Author Archives: spikekalashnikov

I am feeling very proud of myself as I succeeded in getting stuff from Japanese Amazon. This what I got. I am nearing completion on my new crown. Today was fitting. It took 90 mins of exquisite adjustment to get … Continue reading →

The last 10 days or so have been dominated by typhoon stuff. The first, Trami, was  a mega, ultra typhoon. The second, whose name I have already forgotten, was less kapow but it did rain like crazy.   I set … Continue reading →

I was hopelessly unprepared for the reality of no power. I had no water, little food, no lamp nor candles. Of course all the shops were shut as they were in the same boat with no power. I lived a … Continue reading →

The importance of last Saturday’s election for the Governor of Okinawa was underlined by God sending a mega typhoon. https://japantoday.com/category/politics/Denny-Tamaki-critic-of-U.S.-bases-elected-Okinawa-governor Typhoon Trami went right over us on Saturday, which was polling day. It was the real thing! Go out and vote! … Continue reading →

Looks like a Category 4 typhoon, named  Trami, will, to use the verb much favored by journalists, slam into Okinawa tomorrow. This is always exciting, but not much good for the advancement of the project. Trami means tram in Japanese. … Continue reading →

Remarkably, I have been able to buy Springbank, arguably the greatest whisky, from a corner shop nearby. https://quietripple.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/globalization/ I would like to give a bottle to Kiyuna san but when I get to the shop there is no more Springbank!  Adorable … Continue reading →

Refreshed by brief sojourn in the USA, I redouble my boatyard efforts. Um, actually I am very jet-lagged and when things do happen I generally stand around and watch. The engine! A single cylinder of raw diesel torque. She is … Continue reading →

The next day I head off to the Burma Grade Trail, another classic adventure through the history of the Gold Rush. The trail is characterized by the first 2 miles, an extremely steep shelf road ascent. On your left is … Continue reading →

Lightning break from the boatyard, finds  me at a bridge on a forest track just outside Yosemite. I have planned this trip for sometime. I want to drive the Old Coulterville Road, a Gold Rush era trail that passes through  … Continue reading →

I come to my last box of screws. Previous owner, the diligent Taguchi san, had labelled and boxed hundreds of screws and fittings. All of these are now back in or on the boat. I have no idea what the … Continue reading →