The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond

So, here is a badly made movie about the boat. What a beautiful day! The water is already warm. The marina is so clean, the water is so turquoise. View in the highest definition possible.

Okinawa

On Wednesday morning it rained like crazy. This very heavy rain is bad news as there is no self draining system in the cockpit and it fills up very quickly. The great danger is water pouring into the engine compartment. I get to the boat just in time, the water level is just an inch below the engine compartment lid.

I think I will rig another automatic switch under the grating and use Gulper to empty the cockpit when the water reaches a certain level.

The rain stops on Thursday so I try to make progress with the dive ladder installation. It is a hellish job. As I mentioned, access is terrible but add to that trying to engage nuts on the bottom of bolts that you cannot see, whilst also trying to keep heavy dive ladder in place on the transom. I fail.

Kiyuna san shows up and says he will do it. I watch. His approach is a masterpiece in practical problem solving. He cuts a large backing plate from the teak plank that my friend at the woodyard had given me.

Next he produces special nuts that have serrations on one side so you can hammer them into wood. This he does onto the underside of the backing plate. This means the nuts are all in place and all we have to do is screw down the bolts from above through the carefully measured holes and they should engage.

It is still not easy due to the restricted access but it is much easier dealing with one object, the backing plate, than lots of fiddly loose nuts and washers. He succeeds in getting all 4 bolts screwed down tight. Hooray! But wait, he has forgotten the ladder

“Only a test Neil san.” grins Kiyuna san. He then marks the position of the centre of the backing plate on the transom, drills through and screws the plate in place. It is tightly fixed in the correct position. He removes all the bolts, slaps on lots of sealant, places the ladder and bolts it down.

The whole process took less than an hour. It was a privilege to watch.

I give Kiyuna san a bottle of Islay Mist in thanks for his work on the boat.

He blesses the boat by splashing whisky around and muttering stuff.

The next day I find a package in the cabin.

The package contains 2 framed collages that Kiyuna san has created from the Islay Mist box.

Thanks Kiyuna san.

My new boarding ladder that I ordered from Amazon arrives, hand delivered, on Sunday morning.

Here’s the rub. Installation should be easy, drill four holes in the transom and bolt down the ladder. Reality is different. Access to the space under the transom is through a small opening in one of the aft lockers. You need very long and jointless arms to be able to engage the lock nuts to the bolts that hold down the ladder.

Prehensile arms are a must in small yacht restoration.

Not to worry, I can always eat the best Sashimi in the world off the best plate.

I realize that this blog has become light on the joys of living in Okinawa and heavy on boat stuff. Let’s remedy this.

Tou Cafe and Gallery is, as the name suggests a cafe and gallery. It is run by the daughters of one of Okinawa’s greatest potters, Yoneshi Matsuda.

It is such a great place. https://www.smartmagazine.jp/okinawa/article/meal/36583/

It is impossible to find and I imagine that 50% of potential clientele just drive by. I do not think they care and ostentatious signage would be vulgar. Tou cafe is not vulgar. Friend Tomomi has been decorating the cafe with her amazing Ikebana.

Today, we eat and Tomomi renews the displays.

The ladies who run the restaurant are so wonderful. They have no edge, they are not angry, they are committed to beauty, to quality and to fun. Happiness and Joy.

I buy a plate.

Tomomi does Ikebana.

Okinawa.

The boat has a fine cooker than burns what the Americans call denatured alcohol, whereas in Britain it is known as methylated spirits. Actually it is usually affectionally referred to as meths. Most of us grew up drinking it.

I go to several mega Japanese hardware stores which usually stock everything but no one has a clue what I am talking about. I show them videos of meths burning stoves but only get blank looks. Japan does not do meths. I am very disappointed as I had been looking forward to playing with my stove.

Just as I am leaving one of the stores, an Okinawan man comes up to me and explains that he had grown up in London, where he had clearly drunk a lot of meths, and directs me to a camping store. Hooray, they have meths!

I rush back to the boat as Tomomi san is coming down for a picnic. Unfortunately it is raining. I plan to eat inside the cabin but Tomomi is made of sterner stuff and insists on eating outside.

Ratatouille, fresh squid, couscous salad, lamb chops, antipasto misto, brie and er bread. Followed by strawberries and cream. All in all, a completely non japanese meal!

A very Scottish picnic, sitting in a boat in the drizzle. Actually it is quite a lot warmer than Scotland. Kiyuna san comes by and joins us. We serve him a lamb chop and then I remember he has only 2 teeth. No problem as he minces the meat with a knife and then eats it. We spend 4 hours sitting in a wet boat eating great food – highly recommended.

Before lunch we go off on a cruise. It is raining quite hard and there is a bit of a chop but Tomomi san again displays her inherent toughness and is not at all put off. I am reluctant to start sailing until I am confident that the Yanmar will always start and run. I mean she was underwater for 10 years and I expect some toothing problems. She runs perfectly and we have the best time!

It is 7 years since the Norfolk Gypsy’s bottom was caressed by sea water. For 10 years before that she lay rotting at a mooring. Today was a new start for her.

After over a year of restoration, we launched her on a glorious but very windy Okinawan day.

The guys from the Marina arrive and expertly manoeuvre her towards the boat lift.

I am anxious as there is no sign of Kiyuna san. He had said he would give me a hand and I worry about the engine not starting, and things generally going wrong. I phone him 3 times but no reply. Has he gone AWOL as he sometimes does? Oh dear.

The boat is hoisted up and decorously lowered into the harbor.

What’s that noise? Yay ! The boom of the Harley.

Getting to the sea berth is a lot of fun. The engine starts but there is a very strong wind blowing onshore and backing out of the launch berth using the engine and tiller for the first time demonstrates my lack of seamanship to the assembled crowd. They are very polite. I slowly get the hang of things and we motor to the other end of the Marina to find the berth. The GM10 chunters away very happily and despite strong wind, drives the boat along with no problem. I forgot to bring the boat hook and coming alongside is a mess. No worries, we finally get her moored safely at her new home.

So that’s it. After a year of work, the boat that was a dismal wreck is now back in the water and ready to go. Good weather is on its way and I hear Ulysses.

A little video.

Some will remember that I have been plagued by a sore wrist and not being able to use my thumb. Pain is the result if I try.

I go to the Onna clinic and they give me painkillers but say come back as the Sensei does not think that this is a cure. It is not, and I am referred to a specialist at Chubu Hospital.

The doctor speaks good English and I run through my symptoms. He is super on top of the situation, asking me to perform various movements of my hand and thumb. He says with great authority, “You have………” Here, he makes one of the strangest sounds I have ever heard from a human.

De Quervain was a Swiss surgeon who first identified this syndrome. His name is unpronounceable unless you come from Sion in Switzerland, as he did. The Japanese version is a bit like the noise a crow makes. Anyway, I have De Quervain’s syndrome.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Quervain_syndrome

He also gives me a steroid injection, which I suppose will rule me out of selection for Scotland’s World Cup squad.

The injection into my wrist is unpleasant.

This is a drag as I do not want to wear a wrist brace that hampers all movement. How can I haul up my sails? Rats!

However, big shout out to amazing Japanese health service.

Essentially the boat is finished. I do a few final jobs.

There are only two small jobs, make lid for sea water hole thing and weld nut onto center plate winch so I can use a ratchet to raise and lower it quickly. These are Kiyuna san jobs but I cannot find him. No worries, the weather has been grim, er by Okinawan standards. Launch is imminent.

I drive up to Ogimi to wallow in Irises. There are acres of them.

Regular readers will remember that my much beloved bird lens, a manual focus Tokina AT-X 300, broke when I was in New Mexico. I tried to get it fixed in San Francisco but everyone said the lens was too old and it would be impossible to get parts and stuff.

When I get back, I send the lens to Tokina in Tokyo. They send me an email saying the lens is old and normally they would not repair it but because the lens is beautiful they would see what they could do. A couple of days later I get another mail explaining they can fix the focusing problem, what is more, they would like to remove mold and generally refurbish. It would be like a new lens. This was all written in exquisitely polite and baroque English. I so appreciated the effort they made.

It arrived at my house, personal delivery at the time I specified of course, last week. It is a new lens. Thank you Tokina! Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Next. At the university we had some kind of private health scheme. Apparently the coverage was exactly the same as the national health scheme but we benefited from reduced rates at hotels or something. Having retired, I have to leave the scheme and join the Onna son health insurance set up.

It is cold, 20 C, and blusterly with showers. I have no car and am obliged to walk the mile or so to the Onna Village Office to see if I can get a new health insurance card. To my surprise, I find I enjoy walking in wildish weather.

The people at the Village Office are adorable and make every effort to understand my request, despite minus 90% language crossover. After filling one form and waiting 5 minutes the ladies come back with my new Japanese National Health Card!

This gives me full health care, medical, dentist, hairdresser etc. So easy, such fun, no cost! Happy, happy, joy, joy.

I have spoken frequently of the outrageously good luck that has characterized my life. There was another example today.

The boat is now ready to launch and Kiyuna san and I go off to pick up my beautiful new cabin cushions. They have been stored at the place where they were, er stuffed. https://thequietripple.com/2018/06/18/stuffing/

On the way back to the marina, steam starts pouring out from under the bonnet of the mighty Xtrail. Now here is the lucky bit, I am only a couple of hundred meters from the marina and sitting beside me is the best mechanic I have ever met. If the car had overheated on the expressway that I drive up and down most days, the consequences are too awful to think about. Phoning emergency services, getting the truck towed, finding a mechanic shop, etc etc all in Japanese. Instead I just park the truck, Kiyuna san takes over. The radiator has burst.

Why the radiator burst we do not yet understand. No worries reassures Kiyuna san. He will take it out tomorrow and take it to a buddy who repairs radiators. I have to do nothing. Amazing.

Kiyuna san then says he will drive me home. We jump into his beaten up 600cc truck and scamper up to Onna. As we near my apartment, I ask if we can quickly pop in at my favorite woodworking shop as they are re-modeling the trim for the cabin hatch. https://thequietripple.com/2019/03/18/grating/

As we pull in Kiyuna san begins to screech as it turns out that the old guy who runs the place is one of his best friends! Much hilarity and fun. I like living in Okinawa.

The boat is effectively finished and I will launch her next week for sea trials.