Hoping for Honshu!

Two more hops to report... 

ESASHI

The first of these an early start and then 20 nautical miles in 4 hours to Esashi. Averaging 5 knots doesn't sound that impressive, but most days I would sign for that. Also note that quoted distances are straight line measurements, whereas the sailed course is rarely that direct. This means that the actual speed is more respectable than it sounds.

Esashi is a peninsula town that is one of Hokkaido's oldest ports. Peninsula means "almost an island" and it one of my favourite words. The "almost island" that shelters Esashi is "Kamome Jima", or "Seagull island". Perhaps, before we had the brute force to resist nature, the sandy isthmus between "island" and mainland was sometimes breached by the sea.

Esashi grew prosperous through herring fishing. The herring were so numerous that they "turned the sea white" until overfishing caused a collapse in the population in the 1950s. This is a notably similar story to the collapse of the North Sea herring industry at around the same time. Let's not forget that previous bountifulness when we consider the current state of the oceans' health.

Shino-san followed me to Esashi, and provided a tent and blankets for a comfortable night next to a replica of a Japanese warship that foundered nearby.

MATSUNAE

The following morning my tag team support had changed, and it was Sampo-san who helped pack the tent, and then followed for the next 30 nautical miles. It was a long and tiring sail, with steep and high ground in the mid-section that blocked the wind. Eventually I got past the blockage, but the instability caused by a one-metre swell was still deeply uncomfortable and there was barely any pull in the sail. During my only (and a very brief) rest I noted that favourable current was pulling me along at 2.5 knots. Undoubtedly I was now in the pull of the Tsugaru Strait. Making over 5 knots I had daylight sufficient to reach Matsunae, so stuck with the discomfort, and the slight alarm of finding ever-livelier countercurrent overfalls at each headland. At the last set of rocks the sun was low. A wave that I thought I had already outrun crumbled behind me and I surfed it over shallow reef. Then I pulled clear of the magic carpet, out of the current, and at last could slow-up to savour the final metres of the day.

Sampo-san pitched the tent and took me to soak muscles in a nearby onsen, then left me to my thoughts for the night. I had sailed two days in one. The next sail will be across the Tsugaru Strait, from Hokkaido to Honshu. But when?

TSUGARU preview

The sail back to Honshu will be my second crossing of the Strait. On the first crossing (Oma to Hakkodate) I experienced first hand the pull of the current. The water flows from Japan Sea to Pacific Ocean as a river. Looking from the shore, it is easy to think that you can judge the current, but you would be wrong (as I was!) because the pull close in is trivial compared to the pull that you find a mile out and beyond. That pull can either rob you of power in the sail, or it can turn a medium wind into something far stiffer. The nautical charts indicate the the narrows are awash with overfalls. On a windy day, or even a moderate day with wind against current, those are to be avoided. The strength of the current is also difficult to predict (the forecast on Windy is inaccurate in my experience). Of course, it can also get much windier mid-Strait than at the edges.

All this makes me rather nervous of the crossing. My preference is to stay to the west of the narrows (Matsunae to Kodomari), but if I am unable to punch the current I may have to allow it to drag me through the gap to where the Strait widens and the current weakens. To prevent this scenario, and stay clear of the overfalls, I need favourable wind direction and strength. However, if the tap is wide open and the Strait is running fast, it could be that I go through the plughole regardless of wind and regardless of preference.
The last two days have not been suitable, but have been valuable to recharge batteries and do some Hakkodate tourism. A decision on tomorrow comes later.

Big appreciation to Shino-san and family and connections. Amazing support for this stretch that reminds me of friends and experiences from the Europe journey.

Hopefully, next landing will be in Honshu.