I am now at the stage of screwing on lots of bits and pieces to make the boat both pretty and sailable. It is very rewarding after months of sanding.

The boat has a fan club. Every day Japanese sailors pass by for a chat. They start the conversation by cursing the dullness of their own mass produced boats. This is polite behavior.

I glue the nameplate onto the back of the cockpit.

A moment away from the boatyard. I live in village called Onna son. There is a very strong local culture that I have been lucky enough to have been involved in. One thing I did not know is that Onna son has a flourishing choral society. My friend Chinen san turns out to be a member of the choir.

Yay Chinen san. She is a scream!

She sends tickets for Saturday’s concert.

Chinen san in back row. Spot red hair flash. Click on photo.

I am so pleased to have been invited. The place was packed, there must have been 250 people there. Two hours of Madrigals, Russian stuff, Japanese stuff, Okinawan classics, Vivaldi and stuff. I love to hear people sing. They finished with the Hallelujah chorus. Onna son is full of surprises. Aregato Chinen san.

On Sunday, elegant ex colleague Tomomi san came to visit.

The water at the boatyard is crystal clear and full of fish.

Tomomi on boat.

Tomomi makes exquisite Ikebana arrangements.

Tomomi has prepared a delicious lunch, all of which she cooked herself. We sit in the shade on the harbor wall.  Kiyuna san shows up and is hilarious. It turns out that in addition to his engineering skills, he also built all the tables that line the harbor side. Each uses driftwood as the main support structure. They exploit the strange shapes of the driftwood and are thematically similar to Tomomi’s Ikebana.

Notice driftwood fish biting the table.

Go fish!