Author Archives: spikekalashnikov

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 →

Over the last week or so, the weather has been amazing, even by Okinawan standards. Hot, clear, blue and turquoise, then red as the sun goes down. But the work must go on. There are many small but not unimportant … Continue reading →

Sorry for title inaccuracy, cannot find how to do accents etc. I have always loved gelatinous food. France excelled in this genre with the Fromage de Tete. My Father would eat Pigs’ Faces whenever he could. In Okinawa I can … Continue reading →

I have been wallowing in the pleasure of attaching  final bits of trim to the boat. There are long strips of trim that attach to the gunwhale, bits of which have gone missing over the years. What to do? I go … Continue reading →

I decide to replace all the old rigging with new rope, halyards, topping lift, sheets and that sort of thing. I go to Yomitan to buy rope. For 7 years I have made  bizarre requests in sign language  at this … Continue reading →