So the dreadful weather lets up and at last there is a nice day. In Okinawa you expect the weather to be wonderful all the time and we are left bewildered by poor conditions.

Luckily Emily is free to crew and off we go. This is essentially only my second sail since I went out with Nick a month ago.

The passage out of Ginowan Marina is not easy. Of course you could motor out and in but then why have a sailing boat? The wind is offshore so getting out is pretty easy. However, getting back in means tacking across a fairly narrow channel with reef on both sides.

So, we practice running out and the beating back in. Beating back to Okinawa in previous boats has been a long and tedious business, but the Norfolk Gypsy is very taught and points well into the wind. Hooray!

Emily is patient as we do not actually go anywhere but rather practice.

The weather is overcast at the start of the sail but soon the glorious turquoise takes over

Here is a short video.

Let’s hope that this is finally the start of sailing fun.