tour and Scarlette was apparently near this migratory path. "I was both amazed at the beauty of the whales breeching about 150 yards of the portside-bow and called up Kai to get a glimpse," said Cap'n J. "But while I watched the huge humpback whale breech, I was also thinking, I hope one of them $%$!#% don't jump out of the water and land on us."

Scanning the now darkening horizon, I kept looking to see if any whales were closer to us. I didn't. I was hoping these whales had heard enough boat engines to recognize us. We were headed right toward these whales and I didn't know which way I should turn.

About 20 minutes later, I saw one whale breech about 60 yards behind us and hoped that we had made it through and the whales were behind us.

About 30 minutes later, the GPS battery went dead.

Without land in sight, Cap'n J yelled down to an unresponsive Kai. "I pulled on his tether several times, I knew he was sick but now he was not answering me, I really started to get worried about him."

Then he woke up.

He was asleep.

I asked him to hand me the cell phone so I could call Tomoe. As he placed the cell phone on the deck, Scarlette healed and the phone went sliding across the deck toward the starboard rail. "I quickly grabbed the phone as he almost went over the side," said Cap'n J. "Whew! That was close. As I flipped the phone open, the screen was black meaning it either got wet or the battery was dead."

Later I found out that the battery had died.

I asked Kai to flip on the running lights as it was now dark and the lights failed to come on. "Flip every switch," I said thinking seasick Kai had flipped the wrong switch. "Flip it again," I said. No lights.

Without running lights, larger ships would be unable to see us. "So, I told Kai to hand me up a large flashlight I would use as an emergency signalling device," said Cap'n J.

I tied the light to the mast in case it slipped out of my hand. With the tiller (steering wheel) in one hand and the flashlight in the other I pointed Scarlette toward the lights I could now see on the horizon.

The waves were still pretty big and every five minutes or so, I get a bigger swell, but I kept the ship pointed toward the lights and was looking for the two huge towers of the Okinawa Electric Company.

Finding them, I kept them in sight.

Then the engine died, again.

"Daddy, are you out there?" said Kai. "Yes, I said shining the flashlight into the mirror inside the cabin where he could see my face by looking back in the mirror."

To cut down on the fuel spillage this time, I took an empty water bottle and had Kai hand me a knife to cut the bottom off so I could use it as a temporary funnel. "That cut the gas spill down, big time. I didn't get soaked with gas this time."

After pulling on the engine for 10 minutes, it wouldn't start.

I cussed, I spit and was about to call for help. When I gave it one more try, it fired up. Worried about running out of fuel again, I kept us going at a slow pace toward the lights and Ginowan Marina.

"Are we almost there?" asked Kai. "Yep, almost there." I lied. "I had no clue how long it was going to take and if we were going to make it to the alternate marina."

After another hour and a half, I spotted the buoys for Ginowan Marina my alternate weather port. "I was scared another ship might hit us, I'd run into one of the unlighted buoys or we'd run aground on a shallow reef near the marina," said Cap'n J. "I had never entered this marina -- day or night -- and fortunately we just got lucky...no reef, no ships and no buoys."

It was 10 p.m.

After getting Scarlette docked, I woke Kai up nearly slipped on his vomit on the floor of Scarlette. With my life jacket and harness still on we found our way out of the marina, crossed the street toward a grocery store to find a pay phone to call Tomoe.

No pay phone could be found. "Nowdays almost everyone has a cell phone in Japan, so they've been quietly getting rid of all the public pay phones, because people just don't use them anymore," he said.

We talked to a store clerk and she told us there might be a pay phone at a convenience store around the corner. We quickly walked there, found a phone and called Tomoe.

"After nearly screaming, Tomoe broke down crying out of happiness to know we were OK. "The coast guard has been looking for you guys."

"What?" I said.

"I'll be home in about 20 minutes," I said. "We grabbed a taxi and when we stepped out in front of our house, Tomoe again broke down in tears."

I wasn't real proud of that moment for putting her through that. But I never intended to do that and I was damn glad to see her again.

While riding back in the taxi, Tomoe had called Delaine who had had his sons searching the horizon with a telescope at Kadena Marina for our ship lights and the Japanese Coast Guard to tell them that we had called and that we were safe.

The Japanese Coast Guard called off it's search. But asked us to stop by their office at 9 a.m. sharp the following morning to file our report.

"This was one of the most thrilling adventures, I'd ever been on," said Cap'n J. With a smile, Tomoe asked me, "So, when are you going to sell that boat?"

I quickly responded, "So I can get a bigger boat?"

Scarlette's crew tours Tokashiki Island

2009-04-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

TOKASHIKI ISLAND, Japan (April 5, 2009) -- The well-rested crew of Scarlette took a taxi to the southwest end of this island Sunday morning in a tour that included panoramic vistas, snorkeling and beachcombing on this island 25 miles off the coast of Okinawa.

Second Mate Kai had wanted to go snorkeling in the Keramas -- one of the premier spots in the world to do just that -- and he saw several fish but mostly held his dad's hand in the cool aquamarine waters of Tokashiki's Arahen Beach.

Scarlette -- the only sailboat in Tokashiki Harbor that day -- can be seen against the concrete dock just to the left of an island named Gusuku Shima.

The day started out with a quick preparation of Scarlette -- a 1985 J/24 sailboat -- so the launch of the ship on its return to the main island of Okinawa would go a little faster. "I knew we would have some rain in the afternoon on our return trip, and Kai had been wanting to go snorkeling so I told him, we could go as long as he was OK with the fact that we'd probably get rained on going home," said Cap'n J.

The morning sun fools my cellphone camera and acts like an eclipse (it wasn't) during the morning check of the boat in Tokashiki harbor. The island in the background is Gusuku Shima. Shima or Jima means island in Japanese. And depending on the first words ending vowel you use either shima or jima. As in Iwo Jima.

Second Mate Kai chose snorkeling. After prepping the boat -- removing all the canvas covers and pre-setting the jib (front-sail) -- we rode scooters around the harbor area to shoot photos and have some fun. "When we arrived at Tokashiki we took a different route to the Japanese inn where we passed several dogs," said Cap'n J. "We avoided these dogs at night in case one of them started chasing us and we did the same during our morning check."

"Let's avoid the dogs again, Daddy," said Kai as he raced ahead on his scooter. The crew scootered around the harbor andCap'n J shot pictures of Kai near the harbor reception area, a bus with Tokashiki Island on it and a colorful wall with fish painted on it. Second Mate Kai rides his Razor scooter along the dock at Tokashiki Harbor. The building in the back in the main harbor office and is where the ferry from the mainland stops and drops off and picks up passengers. Right behind Kai you can get a small hint at how aquamarine the water is in the Keramas.
Second Mate Kai stands next to a bus with Tokashiki Island on it during our morning scooter ride around the harbor.

Second Mate Kai stands next to some artwork along a wall at Tokashiki harbor.

Tiring of the photos, Kai said, "Race you back to the hotel!" and off he went passed the only stop light on the island and up a small hill toward the minshiku.

At breakfast the owner once again did not let Scarlette's crew down. "She practically cooked us a full English breakfast," said Cap'n J. "Eggs, toast, sausages, it was unbelievable that we were getting essentially an American breakfast in a traditional Japanese Inn," he said.

"For those that have never stayed in such a place this probably seems like no big deal, but for those who have stayed in a minshiku may agree that this is virtually unheard of," Cap'n J said. "Usually it's 'shutup and eat your breakfast fish' in a normal minshiku," he said with a laugh.

Second Mate Kai digs into the breakfast buffet which included a full American style breakfast virtually unheard of at most traditional Japanese inns. The counter -- one like you'd find in an old dime store -- was filled with shells assumed found throughout the Keramas.
Eggs sunny side up, sausage and hash browns? This breakfast was our savior and very unusual to eat at a traditional Japanese inn. The white box in front of Second Mate Kai is nato. Nato is fermented beans. My kids and wife love that for breakfast. I can't stand it.

After breakast, the minshiku owner even allowed the crew to make sandwiches from the breakfast buffet for lunch for the return trip home. "This Japanese Inn was awesome, a little old inside, but you kind of expect that. What made our stay was the owner who always had a smile and did an awesome job of making our stay at her place as enjoyable as possible," said Cap'n J.

While the crew changed into swimgear, the inn's owner called a taxi. The taxi driver was totally island friendly.

On the way to the other side of the island she explained that we could not leave any bags on the beach because the crows -- yes crows -- would carry the stuff away. "No matter how big the bag, they'll be able to carry it away -- so don't leave your wallet or cell phone in the bag because it might get carried away," she said in Japanese. "At first it took me a little while to understand, but then Kai helped out with translation," said Cap'n J. "I gave my wallet to her for safe keeping and she dropped us off at Arahen Beach," said Cap'n J.

Japan has a low crime rate.

Second Mate Kai and Cap'n J pose for a photo over a harbor on the west side of Tokashiki Island. You can get a glimpse at how aquamarine the water is in the bay in this photo. The scenery looks like a photo backdrop but is actually the real deal. Simply beautiful and one of the reasons why I wanted to show Kai what the Keramas looked like.

Before leaving the taxi driver told us which stores around the beach that were more expensive and which ones were cheaper. She also left a card with her cellphone number on it and saying call me when you're ready to go back.Second Mate Kai poses all decked out and ready to snorkel at Tokashiki Island's Arahen Beach. Sand was pretty tan and the water was aquamarine but cold. Kai was pretty happy with his own wet suit and snorkel gear. Hanare Shima is the island in the background and would be a great place to paddle out to on a sea kayak.

At Arahen Beach, Kai snorkeled and held Cap'n J's hand while he skimmed the surface of the aquamarine but cold waters. Then the crew of Scarlette did a little beachcombing that included checking out another harbor for future trips.

Second Mate Kai tries his hand at rock climbing on Aharen Beach in the Keramas.

Second Mate Kai stands underneath a natural rock bridge among the rock formations on Aharen Beach in the Keramas.

Cap'n J successfully hides his gut among the rock formations on Aharen Beach on the west side of Tokashiki Island during a beachcombing session.

Second Mate Kai does his best Travolta move on the natural dance floor of rocks at Arahen Beach on the southwest side of Tokashiki Island. The beach had a mixture of areas: all rock, half rock and half sand and all sand.

Although we told our happy go lucky taxi driver to come back and pick us up in an hour, she didn't. When the crew called her she said she was on another call and would comeback as soon as she was done. The crew had brought their scooters for touring on the cheap and we found a Japanese sailor who spoke English and had a bought. Our introduction to this gentleman was his funny sign, "Danger Men Drinking."

An unknown sailor who owns a sailboat on Okinawa was friendly and amazingly spoke English. In the tent was a Canadian girl who spoke English too.

The taxi driver pulled up shortly after our meeting -- she was an hour late -- but it's an island what're you going to do. My approach was the same to the hefty fee -- about 1,500 yen (about $20) one-way -- it's an island and the folks who live here have to make a living through tourism, so of course the taxi ride is a little more expensive.

Getting in she handed me my wallet -- nothing missing from it -- and we headed back to the inn for a quick shower, gear gathering and to shove off from the dock.

Got our showers, made it to the boat at about 11 a.m. about an hour after I originally wanted to leave. The skies were sunny, the wind was low and as Scarlette headed out of port, her crew was totally unaware of the adventure they were about to experience.

(To be continued in Part 3)

PREVIEW: Part 3 includes Scarlette running out of gas twice, whales breeching off the bow, 6 to 8 foot waves that looked more like 10 foot, Kai tossing his cookies several times and yelling call the Coast Guard and his mother calling the coast guard -- who responded with two planes and two ships -- to search for Scarlette during her return trip that lasted nearly 12 hours. The storm free trip to Tokashiki was half of that time -- 6 hours.

Scarlette travels to Tokashiki Island

2009-04-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

PHOTO: An overview photograph of the Kerama Islands, a subtropical mix of 22 islands southwest of Okinawa's capital city of Naha.

TOKASHIKI ISLAND, Japan -- (April 5, 2009) Scarlette, a 1985 J/24 sailboat, and a crew of two cast off lines from her homeport to travel for an overnight trip to the Kerama Islands about 25 miles off the Southwest coast of Okinawa.

Cap'n J and second mate Kai got a late start from the marina after a pre-travel checklist found a fuse blown for the VHF radio.

Although both crew were at the marina at 7 a.m. the boat didn't cast all lines and launch until 9:55 a.m.

"This was our first long overnight trip and I wanted to make sure we had everything we were going to need," said Cap'n J.

PHOTO: Kai takes the helm of Scarlette outside Kadena Marina while Cap'n J raises the sails as the crews' journey begins to the Kerama Islands.

"I had recharged the batteries for Scarlette and when I installed them I blew a fuse on the VHF radio while trouble shooting a problem with the bilge pump. So our trip was delayed nearly two hours," he said.

The Kerama Islands consist of 22 islands -- eighteen of which are uninhabited -- off the southwest coast of Okinawa.

Of the islands that are inhabited are: Aka Island, Geruma Island, Zamami Island and Tokashiki Island.

Tokashiki -- Scarlette's destination -- is the closest inhabited island to Okinawa. "I thought the trip would take about six hours," said Cap'n J.

"We wound up having a good wind on the way and sailed nearly on the same tack all the way there," he said.
ART: An overview from the GPS system on Scarlette shows the route that took her crew about six hours to travel the nearly 35 miles to the island of Tokashiki in the South China Sea.

Reports from Kadena Weather included mostly cloudy skies with 10 knot winds from the south east with a high temperature of 70 degrees farenheit (21 degrees Celsius) and a low temperature of 54 degrees farenheit (12 degrees Celsius).

The closest weather buoy to Tokashiki (at 26 degrees North and 127.5 degrees South) had a morning forecast of light and variable winds with smooth seas and small short period wind waves, according to Buoyweather.com. The morning winds were to be East South East from 5 to 7 knots and the seas were 2 feet at 5 seconds. The afternoon forecast from the same buoy was the same except that the winds were to change and come from a South East direction.

"Once we got into the Keramas we had to manuever Scarlette around a little to take advantage of the lighter winds," said Cap'n J.

With land in sight -- but without a landing by Scarlette -- her crew was getting anxious to try their sea legs on terra firma. But with about two hours to go, Cap'n J turned to a tried a true distraction: deep sea fishing.

PHOTO: Second Mate Kai tries to reel in a big one off the starboard stern of Scarlette while "deep sea" fishing in the Keramas.

Besides snorkeling, Second mate Kai also wanted to try his hand at fishing, so we broke out one of the two fishing poles we brought along just for that. "While I sailed and loaded the hook with small shrimp bait, Kai stood off the starboard side of Scarlette to fish," said Cap'n J.

As the bait kept slipping off, Kai's interest in "deep sea" fishing quickly followed.

Then he said it.

"Daddy, can you turn on the engine?"

Uggh.

"These words are almost heresy to the sailing purist," said Cap'n J. "It's taking forever," said Kai.

And added, "Are we there yet?"

Travel by car -- kids ask, "Are we there yet?"

Travel by sailboat -- kids ask, "Are we there yet?"

I think kids come with this saying automatically, just like a doll that has a pull string on its' back. "Hi, my name is Barfie!"

PHOTO: Are we there yet? Secondmate Kai smiles as we sight land. Unfortunately this landmass -- Hate Shima (pronounced ha-tay she-ma) -- is one of the 18 uninhabited islands in the Keramas.

The feerless Captain belayed the landlubbers request with a "We need to save gas in case we need it later." These words unfortunately were pretty prophetic for our return trip from Tokashiki.

Sadly for Cap'n J the fishing pole trick onlyh works one time. Especially if the fish ain't bitin'. "Wanna read a book?" Cap'n J asked his crew. "I brought two Magic Tree house books," the cap'n tried to say enthusiastically.

Nah.

"How about some crayons?" I brought those too -- a tip in an article I read in a sailing magazine about having kids on board.

Dear Sailing Magazine Editor,

Those tips about bringing stuff for the kids aboard the boat were nice, but uhhm, they don't work.

Signed,

Cap'n "Up the creek without a paddle"

P.S. Anyway one of your writers could do up an article on how to get crayons out of your bilge pump?

As the sun started to hang low in the sky, a somewhat defeated Cap'n J heard the final "Are we there yet?" and dropped the engine and cranked up the engine after rounding a small island that marks the right side of the Tokashiki Harbor entrance.

"We made landfall about six hours after we launched from Kadena some 35 odd miles away.

After securing the boat and hoisting the gear to the concrete dock, the crew headed to the Japanese Inn we had the firstmate -- who skipped this trip -- call to make us a reservation. They weren't busy as the firstmate reported via cell phone that, "You're the only customers they have to night."

The crew got to the minshiku and dropped its bags off. The owner showed us the shower facilities on the first floor and then showed us to our room. A western-style bed. In fact two western-style beds.
We then asked what time dinner was she said, "7 p.m." in Japanese. We asked what time breakfast would be, "7:30 to 8 a.m." she replied in Japanese. "Where's a store?" "Around the corner," she replied in Japanese.
The crew then headed to the store. The skipper bought a beer "Orion Southern Star" and Kai got a "Coke Zero" then asked to get a jet plane. He had been patient on the trip over, so I caved in.

PHOTO: Second Mate Kai stands outside of Muramoto, a Japanese Inn near Tokashiki Harbor, where the crew of Scarlette spent the night. One night stay which included dinner and breakfast cost 5,250 yen (about $58) per person. The owner was extremely friendly and I'd recommend the place to anyone wanting to visit Tokashiki.

Back at the minshiku, we grabbed a shower then headed to dinner. Dinner was spectacular. She fixed fried chicken and spaghetti, especially for us.

PHOTO: Second Mate Kai stands next to the owner of Muramoto, a Japanese traditional inn, and the night's buffet table. The front plate contains shashimi -- raw fish and cucumbers -- the plate on the right contains fried chicken and sausage and on the left is a big bowl of spaghetti sauce. Muramoto's owner really tried to make our stay enjoyable and talked to my wife several times over the telephone before our arrival. She was concerned that we'd like the food. At other Japanese Inns I've stayed at it's mostly "Shut up and eat your breakfast fish" but at Muramoto the owner gets 5-star marks for trying to please her customers. She also had us stay in the only room that had a traditional Western bed. All other rooms had futons.

PHOTO: Second Mate Kai digs into the Sashimi -- raw fish -- with a plate of spaghetti on stand by. Muramoto's owner even broke out the Tabasco Sauce to add for taste to the spaghetti she cooked up for us. My favorite was the Sashimi dipped in a healthy dose of wasabi -- Japanese horseradish -- and lots of soy sauce. The fried chicken she cooked up was as good as anything from the South. She even had sausages -- something I can eat for any meal. This minshiku -- Japanese traditional inn -- is definitely a recommended spot.

At 9 p.m., we checked the boat to see how much low tide would affect the ropes we tied Scarlette to the concrete dock with. Boat was OK.

We headed back to hotel. I fell asleep, while Kai watched "Narnia" on TV in Japanese.

Like the war in Narnia, the winds of World War II placed the Keramas and its inhabitants in a precarious situation. According to the Okinawa Times, the islands were one of the first landing places of U.S. military forces during the Battle of Okinawa. The Times has reported that U.S. Forces landed on Aka Island on March 26, 1945, and went on to take Yakabi Island, Zamami Island, Geruma Island and Tokashiki Island.

About 560 residents of Tokashiki, according to the Okinawa Times, committed suicide by order of the Japanese troops stationed in the Keramas to avoid capture by the Americans. Some newspapers have reported that the real reason why the Japanese Imperial Army did this was so that local residents wouldn't give up intelligence to the Americans. The people of Tokashiki have weathered a lot over the years.

Scarlette to sail to another island Saturday

2009-04-03T06:10:00.000-07:00

URASOE CITY, Japan -- (Apr. 3, 2009) Scarlette, a 1985 J/24 sailboat, will set sail for Tokashiki Island Saturday in the first long trip of it's kind for it's skipper and second mate.

Cap'n J and Second Mate Kai will travel across 25 miles of open seas to reach the island south west of the main island of Okinawa.

"I've been looking forward for this trip for a long time. The weather window is right so we'll head back on Sunday," said Cap'n J. Scarlette's crew will either stay on the boat or rent a small Japanese Inn on the island.

"We'll try to post some pictures as we travel via my cell phone," said Cap'n J. "Got to get to bed, because it's an early morning."

Potential Race Crew sails Scarlette

2009-02-22T03:44:00.000-08:00

SOUTH CHINA SEA (Feb. 22, 2009) -- Scarlette's potential future race crew traveled a total of 13 miles Sunday as it and the boat headed the furthest south from its mooring since the 1985 J/24 sailboat was bought by her owner last May.

"We were down almost as far as Ginowan Harbor before we headed back to Kadena Marina," said Cap'n J. "We made awesome time, had overcast skies and absolutely no rain."

Deckhands Kenny Yergler and Eli Hyman joined Cap'n J aboard Scarlette for the 2 hour and 40 minute jaunt along the west coast of Okinawa with an average speed of 5 mph.

"I like the way this crew is starting to mesh," said Cap'n J. "It's a sailboat not a cruise ship so there's always something to do except sit on your butt and Kenny and Eli are always willing to do their part as crew while sailing Scarlette," he said.

The personalities of this crew also seem to be jelling well. "Eli seems to have the most experience of the three of us and Kenny is always willing to do his part and has a great laid back attitude," said Cap'n J. "Getting a crew that knows what it's doing and that can weather any personalities differences is not easy," he said. "Hopefully, we've found the right mix."

The crew left Kadena Marine at about 6:45 a.m. Sunday and arrived back dockside at 9:30 a.m.

"It didn't take us very much time to pack up the boat, which again makes sailing with these two fun, because they know what to do and start doing it without being asked," said Cap'n J.

All of the crew took a turn at the helm during Sunday's sail to get a better feel for Scarlette.

"I also finally had an opportunity to cut the mainsheet so it isn't so long," said Cap'n J.

"The next phase for Scarlette will be to start sprucing up the trailer for the Spring refit," said Cap'n J.

The above is our trip from Scarlette's GPS system.

NOTE: Adjust the volume in the video! It's automatically too loud. Notice the heal in Scarlette as Cap'n J puts Scarlette through the paces. He backs off the wind a little so videographer Kenny Yergler doesn't get thrown around too much. Eli Hyman's hands hold the jib sheet.

NOTE: Adjust the volume in the video! It's automatically too loud. Notice the heal in Scarlette as Cap'n J puts Scarlette through the paces. He backs off the wind a little so videographer Kenny Yergler doesn't get thrown around too much. Eli Hyman's hands hold the jib sheet.

Scarlette's future racing crew to sail

2009-02-21T04:21:00.001-08:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan (Feb. 21, 2009) -- The future race crew of Scarlette will set out on its maiden voyage Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009 according to the skipper of this 1985 J/24 sailboat.

"Aboard will be deckhands Kenny Yergler and Eli Hyman for a Sunday sail that may be one of the most exciting yet," said Cap'n J Saturday. "I've set a show time of 6 a.m. with a launch time of 6:30 a.m." Sunrise will be at 6:58 a.m. Moonrise is at 5:05 a.m.

High tide at Kadena Marina will be at 6:43 a.m. and the morning's low tide will be at 12:21 p.m.

The crew is scheduled to return at 9:30 a.m.

According to Kadena weather Winds Sunday will be 12 knots with gusts up to 18 knots. Partly cloudy skies with a low of 57 degrees farenheit and a high of 70 degrees farenheit.

According to Buoy weather, the crew will have conditions that are very windy with large choppy seas. Small short period wind waves.Winds: S 20 to 27 knots Seas: SE 5 feet at 4 sec.

Second Single-handed Trip

2009-02-16T05:24:00.000-08:00

KADENA MARINA (Feb. 16, 2009) -- Celebrated President's Day with a single-hand trip down to the Sunabe Sea Wall and back. The trip took a total of 2 hours and twenty-two minutes.

I traveled 8.9 miles in the trip. My average speed was 4 mph.

I did a radio check before heading out and Kadena Marina confirmed. However, on the return leg I dropped both sails at the same time. Or at least tried to and the ship spun a couple of times. Someone at the marina saw this and thought I was in trouble.

I wasn't.

But it didn't help that I didn't answer their radio calls.

Got to remember to turn up the radio full blast when I'm by myself.

I did figure out how to import the GPS maps from my navigation system into the ship's log.

So there will be more additions to this blog.

I didn't take any photos of myself this time. I don't know why, maybe it's becoming more routine to me and less of an event.

First Sunday Sail in 2009

2009-02-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

Eli Hyman, deckhand, sits on the port side of Scarlette as the sun rises over Okinawa.

KADENA MARINA, Japan -- (Feb. 8, 2009) Scarlette's first Sunday sail of 2009 ended with a thrilling ride in after the day started out with seas similar to a bath tub.

On hand during this sail was Eli Hyman, deck hand (and former Hunter 28 owner) and Cap'n J.

Cap'n J arrived at the marina at 5:20 a.m. to get gas for Scarlette's engine and noticed that he had left the VHF radio on overnight after a quick out and back in sail with a neighbor on Saturday afternoon.

After filling up on base where gas is now a somewhat reasonable $1.81 a gallon, he headed back to the marina to find Eli waiting at the marina gate.

Despite acknowledging that it had been more than a year since he'd been on the water. Eli fit in well with Scarlette and made excellent crew aboard this 1985 J/24 sailboat.

At first the seas, were very glassy and Scarlette's crew was a little concerned that they'd get no wind or light winds all morning but that changed at around 8:30 a.m. after tooling around for nearly two hours on either engine power or virtually no wind at all.

But after heading toward storm clouds, Scarlette's voyage dramatically changed as Eli got a chance to stick Scarlette's port-side rail into the water as we headed north. Our original heading was south.

After giving Eli a chance to get comfortable with Scarlette, Cap'n J took the helm. Eli offered to take some photos which was greatly appreciated as I have few photos of me at the helm of my own boat.

Three hours after our 6:30 a.m. launch we pulled into Kadena marina and the crew departed around 10 a.m.

Pictures and a video of Cap'n J at the helm of Scarlette are below this posting.
Trip started at 6:30 a.m.
Finished at 9:30 a.m.

We traveled 10.4 miles. Overal average speed for the trip was 4 mph.

From 6:30 to 8 a.m. the trip's average speed was 2 mph.

From 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. the trip's average speed was 5 mph.

2009-02-07T17:37:00.001-08:00

TURN YOUR VOLUME DOWN -- Video of Feb. 8, 2009 sail

2009-02-07T17:32:00.001-08:00

NOTE: Please turn your volume down as the wind in the video created from the sails of Scarlette is pretty loud. I'm going pretty fast so the wind sound makes it sound even faster.

SOUTH CHINA SEA -- Cap'n J puts Scarlette through the motions during a sail Sunday. Notice the heal (the way the boat is leaning) on Scarlette as she typically heals like this or a little more. "That's all part of the fun," said Cap'n J. "Especially when the toe rails on the side dip in the water and you ask yourself is this going to tip over?" Unfortunately this is the best quality for this video from my cell phone and the noise is the wind created by the sails.

Scarlette to make first passage in 2009

2009-02-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

KADENA MARINA (Feb. 7, 2009) Scarlette, a 1985 J/24 sailboat, will sail early Sunday morning with a scheduled crew of two on it's first voyage of 2009, Scarlette's skipper said Saturday. "The weather looks good for a sail and I'm ready to get her out on the water," said Scarlette's skipper, Cap'n J.

The crew scheduled for this trip will be deckand Eli Hyman, a former owner of a Hunter 28, and Cap'n J. "I haven't been on the water in a year!" said Hyman in an e-mail Feb. 3. The last time Scarlette surfed the South China Sea was on Dec. 24, 2008. "I've been putting on nets along the lifelines and it's been not very fair weather," said Cap'n J about the reasons why it's taken more than a month to get Scarlette out on the seas.

According to the WWW Tide and Current Predictor, high tide will be at 6:18 a.m. Sunday with the sunrise at 7:10 a.m. "I've scheduled a 6:00 a.m. showtime and a 6:30 a.m. launch for Scarlette," said Cap'n J. "We should be easing out of the Kadena Marina Harbor just as the sun starts lighting the skies."

Light winds with a slight chop with small short period wind waves is part of the forecast issued from Buoy weather. Winds will be from the northeast at 10 to 13 knots. Seas will be E 3 feet at 10 seconds.

Kadena's weather site had a slightly different forecast, said Cap'n J. Kadena weather is forecast partly cloudy skies with 6 knot winds from the east. Temperatures will be from a high of 74 degrees farenheit with a low of 61 degrees farenheit.

with a show time of 6 a.m. and launch time of 6:30 a.m. from Kadena Marina

Trailer tires

2009-02-04T04:18:00.001-08:00

The back tires on my trailer need to be replaced. I've put this off probably too long mostly because I get so little use out of the trailer.

But when you consider the wheels is what is holding up the trailer which holds the boat when it's on them, then it's time for an upgrade.

In the photo you can see where the rightside has been rubbed down. This happened because I had the trailer pushed with the wheels locked when I first moved the boat. Instead of jacking up the trailer and trying to unfreeze them, I tried to have the weight of the boat and trailer unlock them.

It didn't work.

Rookie mistake. Later after getting the tounge of the trailer fixed after it popped off during Scarlette's first tow toward the ramp, I was able to unlock these frozen tires by jacking up the trailer. Taking some WD-40, a screwdriver and a hammer, I was unable to unfreeze the heavily rusted tires.

But it was too late. Now the bill will cost about $200 to get the tires fixed.

Nets 6

2009-02-03T05:02:00.000-08:00

Spent about 45 minutes today attaching the starboard-side net near the bow to the toe-rail. (Sorry for all the sailor jargon). The net kind of bowed across the top which I do not like the look of but it may have to stand like that as this is the way I will attach the net to the toe rail to ensure no kids slip underneath the net.

The net effect is that the middle part of the net is lower than I actually would like it which almost defeats the purpose of having a net but I'm tired already of doing this and I just want to get it done so I can sail.

I'll probably have to remove the net and reinstall it to get it to look like I'd like it. Not looking forward to that at all.

WWII Bomb to be set off Thursday near Scarlette

2009-02-03T04:46:00.000-08:00

I got this letter from the Kadena Harbor Master via e-mail.

"There will be no vessels authorized to exit the marina on Thursday, Feb. 5, until the "All Clear" is announced.

He also sent a copy of the letter from the Yomitan Village Mayor to a base official entitled:

Request of Cooperation for Disposal of Unexploded Ordnance at Toguchi Beach.

"I hope this letter finds you doing well." It's start off like one of those SPAM e-mails from some guy in Africa who with your help will be able to remove millions of dollars from a bank if you simply e-mail him back.

The letter continues: "A mine (No. 5) of the Imperial Japanese Army (weight 205 kilograms) was found at Toguchi beach on Dec. 18, 2008. The water area within a 3,000 meter-radius from the detonation point will be off limits on Feb. 5, Thursday from 9 a.m. till the disposal of the mine is completed about noon. I would like to ask for your cooperation and notification to all organizations affected."

Alternate time and date due to inclement weather: Feb. 6 from 9 a.m. to about noon.

Cooperation requested

1. Notification to people and organization affected (letters, signs, etc.O

2. Permission for emergency vehicles (police cars) to enter the base in case of spotting a person (persons) in the water area or a person (persons) about to enter the water area.

Keizo Yasuda
Yomitan Village Mayor

Nets 5

2009-02-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

Spent about an hour Monday afternoon installing the nets on the starboard side lifelines.

Nets 4

2009-02-01T04:41:00.000-08:00

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- (Feb. 1, 2009) Bought some additional rope today at the base exchange so I'll be ready to put in some work after work on Scarlette.

Nets 3

2009-01-31T00:59:00.001-08:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan (Jan. 31, 2009) Was able to get to the marina for about two hours today to continue the starboardside net installation.

I checked Buoy Weather and Kadena Weather earlier and decided that I would not sail Scarlette on Sunday, (Feb. 1, 2009) because of weather warnings of heavy winds and surf.

As I said previously, the installation is a slow process as I'm wrapping a rope through every other hole in the net to keep it strong and so it doesn't look too hokey.

If I try to go to fast, the rope I'm using a three-strand twisted rope, start to untwist.

I've tried a couple of times to try to find a faster way to do this. The portside net installation took about 5 and a half hours.

So far the starboardside net install has take about three hours.

The owner of the Albatross a 42-foot Tayana yacht walked by and asked, "You got kids?"

"Yep," I answered to his assumption behind the reasoning for putting nets on what is essentially a racing boat.

Plan is to try to finish the net job in hour spats after work this week. I can't really sail Scarlette until the net installation is done and I want to get out on the water next weekend.

Especially, since I couldn't this weekend.

I'll still have more work to do on the nets after they're installed but the major work is getting the starboard side netting installed. Then I'll worry about the small details.

Got about halfway on Sat. after 2 hrs before going home.

WWII bomb to be set offnear Scarlette

2009-01-31T00:52:00.001-08:00

Sign at marina says it all.

Nets 2

2009-01-30T17:48:00.000-08:00

KADENA MARINA, Japan (Jan. 30, 2009) Beat feet right after work and spent about an hour aboard Scarlette prepping the starboardside for net installation.

The process is tedious to say the least. I first had to string up a line across the bottom of the stanshions (the poles on the deck) that hold up the life lines.

Then I used small string like before to keep the net in place. I was able to get the entire net placed on the lifelines and had to leave. It was pretty wind but hoped that it would hold until I could get back again to at least start the full installation.

Nets

2009-01-19T00:31:00.001-08:00

KADENA MARINA (Jan. 19, 2009) -- Spent most of today adding safety nets to the port side lifelines with Kai.

He used the Swiss Army knife to cut set up strings, so I could attach the net, then I attached it later with stronger rope.

As a boy this was a pretty cool thing to do. Getting to use a knife on a boat -- only thing we didn't have was pirate hats, eye patches or a scar on our face.

Maybe next time.

Had a fun time just spending time with Kai by ourselves.

The newly installed net looking from the bow.

The newly installed net looking from the stern.

This took us about 5 hours -- we broke for lunch at Burger King (got take out and ate it back at the marina on a picnic table overlooking the South China Sea) -- to do because I didn't want the net to look like some hoopdee thing.

When we got it all done, Kai decided he wanted to "safety" test it so he slid down the deck a little to see if the net would catch him.

Still will have to drill some holes on the toe rails to completely install the net to make it so one of the kids can't slip through -- not that any of them have as of yet -- but don't want to take any chances especially when it's just me and Kai on the boat.

Not sure when I'll get the chance to do the starboard side. Hopefully, next Saturday. Really wanted to sail today, but knew these lines had to go up and it took forever to put on.

Simply the best...

2008-12-27T06:26:00.001-08:00

I'm entering this sailing blog writing contest with the following blog entry:
Christmas Eve off of Maeda Point

This posting was "Simply the best...because it's the first blog entry I've actually tried to make interesting."

The sentence above is a requirement for the contest. I'll leave it up to you to judge whether the posting was interesting or not.

Now I'm supposed to link back to the post on Proper Course entitled, "Simply the best..."

There, done. Now got to get ready for New Year's trip to Tokyo. Unfortunately it's aboard an All Nippon Airways jet and not Scarlette.

We leave tomorrow with the three boys in tow to the mainland of The Rising Sun.

Christmas Eve off Maeda Point

2008-12-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

Cap'n J and Kenny Yergler sport Santa hats off the coast of Cape Zanpa in Okinawa on Christmas Eve.

SOUTH CHINA SEA (12/24/08) -- I spent Christmas Eve off the coast of Okinawa skippering Scarlette, my 24-foot sailboat with co-worker/deckhand/helmsman Kenny Yergler. Man, can my life get any worse?

Our trip went almost as planned. Originally scheduled for Monday (Dec. 22), the Christmas Eve trip was our last window of the year to sail as I'm headed off on family vacation on Sunday Dec. 28 to Tokyo for New Year's celebrations. Monday's weather was rife with wind. So, we agreed to go on Wednesday -- Christmas Eve.

We met at the Kadena Marina at 8 a.m. got Scarlette, a J/24 sailboat made in 1985, ready to launch. Although the skies were pretty much overcast we both splashed a little sunscreen on just in case. My nose -- like Rudolph -- was a little red later on so putting sunscreen on was a good idea. We headed out of Kadena Marina at 8:44 a.m.

High tide this morning was at 6:01 a.m. and we discussed a little how the low tide -- scheduled for 11:12 a.m. -- was going to possibly affect our ability to get close to the cliffs at Cape Zanpa and Maeda Point.

Helmsman Kenny Yergler looks almost as if he's single-handing Scarlette as we headed north up the west coast of Okinawa.

As we motored out of Kadena Marina we had very little wind as we hoisted sails and headed north up the west coast of Okinawa on the South China Sea. We kept the Yamaha 5 horsepower purring as we approached a set of stationary fishing nets off the coast of Torii Beach.

This is a stationary hazard located off the beach about 300-400 yards. The fisherman who uses the nets had his boat out tending to the nets and we slowly made way toward him using him as a navigation aid on how to avoid his nets.

Kenny Yergler steers Scarlette toward the southend of some fishing nets off the coast of Torii Beach as Cap'n J stands watch at the bow with camera in hand.

The temperature of the air was 70 degrees Farenheit. I tied a thermometer to a string and dropped it in the water. I didn't put a weight on it so it just skimmed across the water. When I pulled the thermometer out of the water it read 72 degrees Farenheit.

Anyone still wondering why, I've decided to retire and live in Okinawa? Especially if you're reading this and freezing your rear-end off. Sorry couldn't help but put that out there.

Next time I'll need to put a weight on the thermometer as I'm interested in keeping track of the water temperature on our voyages also. No real reason it'll just give the blog more narrative.

Torii Beach -- accessible only to people connected to the U.S. Department of Defense -- is one of my favorite beaches in Okinawa. Not because theres throngs of bikini-clad girls. In fact hardly anyone is ever there. That's probably why I like it. It's somewhat secluded but has nice shower facilities, beer on tap, etc.

After rounding the nets and motor sailing, the wind started kicking up so we propped the motor and headed north on wind power alone.

We made decent time to Cape Zanpa although the Garmin GPS I have said we got there at 11:05 a.m. Just about two hours and twenty minutes of boating time. This was right around low tide but the tide didn't seem to affect our ability to get close to the cliffs at all. There was very little wave action. The lack of waves was key as a friend of mine had said be careful of the waves around there.

Helmsman Kenny Yergler leans as Scarlette heels (leans in non-sailor speak) with the wind as we head around Cape Zanpa.

As we made our way around Cape Zanpa the wind really started to pickup. Earlier, I had showed Kenny how to keep Scarlette under control when she starts to heel (lean over in non-sailor speak). The green ropes on the bar in front of Kenny in the photo above help cut down on this heeling action. Pull closer to you and you get more sail area to the wind. Let it out and less sail catches the wind. Net affect: pull toward you if you want the boat to lean, let it out when it gets too scary.

Apparently the heel by Scarlette was getting a little scary -- especially when you look down across the bow and see only water -- for Kenny and I heard him let out the traveller rope.

Cap'n J grabs the boom and "smiles" for the camera with the lighthouse of Cape Zanpa in the background.

Once at Cape Zanpa, we posed for photos with the light house in the background. Then moved further up the coast. The north side of the cape is a sheer dropoff underwater.

Because of this drop off we were able to get really close to the cliffs without fear of grounding Scarlette. She drafts about five feet of water.

We got really close to the cliffs and light house. So close that Kenny kind of started to get a little worried as I tried to get him to shoot one more picture. No, just one more. Uh...we need to tack. We're getting pretty close to those cliffs over there.

One of the goals of the trip was to land at a different harbor. On Monday, I spent hours looking at Google Earth and trying to plot the small channel along Maeda Flats.

It's an area just south of Maeda Point that is great for scuba diving, but when your keel draft is about five feet below the boat, it can make for an easy grounding.

With Kenny at the helm, I spotted the red pole marking the right side of the channel and entrance to Maeda Flats Marina -- I've given it that name until I can get the proper Japanese name.

Asked Kenny to point the boat toward the marker and eventually we saw the green pole marking the left-side of the channel. As we got closer to the poles we could see plenty of wave action around the red pole as the waves were smashing against a reef.

We cranked up the 5 horse-power Yamaha engine, dropped sails and headed toward the center of those two poles.

Kenny moved forward on the bow and helped guided the boat through the channel. He came up with a pretty good hand signal system that helped me know if the water was getting too shallow or how close to the reef we were getting.

Had one moment where we got a little outside of the channel in some shallow water but not shallow enough for the keel to ground. The water was incredibly blue -- Carribean-like -- and the channel cut from the reef was pretty easy to guide through.

Kenny Yergler enjoys a cup of chili dockside at "Maeda Flats Harbor" after successfully tying off Scarlette on a dock that was ridiculously high.

After docking the boat -- scraping the pulpit a little against the high concrete dock -- we headed up to a dive shop to use the bathroom before settling down for a lunch of chilli and saltines I had cooked up that morning for the trip. Was thinking it was going to be colder than it was. Chili still went down good. And the day was nice and sunny -- nearly perfect weather for sailing.

Before heading back, I asked Kenny to shoot a couple of pictures within the setting of this harbor. The rocks behind Scarlette in the photo were pretty cool looking. They sit basically in the center of the harbor. It was nice getting pictures of Scarlette in a different location rather than Kadena Marina.

Cap'n J stands aboard Scarlette with his best Jack Sparrow pose.

While we had made landfall at Maeda Flats Harbor at 1:17 p.m., had lunch, we were anxious to get to Maeda Point the real destination of our trip.

We both agreed that visiting the harbor had been a good move as we may need this as an "emergency" port if we get caught up here in bad weather. Having the experience of travelling through that channel in the harbor was good for our sailing skills.

Kenny stands on the bow of Scarlette as we exit, "Maeda Flats Harbor". The red pole where the waves are breaking to the left is the "red" marker for the entrance to the channel.

As we headed out of the harbor a fishing boat was behind us and was pretty patient. Sometimes the local fisherman starting thinking these small harbors that are publicly built are theirs privately. Gotta remember to bring a case of beer for bribes in case we get any hassle from the locals about stopping at "their" harbor.

We again headed north toward Maeda Point. As we started approaching Maeda Point we started to notice a change in wind -- it was dying.

Still wearing that Santa Hat, Cap'n J "smiles" for the camera off Maeda Point.

Although we were getting close we had to make a decision, try to get all the way to Maeda Point or start turning around and heading home. My cell phone rang and it was my wife wanting to know when we were coming home. "There's no promises in sailing," I told her. She didn't like hearing that at all.

But unfortunately it's true.

So with a new found desire to head home -- remember it is Christmas Eve -- we cranked up the motor as we headed around Cape Zanpa and headed home. Passed close by to some surfers on the way south. One of them waved. Finally someone waved. We had previously tried waving to people on the shore, atop the lighthouse, in other boats, but no one would wave back. This surfer broke that trend.

It was funny seeing surfers -- my old hobby -- especially now since I've graduated to boat owning.

Had a bear of a time connecting the GPS to my laptop before writing all of this, but finally got it working.

Here are some trip statistics:

Trip to Maeda Point was 19.4 miles. Trip time was 4:01:25 hours. Average speed was 5 mph.

Return trip to Kadena Marina was 16.1 miles. Trip time was 4:37:27 hours. Average speed was 3 mph.

Landfall at Kadena Marina at 5 p.m.

The sun sets on the South China Sea and Scarlette at Kadena Marina.

With Scarlette successfully docked at her home port of Kadena Marina we beat feet to the cars and family awaiting time to spend together on Christmas Eve.

Crew was:
Captain J -- Skipper
Kenny Yergler -- Helsman/Deckhand

High tide again was at 4:54 p.m. Sunset was at 5:43 p.m.

Wednesday we'll sail

2008-12-22T23:50:00.001-08:00

Spent a lot of time Monday mapping course for Maeda Point trip. Hope it pays off. Will know tomorrow. Trip to meet @8. Cast off all lines by 8:30 a.m.

Maeda Point

2008-12-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

One of the points of interest for the Maeda Point trip will be to pass by the cliffs at Zanpa Mizaki (Cape Zanpa). The Cape is also known as Bolo Point. I'm interested in seeing how close we can get to the cliffs safely.

Biggest concerns will be tidal currents in the area.

Wind

2008-12-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

Weather forecast was accurate really windy today. Lots of gusty winds.

Trip to Maeda Point postponed

2008-12-22T00:43:00.000-08:00

Monday's sail to Maeda Point has been postponed to Wednesday because
of weather.

Kadena weather five-day forecasts the following:

Morning: Windy, mostly cloudy with isolated rainshowers. Winds from north at 15 knots with gusts up to 25 knots.

Afternoon: Windy, mostly cloudy with isolated rainshowers. Winds from north at 15 knots with gusts up to 25 knots.

Buoy weather forecast the following:

South China Sea North buoy

Morning: Very windy with large choppy seas. Small craft advisory. Large short period wind waves. Winds: N 25 to 34 knotsSeas: NNW 12 feet at 8 sec.

Afternoon: Very windy with large choppy seas. Small craft advisory. Large short period wind waves.Winds: N 24 to 33 knots Seas: NNW 15 feet at 9 sec.

South China Sea South buoy

Morning: Gale warning with dangerous seas. Small craft advisory. Use extreme caution. Moderate short period wind waves.Winds: N 26 to 35 knotsSeas: NNW 9 feet at 7 sec.

Afternoon: Very windy with large choppy seas. Small craft advisory. Large short period wind waves.Winds: N 21 to 28 knots Seas: NNW 13 feet at 9 sec.

Merry X-Mas

2008-12-20T11:50:00.000-08:00

Nets arrived today from West Marine. Plan will be put put the nets on Scarlette sometime between now and Dec. 28, 2008.

Will have to drill a lot of holes in the toe rails. Would be nice to have proper lifelines. The ones on there now are a little thin.

Hopefully, the nets will keep the boys in the boat or at least reduce their chances of becoming a man overboard.

The nets were my Christmas present from Tomoe.

Things to do

2008-12-17T01:47:00.001-08:00

Boat trailer needs new back wheels.
Put new netting on when it arrives from West marine.
Plan trip to Maeda point.

First Single Hand Trip

2008-12-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

Dec. 7, 2008 -- On the same day that was supposed to live in infamy, I didn't purposely start out trying to singlehand Scarlette.

But, that's how it worked out.

The plan was to have three people join me for a three to four hour cruise along the coast of Chatan, Okinawa on the East China Sea. I had been using this as my area to learn how to sail Scarlette -- like a 15-year-old uses an empty mall parking lot to learn how to drive.

Although initial plans called for a crew of four, those plans were scuttled when -- by 7 a.m. after waiting from the 5:45 a.m. showtime -- my car was the lone car in the Kadena Marina parking lot.

So what to do?

I checked Buoy weather one last time and here's what the buoy @ 27.0 N and 127.5 E (I call this the north buoy) had for weather:

Breezy whitecapping conditions with moderate choppy seas. Moderate short period waves. Winds from North East from 13 to 18 knots. Seas North North West from 9 feet at 9 second interverals.

So I rigged up Scarlette and headed South along the Sunabe sea wall.

The trip was a real confidence builder for me and showed me how much my sailing skills have improved. I'm ready to single-hand in mild weather, easily.

Trip Statistics
Trip Started: 7:13:33 am
Length of trip: 9.4 miles
Area: 0.5 sq mi
Elapsed Time: 2:48:41 hours
Avg. Speed: 3 mph
Top Speed: 8 mph

The other woman

2008-11-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

SOUTH CHINA SEA (Nov. 27, 2008) -- The "other woman" finally met Scarlette.

My wife doesn't share the same passion I have for Scarlette and boating in general.

But since she can't cook Turkey (our stove is just too small) and we both had the Thanksgiving Holiday off (it's an American federal holiday for us here too) she kind of ran out of excuses as to why she couldn't come aboard and tool around off the coast of Chatan, Okinawa on the South China Sea.

Since owning the boat last May 2008 this was the first trip "the other woman" had made on Scarlette.

She smiled a lot.

She played along.

She didn't get sick.

But she admitted, that she wished the boat could go faster. Maybe Scarlette was a little jealous and didn't want to show "the other woman" a fun time.

I'm batting 0 and 2 with my wife when it comes to sailing. After getting my sailing certification last year we went out on a rental Catalina Capri 18 and that trip was a total disaster.

No wind.

Smokey engine.

No toilet onboard -- Had to return to harbor once as she refused to "hang it over the side."

No control at harbor. I crashed into another boat which luckily only set me back about $150.The owner was extremely gracious and was glad that I had approached him and was honest about what I had done as opposed to docking and dashing.

At least Scarlette didn't make her sick. But it probably won't be until my birthday that the "other woman" and Scarlette meet again.

As for Thanksgiving dinner -- after Kai and I secured the boat -- we met Tomoe for lunch at a new Vietnamese place. She ordered Green Curry, I ordered Red Curry and Kai had noodles.

A real "traditional" meal for us as we typically eat out on Thanksgiving Day.

Kou's first sailing trip

2008-11-23T18:31:00.000-08:00

Boy, 4, completes deckhand duties aboard Scarlette

Nov. 23, 2008 -- SOUTH CHINA SEA -- Kou Johnston completed his first trip as a deckhand aboard Scarlette -- a 23-year-old J/24 sailboat -- just 13 days after his fourth birthday off the coast of Okinawa in the South China Sea.

Capt. J and Kou's older brother -- Kai -- also crewed aboard the 24-foot, sloop-rigged racer/cruiser built by Nissan in 1985 under license with J/boats.

"I tethered both the boys to Scarlette to help avoid a man-overboard situation," said Capt. J. "Kou didn't get sick and he seemed to like standing back by the rudder when I was at the helm."

"It was fun," said Kou. "I want to go again."

"That's music to my ears," mused Capt. J. "One of the reasons why I bought Scarlette was to do something with the boys that we could all do and maybe teach them a skill, too."

Kou seemed at ease aboard the sailboat as he cruised the coast of Okinawa's Chatan Town home to Mihama's American Village. The restrictions of a tether took Kou a little getting used to. Kai also helped Kou get out of his harness to use the "facilities" aboard Scarlette. "That kind of teamwork, is what I'm trying to inspire in the boys," said Capt. J.

After landfall, both boys seemed more interested in the tropical fish dockside than helping to breakdown the boat. "That's a skill we'll be working on in the future, too." said Capt. J.

Chatan Coastal Cruise #3

2008-11-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

The sun rise on Okinawa as seen about 1/2 mile off the coast of Chatan's Baba Koen.

11/16/2008 -- SOUTH CHINA SEA -- Light winds may have made it less impressive, but it also probably made one crew member a little less sick during Scarlette's trip along the coast of Chatan in Okinawa.

Laura Stoller joined Kenny Vergler and Captain J for an early morning that was slightly delayed by the purchase of gasoline for the boat. A full two-gallons worth.

Laura arrived at Kadena Marina around 5:30 a.m. and I told her that I had to go get gas and returned around 6 a.m.

11/16/2008 -- South China Sea --

Chatan Coastal Cruise #3 Statistics
Length of trip: 11.3 miles
Area: 0.4 sq mi
Elapsed Time: 2:36:16 hours
Avg. Speed: 4 mph
Top Speed: 7 mph

Chatan Coastal Cruise #2

2008-11-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

Chatan Coastal Cruise #2 Statistics
Length of trip: 12.8 miles

Area: 1.6 square miles.

Elapsed Time: 3:18:15
Average speed: 4 mph

Top Speed: 7 mph.

Chatan Coastline Trip #1

2008-10-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

Oct. 19, 2008 -- SOUTH CHINA SEA -- The plan was to travel with the male teachers from my workplace on a sort of "team building" jaunt in familiar waters. But only one showed up, so Plan B kicked in.

Meet K. Yergler -- fast becoming Scarlette's frequent helmsman -- a teacher at the school I work at. Kenny is quickly becoming great crew as we learn to sail Scarlette.

Zanpa Point #1

2008-10-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Father and son voyage #1

2008-09-21T06:01:00.000-07:00

Former owner joins crew

2008-08-30T06:02:00.000-07:00

Scarlette sails under new command on maiden voyage

2008-08-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

Finally got to sail Scarlette.

E-mailed "Tokyo Tony" Sunday night after getting the boat in the water Sunday morning to see if he wanted to go sailing on Scarlette's maiden voyage under a new command.

We got started at about 10 a.m. and finished about 1 p.m. sailing off the coast of Chatan, Okinawa, on the South China Sea.

To say it was awesome is an understatement especially after spending the whole summer working on Scarlette to get her presentable and sea worthy.

Tokyo Tony is always willing to climb aboard and is making a damn fine crew member...especially since he remembers to bring his camera!

More pictures are available on http://www.scarletteboat.com/ under the voyages section.

Scarlette Launches

2008-08-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

10, 9, 8, 7....

Scarlette launched today after a false start yesterday that left her trailer, Rhet, in limping condition.

Gotta run...gotta boat to sail.

New Engine

2008-08-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

I bought a new engine today. It cost !#$%!#$. The old engine which I took to the Yamaha Marine dealer reaped an estimate to fix of nearly $900.

Basically, no way.

So a new Yahama 5 horsepower engine will be the power plant for Scarlette.

I'll shoot a picture of it then add it to an edited version of this page later.

A Japanese holiday prevented me from doing any work or preparations for Saturday's launch at high tide.

Kai will be with me for the launch if all goes as planned.

Where oh where is the Yamaha dealer

2008-08-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

Boating in a foreign country is hard but even harder is finding the right place to provide the parts and stuff you need.

Basically the conversation starts out like this...

"uuhh...boat....uhh...engine...uhh...can I draw you a picture."

It took me three hours to find the Yamaha Marine engine shop in Naha. Then it took another call to my wife to translate what I needed once there.

Ahhh. The boating life.

Engine dilemma III

2008-08-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today met Mark who agreed to take a look at my 5 horsepower Tohatsu engine. It started up last Thursday but refused to "pee" any water out of the bucket I attached to the bottom. It's a water cooled engine so it sucks water from the bottom and "pees" it out the top. Kind of essential that it does this or the engine will overheat or burn up.

Mark normally works on power boat engine but said he'd give this outboard a look either way.

We pulled the propeller out of the shaft and one of the fins on the spinning wheel that helps suck the water in was broken. Mark said the shaft was also not spinning as good. As we poked and prodded the drive shaft, Mark got to the point where he thought he'd do more harm than good and recommended that I take the engine to a dealer to get it looked at by someone who normally does outboard engines.

Drove around Naha for about two hours and still couldn't find the place.

Was able to replace the bilge pump after several hours of electrical wire trouble shooting. It's looking more and more like, I'm going to have to rewire the innards of Scarlette because of a failed switch. More on that later.

Scrub a dub dub

2008-08-11T06:13:00.000-07:00

Gave Scarlette coat #1 of the Hawaiian Two-Step Process again. Weather has been crappy here for the last several days, so can't really start something without having to stop a bazillion times.

Was also able to get a hold of Mark to see if he can take a look at the engine. Icky was too busy with a bigger repair. Mark said he'd take a look if he was feeling better.

Ok..There I was...

2008-08-07T07:16:00.000-07:00

Had to change out the lower standing rigging. That the wires on the side that helps hold the mast steady. The lower rigging isn't as high as the upper rigging. Duh...

Anyway, to put this lower rigging on I had to loosen the wire that helps hold the mast, then climb up the ladder and remove and replace the wire then tighten the wire back up. And it had to be done to both sides.

Thanks to Delane I was able to quickly add this part without further delay of the launch because of the mail.

I tied off the ladder to the mast with bungee cords then climbed up this ladder. Just kept remembering not to look down.

What's in a name?

2008-08-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

Finished painting on the boat's name on the port side. Below is a picture of how the job progressed.

I used a stencil and then I a painted over the whole logo to fill in the stencil slots and to make the whole thing look more uniform. It's not the best paintjob in the world. Paint kept drying out on me before I could get it from the can to the boat.

Air dry

2008-08-05T07:24:00.000-07:00

OK, so I was at the point where I was kind of bored and decided I was at the point where I could actually check to see what the sails looked like and in what condition they were in. So I pulled up the mainsail and here's what I saw. (See photo at left)

The sail was pretty crisp. Supposedly if it's not it means that the sail is older and more worn. So from my wide ranging experience, I'm saying this sail was in pretty good shape.

I like the small window above the boom. I can see why this might be necessary. What I'm not real sure of is the "window" in the middle of the sail.

Not sure about that one.

But as long as it works when I need it and remains fairly clean. I'm good.

Next I got a real surprise...

...initially I thought this was the jib sail. I was a little miffed as I didn't want to have to buy a regular sized jib sail probably at a cost of "another" thousand dollars.

I'm not sure what this sail is really for. I'll have to ask Delane.

I did find the Jib sail. It's the right size so now I've got an extra sail for "really windy conditions?"

Taking a short commercial break

2008-07-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

I've got more photos to add but of my work repainting Scarlette last week and this week, but I'm sitting at this computer dozing.

Plus...The second mate and I are heading to America for a short vacation.

Updates to this blog will continue again, next Wednesday.

Later

The Skipper

Stencilled Scarlette

2008-07-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

Cha...cha...cha...changes

2008-07-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

Now that I've got the new Scarlette logo, I spent about three hours updating the old web page that had a temporary Scarlette logo that looked like this:

To this:

Had to go in and change every page by hand and work some small web "geek" issues. The web site now looks pristine.

However, if you notice something "wrong" or spelled incorrectly on the site, please e-mail em so I can fix it.

Also, stripped, sanded, put a barrier coat and anti-fouling paint on the rudder. This is how it progressed:

Also applied the Hawaiian Two-Step Process to the transom of Scarlette.

Here's how that went:

BEFORE

AFTER

My Chemical Non-Romance

2008-07-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

I finally remembered to shoot a photo of myself all done up in the gear I had to wear during the painting process. It was real fun wearing this in the heat of sub-tropical Okinawa.

Move over Coca Cola

2008-07-21T04:30:00.000-07:00

Banji sent the new logo for Scarlette today. Frankly it looks awesome! I had asked Banji to design something for me that was somewhat "classic" looking. She said she was trying to design something that looked somewhat feminine to go along with the name Scarlett O'Hara from "Gone with the Wind"

Now, I've got to change the web site to match the logo.

Seeing red

2008-07-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

Painting has finally begun

2008-07-15T01:49:00.001-07:00

Painting has finally begun. I'm beat today had to hacksaw some bolts from the front of the trailer to be able to safely place the jack stands underneath the bow of the boat. Now I'll simply have to move the trailer forward about three inches sand and paint and repeat.

Finally, the bottom paint part of the bottom paint job has started. Just hope the weather holds.

Hawaiian Two-Step (Step 1)

2008-07-14T09:04:00.000-07:00

Today, spent most of the day applying the first of a two-step gel-coat restoration of the red part that's above the water line on Scarlette.

See before and after photo above.

Honestly, I was skeptical whether this product would work as good as advertised. Well, the boys at the marina have already started asking, what did you use on that to get it like that?

Sounds and looks like it works to me. I'm going to hold off on this portion of the restoration until after I get the bottom painted.

Mainly because I got the jack stands from John with the stipulation that "if a typhoon rolls in, I'm going to need those back." John has a 42-foot Morris boat, I believe.

So, I've got to jack the boat up, finish a little sanding and begin the painting. I expect to be done in 3-4 days depending on the weather.

I have to add 6 coats of the barrier coat (white) and 3 coats of bottom paint (red). Then she'll be ready to be put in the water. Should be getting in several orders through the mail this week that I'll be adding as I wait for the paint to dry.

Bow Wow

2008-07-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

Spent only about an hour and a half today working on Scarlette. Sanded down the bow and started working on sanding the starboard side.

Mostly importantly I was able to get a hold of someone at the marina who will let me borrow some jack stands so I can lift the boat off the trailer. This is huge. Will make all the sweating in the hot Okinawa heat worth it.

I'm tired and not as sore as I thought I'd be.

Plan is to try to finish as much as sanding as possible tomorrow and then on Monday get jack stands, varnish toe rails and on Tuesday start putting on the barrier coat.

oh my aching back

2008-07-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, I'm going to be sore.

Spent about three hours sanding down the stern of Scarlette. Had to wear a full body suit, goggles and face mask and it was hot!

But she feels like a baby's bottom now.

I scuffed the varnish job on the port-side aft toe rail getting out gear today from Scarlette. So I'll have to sand and varnish there again.

I'll probably put a coat of varnish on then. I'll wait a day. I'm rushing the varnish jobs too much maybe and the coats are getting enough time to dry.

Set up a tent on the starboard aft side so I can sand and varnish the remaining two rails on Saturday.

I'm dead tired. That's all for today.

Tiller fixing and rail varnishing

2008-07-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

The tiller is the steering "wheel" on Scarlette. When I opened the tiller cover -- two wood parts fell out of the case. These were the front part of the tiller.

Today, I glued those back on to the tiller with a clamp and Gorilla glue and then sanded the glue off. First time ever doing this. I'm no expert but not too bad. Needed to do this because the part that was broke is essentially the handle and it would have felt wierd if this contoured area wasn't right. There were some space left over in the front part of the tiller. See middle photo. I probably should have filled that with wood putty, but didn't have any. The last shot is the newly varnished underside. Yes it does not look pretty but it will be functional.

Then I sanded the entire tiller to varnish then hung the tiller off the stern to dry after varnishing it.

I will probably lightly sand some of the impefections and re-varnish tomorrow. It'll need six coats of varnish.

One down and five to go.

Tomorrow will power wash the boat to get it ready for sanding. Still need to find someone at the Marina that has boat jacks so I can peel the rest and get the ship ready for a barrier coat. Once that comes in.

I also varnished the middle port toe rail and the aft port toe rail. Will probably try making a tent tomorrow to cover the three remaining toe rails before varnishing.

More hard to do stripping

2008-07-08T23:39:00.000-07:00

I forgot to shoot the after shot here and will upload it after I go to the boat on Wednesday. Same stripping dileema. Trailer keeps getting in the way. Problem on this side of the boat is that the keel is resting amost against the bottom part of the trailer. This will probably be the sand job.

Also went to the boat store near Tomari Wharf to order some barrier coat. Ridiculously priced but my reseach indicates that you need to apply the barrier coat before the bottom paint. The barrier coat kind of waterproofs the gel coat. (The shiny part on the bottom of the boat.)

Hard to do stripping

2008-07-07T16:30:00.000-07:00

It's not easy to be a stripper.

Today got the port side of the keel stripped. This is the hardest part to strip because essentially the trailer keeps getting in the way. In the photos above you can see where I had the boat repaired. It is just underneath the water line.

The keel area is going to be extremely difficult to sand later this week. Here's also what I stripped today from the keel area. That yellow area is part of the trailer. Not sure if my sander will fit in between this area.

Rails

2008-07-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

Spent most of Saturday varnishing the middle toe rail on the Starboard side. The second mate had swimming lessons at 2 p.m. and we grabbed something to eat on the way back. I used the blue canvas as a tent again so the varnish wouldn't blister.

Naked boat

2008-07-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I've still got about two days left of stripping, but I'm feeling ALOT better about the remaining days of this paint strip.

I could probably finish in one day but I want to try to get all the paint off that I can with the chemical strip so sanding will go a lot faster.

Here's what I got done today:

Circus Tent

2008-07-03T00:22:00.000-07:00

"Built" a tent this morning to stay under the shade and so the toe rail varnish wouldn't blister when I started sanding and varnishing them.

Did no bottom paint stripping.

Masking tape I used got stuck on the edges of the boat. Gotta watch out here. Don't want more mess to cleanup. As it is now... I've got to use the goo gone to get up the reside from the masking tape that essentially baked on to the deck.