Log

I  moved on from Nemuro, on another misty day, with a repaired paddle. On this coastline that faces the Kuril islands (that are under Russian control)There was an easy day or maybe two. Then came a section with salmon nets, hundreds of salmon nets, that made it very difficult and ultimately impractical to make progress staying inshore. The nets are secured to land and hung from a taut cable-like line that runs about a mile out to sea.

Having negotiated the port city of Kushiro, I stocked the barrel with a few extra supplies. At one o'clock the fog cleared and I sailed zigzags for 3 hours, making 2.7 nautical miles, before being becalmed again and having to paddle to reach the small port of Katsurakoi.

It is coming up to two full weeks since I arrived at Atsunai. I explained in a previous post that it was a struggle to reach the village. But that was nothing! Leaving is the real challenge...

Fortunately, although foggy, Atsunai is a pleasant hamlet. It has a railway station (unmanned) which connects it to bigger places such as Kushiro city, where I successfully extended my permission to be in Atsunai (also applies to the rest of Japan).

At the beginning of this journey I was concerned that the coastguard / port authorities / navy might hear about my plan and suggest or require that I put an end to it. As the weeks and miles accumulated this became less of a concern, and now I'm quite happy to be known about!

Perhaps it is time for a sticker on my sail to let people know what I am up to.

With stealth mode officially off, here are some (probably all!) recent "media appearances":

Since Hiroo, the target has been Kushiro, a port city at the end of this long south-west facing sweep of Hokkaido. So far I have made 3 base camps. The details of how the days unfolded, and my experience of them, will soon become hazy, tangled and imprecise. So as a "note to self" as much as anything, here are those details.

Before I sail today, a quick few paragraphs about Cape Erimo and the village (Erimomisaki) of the same name:

I am taking Hokkaido as a polygon to be tackled a face at a time. For a while, progress on the face leading to Cape Erimo seemed slow going, but then I conceptualised the task in mountaineering terms. Each day sailed (or sail-paddled) I nudged forward to a base camp nearer to the summit. A day with relatively favourable winds, but a most uncomfortable swell, contributed a 34 nm run. That got me in range (if not in sight, because visibility has been poor) of the pinnacle.

Yesterday, I made a 30 km crossing of an indent of Hokkaido I now know is called Uchiura Bay. Shortcuts are a mixed blessing: they are an economical way to bring the goal of a circumnavigation nearer, but they bypass the reason for the journey, which is the journey itself and all that might be experienced. Of course, this is just life. Our every action, every whim we cater for, has an opportunity cost.

Here is an effort to share some recent pictures. Finding the time and place to curate and comment isn't always simple. But I grabbed a charge at the convenience store (until chased off by a grumpy employee, which sometimes happens) and began writing this at the fishing cooperative building. The fishing community I find to be very accepting and increasingly nice! Perhaps that is because I have now settled in, and there is an expression of that in how I carry myself and communicate. Also, the journey is now sufficiently notable that I am a source of curiosity/interest/humour!

Using the outline of the coast as my guide (and with disregard for the actual prefecture names and boundaries) another section is complete! For me this last chunk has been the "Norway section". It is heavily inletted and deliciously wild.

An update to the blog is well overdue, so here goes with an attempt to fill in the bigger gaps in a rough and ready way!

A lot to report on in the last few days. It was only a week ago that I arrived in Japan and dragged a 3.8-metre-long windsurf board through Tokyo Narita customs. Getting the board to Japan had been a problem to arrange, but on the day it had gone like clockwork. Carriage of the board was a special favour. Consequently, at her request, both the friend who arranged the heist and the airline she works for will remain anonymous. Nonetheless, a thousand thanks are due.

One week before I go to Japan, and the first time out for my Loftsails Switchblade HD 8.5m (collected from Unifiber a few days ago).

Good vibes from the expedition sail. Nice depth and pull in the light breeze, though clearly hungry for proper wind! I think we'll get along well!

Thanks to Kevin Jay for the drone piloting.

This winter I have been busy in the workshop* sanding, cutting, gluing, and screwing! My raw materials were the board, a huge block of EVA foam and a sheet of extruded carbon fibre. The result, I am hopeful, is a capable expedition board that retains the performance and agreeable ergonomics of the original design.

It is often said that it is an achievement in and of itself simply getting to the start line of an expedition. First there is an idea without commitment. That can be played around with. On the off-chance that something might happen there might be some "preparation". I purchased a suitable sleeping bag ("new with tags", a bargain!) and snapped up a bivvy-bag to too. That's right, focus on the easy stuff first!