The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond

Happy New Year everyone!

I am afraid this is mostly rambling about boat restoration.

We have a picnic on the boat. I go down fairly early to take off the cover and generally clean up. It is the most beautiful morning, bright sunshine and warm, thus picnic perfect.

By lunchtime the clouds gathered. Nonetheless we have a wonderful time.

Suddenly the weather gets much worse! High wind and driving rain. We scuttle into the cabin and keep eating.

So Christmas Day is a day like any other in Japan. Everyone goes to work and all the shops and stuff are open.

Nonetheless, I celebrate.

I go to Hamada san’s shop to get some fine bottles. She gives me a 2014 Sancerre as a Xmas present.

I give myself a Xmas present of a visit by the cleaning lady. She kicks me out of the appartment between 9:00 and 1;00 during which time she really goes to it.

I go to Tomari Fish market in search of seafood joy. I am not disappointed.

I go to the boat. I attach new yuletide mooring lines. I pump out any water in the bilge and start up the motor. I sit in the sun, it is a beautiful warm day, and listen to the calming throb of the Yanmar 1GM 10.

A distant corner of the marina is used to stack up boats that died valiantly during typhoons. It is a chilling sight.

When I get back, the apartment is sparkling! Very morale boosting.

Early on Boxing Day, Kiyuna san comes by with Jacko and the new masthead.

Later that day, I take a friend to the airport. I like this as the airport is close to a stinking pond that birds love.

Not very Christmassy but lots of fun!

The next big step before completion of the boat restoration is to install a new jib roller reefing system. This fills me with dread as it involves cutting a steel cable and an aluminum tube to exact lengths and finishing them off nicely. I express my terror to the boat shop on the mainland who will be selling me the equipment and the wonderful Hiromi san says “Don’t worry Neil san, I will get Jigen san to help you.”

I meet up with Jigen san and he is another in the long line of Okinawan smiling boat saviours.

” Can you install the rolling reefing and set up the new sail, Jigen san?” He says, ” Why man, that’s my hobby.”

I explain that I will need eye splices at the end of all the new halyards and that I am too stupid to do it myself. In the past, legendary Sato san RIP and Nick san helped me with this sort of thing.

“Sato san taught me how to splice. I can do the eye splices nae borra.” explains Jigen san. He is a great guy.

Today I cut my new rope to the correct length for the peak halyard and the throat halyard. I lay out the old rope and lay the new rope alongside. I cut it with a razor sharp Opinel. This works very well until I notice that I have used up all the new rope but still need new jib halyard and topping lift halyard. I have completely miscalculated the length of rope needed. How can I be be so stupid? I curse myself as I will have to go back to Island Boats and buy lots more super expensive rope.

At this point a guy working on the boat next to me in the yard wanders over. He and his wife run a Parasailing business and their boat is moored near mine in the marina. They are doing a refit. I have often passed them out at sea, we grin and wave.

He, in Japanese, speaks about rope. At first I think he wants my old rope. Thanks to Google translate I realize he wants to give me rope. He has to replace all his rope every year to comply with safety regulations. I say “Yes please.”

He hands over 80 meters of brand new high quality rope. He refuses any payment. The rope is worth hundreds of dollars. What does it mean? One minute I am cursing about having to buy new rope, the next Kaz san gives me more rope than I will ever need. Is it the magic of Okinawa or the spirit of Xmas?

There has been a lull in the boat refitting. We have decided to restore the horribly split and rotted mast head by filling the damaged area with epoxy mixed with saw dust. Subsequently a stainless steel sleeve is to be slid over the damaged area.

The wood on the mast head had subsequently rotted. A long time was spent scraping all the rot back to strong wood.

There was then a long wait. Some weeks. I began to believe Kamiya san had forgotten me. It turns out that Kamiya san’s welding equipment had busted.

There is certainly no other Norfolk Gypsy with such a robust mast head!

We decide to replace the poor original design of tiny mast splitting screws with a robust external collar. Kiyuna san has the bit between his teeth.

I buy very expensive rope for the halyards.

Island Boats is beside the Tomari Fish Market.

Good couple of days.

This post has no story, theme, or anything else. It is just a record of things that I can look back on.

The weather has been truly wonderful, warm not hot with beautiful blue skies. One day, surprisingly it rains like crazy.

I have to rig the cover as best I can. There is no boom to hang it from so it lies flat. Better than nothing.

I fiddle with the boat. I screw on new attachment points for the cover. Most of these were ripped out in the typhoon.

A diversion on Okinawan supermarket checkouts. When I arrived, 12 years ago, each item was announced and then carefully bagged by the checkout, almost always, lady. You paid with cash. Then credit cards crept in and you could use them in most but by no means all supermarkets: still the case. Then, you had to bag your own purchase on special tables. Very different vibe. Now, I find self checkout set ups in many places. This makes me sad. No human interaction.

This leads me nicely to a lunch a couple of days ago. It is a do it yourself BBQ place. It is entirely human interaction free. We go for a eat as much as you can lunch menu for 2,100yen. You order from an iPad and the food is delivered by robots.

You will remember that the town of Ginowan keeps an eagle eye on my health. https://thequietripple.com/2023/11/15/how-much-is-that-doggy-in-the-window/

I go for a series of checks. All of this is organized by the City Ginowan Health Service.

They really look after their old people . Even me, an immigrant who does not speak the language.

I think that the checks are on possible diabetes and Arteriosclerosis. The nurses are adorable and we have lots of fun. It is all free.

I celebrate at the fish market.

You will remember that, as part of the original restoration, I had a grating handmade from exquisite Okinawan hardwood.

Grating

It is a very fine grating but also extremely heavy. To remove it I have to lie walrus like on the cockpit seats and lift one side up until I can get it vertical. There is usually means fouling with the throttle lever and it is generally a pain. Kiyuna san hates my grating and urges me to cut into two pieces. Lift out one piece whilst standing on the other. This makes complete sense but I kicked against the pricks, not wanting to spoil such lovely carpentry.

So I attack it. I use the saw I bought to slice up poor Dileas. https://thequietripple.com/2015/01/11/cutting-up-dileas/

I do a terrible job. I cannot seem to cut straight.

Anyway, it works. It is now relatively easy to remove the grating.

Tomomi and I go for lunch. It is an exceptional lunch. It is a beautiful day; from our table we look out onto the blue, blue East China Sea with Ie Jima in the distance. Tomomi is looking even more elegant than her very high standard of elegance and is the best company. This all happens at https://okinawa-hiyoriocean.jp/en/ a new hotel close to OIST.

A very large salad, a perfectly cooked fresh fish with simple white rice, excellent coffee. Simple but so well done. Thank you Hiyori, wonderful presentation and service.

Things get significantly darker from here on in. Those queasy about dentistry might want to change channel.

On Friday I have to have a molar ripped from the right side of my jaw. On Thursday morning I awake to significant pain and swelling on the left side of my face. I wait for Kinjo sensei’s prognosis on Friday. Er, it is not good.

This means that in addition to the right side molar I will soon have to have two left side molars extracted. Falling like flies!

The extraction is grim. Once the tooth is removed, much scraping and grinding is needed to remove all the slime decay from my jaw.

On a gayer note, Japanese dental nurses are absolutely the best, we have a lot of fun.

I talk to Kiyuna san, who has no teeth, about my upcoming treatment. “Teeth are not necessary, very high maintenance. Just get a very sharp knife to cut your food into tiny pieces. .”

The weather has been excellent – blue skies, sun but cool. In fact it was so cool one day last week that I actually put on a woolen shirt thing.

I am invited to a 2 day Forum on Science Communication.

I am at least 20 years older than any other participant. I write KYMS, Keep Your Mouth Shut, on a sheet of paper which I place in front of me. It is actually great fun and I succeed in saying almost nothing. Congratulations to the OIST Media Team for organizing the event.

I regularly have afternoon tea on Kiyuna san’s boat, the “Marie”. She is a big motor cruiser that has not cruised for a long time. I think she was given to Kiyuna san by the previous owner to get her off his hands. Kiyuna san keeps the boat impeccably clean and uses it as a club. I have had many memorable afternoons on the “Marie” with Okinawan boat people. We drink tea and crack jokes.

Two pontoons behind Kiyuna san’s boat were badly smashed up in the typhoon that did so much damage to my boat. We drink tea and watch eight guys go about repairs. Kiyuna san is disparaging, “Eight workers! I could do it with two in half the time.” He explains a system of slings and cables that he has worked out. I am sure he is right.

We go to an Izakaya that is about one minutes’ walk from my place. It was closed throughout the corona virus period and we have never been there. Turns out to be a fantastic place. https://www.google.com/maps/place/竹馬/@26.2895857,127.7555579,166m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x34e5132df97e8aa1:0x86dcd4dbac6d60f0!8m2!3d26.289313!4d127.755977!16s%2Fg%2F11bbx0ynhf?entry=ttu

We take the menu for 2500 yen, which is about $16.50..

We start with excellent sashimi. I forgot to take a photo.

I also forgot to take a photo of the stewed aubergine and beef course that fitted in there somewhere. We drink lots of ice cold beer.

The room is tiny. We sit at the bar and watch the owner cook up magic in front of us. $16!

I geta gift of Shark Jerky from Miyako Jima!

Not much happening really, especially on the boat front. I have to wait until Kamiya san fits the sleeve on the top of the mast before I can rig the halyards, shrouds and forestay. Once that is done I can raise the mast, attach the boom and gaff; then bend on the mainsail. I have also tracked down a Japanese sailmaker who can make me a new jib. Good friend Mitsuda san was going to do this but could not get hold of tan sail material. The new place also say they can get me and new furler, https://www.yuukoumarine.jp/collections/smart-collection-120/products/sel549-100-12

Chatting to Kiyuna san about why he never gets tired. ” Easy Neil san, I never work, I only play!” At the moment I pretty much serve by standing and waiting.

I do a few things.

I mostly bumble around and gently enjoy living in Okinawa in November. It is now reasonably cool but still sunny with blue skies. I no longer use the A/C.

Komesu san from the Ginowan Health Service contacts me. She explains that she is a Public Health Nurse and has been looking through my health records and would like to talk to me. We have a special appointment and she spends an hour going over my potential health problems as an old timer.

She sets up a series of tests for my arterial health and other stuff. Everything is free! She explains with the help of Google Translate, which has changed the world, that Japan takes preventative medicine very seriously and they keep track of the health records of everyone in Ginowan over the age of 40.

I go to buy some wine from Hamada san for my stomach’s sake. She looks different and we realize it is the first time I have seen her without mask! She gives me a Xmas bird.

On the less positive side, my face swells up horribly again. I look like a monster and little children burst into tears when they see me. I go to see Kinjo sensei.

He discovers rot in the jawbone. This means losing another tooth. Boo!

Childhood memories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqwq4AgMiik

My principal occupation over the last weeks has been trying to please AMFIE, https://www.amfie.org/en

This lot look after my pitiful pension from CERN. They are dreadful. Apparently it is time to update my file. They demand a slew of documents amongst which are: a notarized copy of my passport, a gas bill, my last tax return in Japan, letter from OIST stating I have retired, my last salary at OIST, my end of contract letter from CERN, 23 years ago!, my U.S. Social Security Number, Japanese My Number, and so much more. They are insane. Do not go near them! I run around from office to office of confused Japanese administration, who are very suspicious. It is pure Kafka.

The boat resurrection has slowed somewhat as big business has to be done. The metal sleeve has to be placed over the top of the mast, not under my control. The new rope for the rigging has not arrived yet. Let’s not talk about the new jib and roller reefing system . I have faith in Mitsuda san.

The copper wraps around the mast to prevent wear from the gaff jaws, if you see what I mean. The copper sheet has a mind of its own and does not want to be wrapped. It springs away. It is happy laying pretty much flat and it is a struggle to get it wrapped tightly around the mast. It is a job that needs six people to keep the copper from springing away.

As the needle for my annual free flu jab slides into my upper arm, I mention to the doctor that my family in England seem to have had 7 Covid jabs. I have only had three. I feel inadequate.

“You want more?” the doctor asks a bit incredulously. Tomorrow I go for my fourth.

Son James comes over to get the lovely, little boat back on her feet again after near sinking and severe damage in the last typhoon. I am old, stiff, rib damaged and generally poor at manual things. James is young, supple and amazingly good at manual things of all varieties.

This post will be essentially narrative free. There is far too much to write about. We have had ten days of restoring the boat in blazing sun and torrential thunderstorms. You will have to get the gist through lots of photos, videos and runic captions. It has been the best fun!

We take the boat out of the water and set to a major clean and refurbishing.

Once the grime, seaweed, shells and crabs are removed we move the boat away from the lifts to get on with the work.

The plan is to strip out all the rotted wood, slide a copper tube down the middle of the mast as a central support, loads of epoxy mixed with sawdust and finally a titanium or maybe gold sheath.

One of the strands of the forestay has unravelled. Oh dear, I need a new forestay with eye splices at each end. Kiyuna san turns up with a good length of perfect wire cable that he had hanging around. Next day a man called Teru san shows up to make a new forestay!

Kiyuna san repacks the stern gland. This is a job that I have failed at over the years but Kiyuna san makes mincemeat of it. We have a hilarious trip around Naha boat shops trying to locate packing rope.

I still have to replace the halyards. I need a new jib and jib furling system. We have to epoxy and sheath the mast head. It will get done.

So, many thanks to Kiyuna san and all the other Okinawan boat people who have been invaluable. Above all thanks to James who spent a 2 week vacation sweating it out in a scorching Okinawan boatyard. Maybe I could start an adventure holiday business.