I think that every mile since the last update, six days and four hops ago, has been upwind. For two days it was a pure headwind, fresh at times. Then a north swell rolled in and the wind was entirely absent. Yesterday, it was cross offshore from the left. Today was cross-onshore from the right.

The Shimane coastline has become a favourite of the journey. There are many sandy beaches, and the rockier outcrops are not particularly high or cliff-like. These more gentle features (sometimes, in theory!) encourage stable wind and agreeable sea conditions.

I have just completed the Shimane Peninsula section. This isn't a standard sticky out bit, but rather a sausage of rugged terrain that is connected to Honshu proper by a low plain. The sausage is 36 nm long, in some places indented, and elsewhere with straighter coastline where a side wind can have a decent run. With no konbinis until back on the plain, I stocked up on Cup-Noodles and went off round the corner:

Midway through yesterday this post was going to be called "The Magic Day" but the wind continued to build until it was Tarifa style windy and I was forced to come ashore a little short of my target. Time to rethink the title. The wind had to moderate eventually, and with 30 minutes of sun left (now low and glaring, reducing my ability to see fishing line trip hazards) I finished the job and arrived at Yonago city, having moved the tracker position by 36 nautical miles. That equates to at least 100 km sailed in downwind zigzags.

I posted a video last week  where the board was racing downwind over a flat sea. Everything was in balance, it was effortlessly fast, and it felt glorious! The real deal about windsurfing round Japan, right? Erm, not exactly...

At zoomed-out scale (from space! Wakasa Bay is an indent on the Sea of Japan coast. Having not previously zoomed-in, I'd assumed it would be a continuous bay and easy to sail. In fact, it is an indented coastline with many peninsulas and deep inlets. That's much more challenging. It was a rewarding section and one I will look back on fondly.