James and I head north to the forests on the Pacific coast. We plunge in just south of Point Reyes. There is no path but James is an inveterate forest man after decades of mushroom hunting. It is raining.
Poncho!
The forest is beautiful; dripping wet, with a vast variety of trees, sequoia, spruce, buckeye, holm oak, laurel and many others that I do not recognize but James does.
A tree that has blown over.What kind of tree is that? Notice moss everywhere.
The forest is unmanaged and we clamber over dead growth and follow deer tracks.
It is fall, I mean autumn.
We follow a little stream deeper and deeper into the forest. So wonderful, absolutely no sign of humanity, complete wilderness so close to the city.
StreamingVery damp
The only noise comes from the stream backed up by the hammering and squawking of woodpeckers.
UCSCMulchy decay with mushroomsCalifornian SalamanderFresh deer scat.
We march in a couple of miles and then we march out again, like the Duke of York.
Fabulous walk, more exercise than I have done in the last 4 months in Okinawa. It is too hot and humid over there.
We then go to Tony’s Seafood Restaurant on the shore of Tomales Bay. We have a memorable meal.
Eat hereOysters straight from the bay, washed down with locally brewed beer.Clam LinguineSeafood stew
Full of fresh air and fresh seafood, we rumble the truck through the mist and rain back to San Francisco. Great day!
Big coyote loping over land devastated by the recent fires.
Topher White is an old friend, we worked together at Stanford, ITER and OIST. He is an amazingly smart and creative guy. He started up Rainforest Connection (RWC). Check the web site: https://rfcx.org Donate lots of money. I was lightly involved at the early stages.
Minutes after I landed in San Francisco, he calls me. Can I come and be interviewed for a Netflix documentary early tomorrow morning? I show up at his garage workshop. It is crammed with film crew folks.
Cram my garage
Topher talks and I nod my head.
I am sticking my stomach out on purpose for comic effect.
Topher then asks if I can come down to a studio in the Mission that evening to do an interview for Huawei, who are a big sponsor for RWC.
VP of Public Affairs from Huawei, tough job at the moment, tells Topher what to say.ActionFor some reason, they put me up against a wall to shoot me.
Anyway, both crews, one from Boston, one from LA, were amazingly professional and I imagine, amazingly expensive. We had a lot of fun.
Since my Mother died, my friend Kiyuna san has been asking for photos of her.
Sister Rosy recently sent me some good ones. JPGs you can upload to a web site, go to any Combini at any time of the day or night and print them on photographic paper. Amazing.
Anyway I give him the photos on Saturday and today he comes by as I am settling the boat in for the winter and presents me with a beautifully wrapped package.
He has made a shrine graphic in honor of my dear departed Mummy.
He is a good friend.
He believes fervently in reincarnation and tells me that I must not be sad as my mother has already been reborn and is starting on another remarkable life.
He explained all the significance of the imagery but I have forgotten most of what he said as I was tearful. The bluebird represents her soul flying towards a kanji that is very beautiful, according to Kiyuna san. He could not explain what it means. The bluebird’s wing touching Mother’s face also has meaning.
So, I leave Okinawa for several months on Wednesday morning. I put on all covers, sling fenders, check mooring lines and generally tidy up. She is in good shape and I have no worries about leaving her. Also Kiyuna san will keep his eyes on her. ” I have more eyes than teeth.” he asserts.
Snugged down for the winter. Sayonara boat. Thanks for all the fun.Christmas has come to Ginowan.
Mitsuda sensei has finished my sail cover! Although not as essential as the cockpit cover, it is an important piece of kit as uncovered sails, exposed to the ferocity of the Okinawan sun, soon wither and die.
So well made.
The hallmark of Mitsuda san’s work is very high quality materials and meticulous attention to detail.
Beautiful, er English, clasps hold the sail cover together.
He is determined that the minimum number of photons strike my sail and so has designed elaborate flaps that protect the area around the topping lift. These are held in place with Velcro, which in Japanese is Magic Tapeu.
Wonderful zip up mast surround.Typhoon buster
I have an immense sense of security now that my boat is so well covered, like having lots of firewood stacked as winter approaches.
Anyway, I go down to the Toya fishing harbor very early on Sunday to buy a fat fish. This I intend to fry up on the boat as part of a picnic. Oh no! there are lots of Octupi that have just been caught. Who can resist fresh Octupus. Not me.
It is nearly as tall as he is!Big Octopi!
The idea is meet up with Mitsuda sensei, give him crazy amounts of money for the covers, go for a short sail and have a picnic, which now includes fresh octopus rather than fat fish.
Okubo san and Mitsuda sensei discuss finer points of sail covers.
We go sailing. It is a beautiful afternoon, with enough wind and calm seas. It is the last week of November but I am still in shorts and Tshirt. It must be 25 degrees.
Captain Okubo.
We spend far too much time out on the water and it is 4:00 before we start the picnic. I suddenly lose my resolve to cook up a 5 kilo octopus on my boat stove, magnificent though she be.
I do not drink it.
No worries. We have plenty of food.
Tomomi san prepares aesthetically beautiful picnic, sans octopusLunch at 5:00
So, suddenly it is getting dark. Okubo san and I rouse ourselves from, post too much food, languor, we re-furl the sail and rig the cockpit cover and the sail cover. She does more work than me.
At 9:00 this morning, my doorbell rings. I open the door to find a grinning gentleman of about 60 standing there. We exchange ohayo gozaimasu and he then hands me a beautifully wrapped gift.
gorgeous
Luckily I did not refuse, thinking it was a scam, but accepted as gracefully as I could with lots of dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu and aregato gozaimasu, as I realized he must be a new neighbor and was giving the gift as part of introducing himself.
He lives in 301. How sweet.
Inside the wrapping.
Inside the beautiful box are two cakes fashioned to look like slices through a tree trunk.
November in Okinawa is warm, sunny and cooler. I think after nearly a decade of living here that October and November are the best months.
The sunsets are more muted but, on the other hand, photographable from my balcony.
More sunset stuff late in the year.
28 degreesI like November being warm and doableYesterdayTokina 300Sailing tomorrow.I do not know what this is but it is all over Okinawa at this time of year.
Something I have neglected, as of late, is Okinawan sunsets. July is the greatest season but the sun sets far too far in the West from where I now live, necessitating a longish walk or bike trip to take photos.
From my balcony, at this late period of the year, er, situation, I can get great shots.
Hooray! I have a beautiful new cover for the boat. It is a thing of beauty and therefore a joy forever.
Not a drop of water can get in the boat now!
The cover was hand made by yet another Okinawan boating personality, the charming Mitsuda san.
He is a craftsman
The cover is very tough canvas and, after much discussion and several fittings with Mitsuda san, he speaks no English, it does not matter, I now have what I think is a very typhoon proof cover.
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness; but still will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
The cover has many little design details that come from Mitsuda san’s rich creativity.
You will have to click on this photo to see the little envelope of canvas that he has sewn in to protect the clasp on the tape that pulls the cover forward.Exquisite
The boat is delighted. She wriggles with sassy glee as she sports her new handmade coat before the neighboring boats. She is so happy. So she should be. I never spent this kind of money on clothes for myself !
Kiyuna san comes by to stamp his seal of approvalHe then thunders off on his Harley to rescue boats in distress.
Thank you Mitsuda san for doing such an outstanding job. It is true craftsmanship. He is now making me a sail cover. The boat will be the best dressed Norfolk Gypsy in the Eastern Hemisphere!
We started well but soon the wind shifted and as usual ended up right on the nose and we labored over with many tacks before giving up and firing up the trusty 1GM. What a joy to have a reliable diesel motor. The boat also seemed sluggish into the wind and the sail sagged in a strange way. The reason will become clear later.
Going to Zamami!
Are we downhearted? No! It is late October and we are in shorts and t-shirts. Amazingly we are the only boat out there apart from ferries and stray fishing boats. Best sailing anywhere and it is our private domain.
We finally make it over to the Keramas.
We get to Zamami harbor just as it is getting dark and tie up to a convenient pontoon.
Cosy cabin We drink beerOrion!Home for the next few days.Jeremy settles in for the night.Next morningBreakfast, SPAM sandwiches, onigiri and hot coffee
The first day’s project is to sail over to neighboring island of Tokashiki to track down a reputed Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter that I have been told is gently rotting in the harbor. As soon as we set off, the forestay tangles with the jib roller reefing set up. I cannot work out how this could happen until I look up to see a big split in the top of the mast. Disaster!
See the split. Poor Norfolk Gypsy!There are rings on the front and back of the mast to which various halyards and the forestay are attached. The rings are held in place by bolts that go through the mast. The rings have been pulled down splitting the mast.
Back to the harbor and down comes the mast.
Thank heavens that Jeremy was with me. It was a 2 man job.
I put 4 lashings around the mast head that close up the split very nicely. Many thanks to Mr Pritchard for teaching me knots when I was 12. I also put on large washers under the rings to prevent the bolts from pulling through.
This should fix it for now but I am uncertain what to do for the long term.
Getting the mast up again was very difficult as every possible rope and wire got hopelessly tangled. No time to go to Tokashiki. The pilot cutter will have to wait.
Two dives the next morning.
Zoom!
Zamami is the best place to dive. The water is as clear as Bombay gin. So many turtles. Thanks to Yoishi san for the photos.
I film turtleSo many fishTotally unconcerned by our proximity.Such fun
The Kerama islands are the best places to sail. After the dives we take the boat out for a test run to see if the rings and lashings will hold. . Beautiful sub tropical islands, white sandy beaches, blue, blue sea, stiff breeze, not a single other boat. This was one of my best sails ever. The Norfolk Gypsy loves wind and she galloped around the islands like a colt, er that does not work, like a filly.
The mast head repair held up fine.Gull winged between Tokashiki and Ada.
Home again on Saturday to watch England versus All Blacks. We leave at dawn and surge over to Okinawa in bright sunshine. No trouble from the mast repair.
Dawn in Zamami
Back home, we eat a huge goat stew, drink beer and fall asleep at the beginning of the 2nd half!
How can I fall asleep in an historic game? Age probably.
Here is a short video:
What a great adventure! Full screen, hi def please
The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond 