The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond

An important support in my ‘Norfolk Gypsy sails the Ryukyus’ fantasy is a boat trailer. I need a trailer for the boat to sit on. I have failed for the last six months to find anything better than a wheel barrow. I have even started a process to have one hand made, or made by hand if you prefer, which would cost me thousands of dollars.

Today  early in the morning, I spot a beautiful new trailer that appears to be the rightsize-ish, in the yard in front of my old sidekick Chinen san’s personal version of Xanadu. Chinen san lives much as I aspire to live later in life. The two rooms that make up the bottom floor of his house are littered with outboard engine detritus. One room also serves as an office. His desk is covered in Awamori bottles, propellers, boxes of split pins and spare parts catalogues. Everything is covered in oil. I dread to think what is upstairs.

https://quietripple.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/its-a-hap-hap-happy-day-toodle-oodle-oodle-oodle-oodle-lay-the-sun-shines-bright-and-the-worlds-so-right/

Arisa about to plug her ears to dampen the roar of the Tophatsu, back in 2014. Chinen san in his element.

Anyway Chinen san says that the beautiful trailer is not for sale but is to replace an existing trailer on which a boat is currently positioned. Why don’t I take that one when the time comes to change?  “Where?!” I cry.  ” Why nearby.” cries Chinen san.

I get no kick from cocaine

Mere alcohol does not thrill me at all.

But I get a kick out of you!

“How much?!”  ” San man en.”     This is about 300 bucks.

It felt like this. Chinen san on the left.

“Here is your  trailer.” said the Archangel Gabriel, known as Chinen san in these parts.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

I will have to tune her up with new tires, current ones are filled with concrete, which is an old Okinawan tradition to stop tires going flat. I will also install a winch.

Like this one

All of this happened early this morning. The whole transaction took 10 minutes. Luck has been a constant throughout my life.

Later Hitomi brought her beautiful son, Koki, to see us

Hitomi has been at OIST as long as I have. Congratulations Hitomi! Yay Koki!

A joyful day reaches conclusion as I hear the thunder of the delivery man’s hoofs, or hooves if you prefer, coming on down the trail.  He hurls a box at me as his uncontrolled wagon races down Route 6 at 8:00 pm. Yay the lamb has come through. The winter is assured.

Eat me!

Cashmore continues his Asian tour by playing a couple of gigs at OIST. These straddle a weekend and another Japanese National holiday. We have time to frolic.

Conditions were much worse than they look

After a very dramatic sail with much potential drowning,

Noda san comforts Roger.

We console ourselves at the best restaurant in the world.

We eat amuse gueles, octopus, sashimi, fish, mozuku, seaweed tempura and guzzle Orion. This is Roger’s fish. Everyone should eat here.

Saturday too windy for boating, alas.  We clean the beach.

Spotless

We buy Octopus for dinner party.

Very pagan dinner with Octopus, whelks and scorched lamb.

It is a good life. Tim, Mary, Marianela, Gordon, David, Roger.

Birdwatching  replaced sailing.

Little Ringed Plover. (Credit Cashmore)

Greenshanks. (Credit Cashmore)

Uber rare Whiskered Tern

On Monday, we went hunting the rail. The Okinawan Rail is one of the world’ rarest birds as it only lives in a small area of northern Okinawa. There are only 217.75 left.

From a previous excursion

We scoured the places where I have previously spotted the Yanbaru Kuina, Okinawan for Okinawan Rail, don’t you know, without success. Just as it is getting too dark to see, Roger howls. I dread he has had a stroke, but no,  he has seen the rail thus  gaining entrance into one of the most exclusive clubs.

Rail hunting in Yanbaru.

Lots of fun.

I go to Tokyo to stay in the world’s worst AirB&B.

A bit like a 90’s squat

View from window.

However it is close to the mega hotel where the symposium is held.

Abe san speaks to us from his bunker

Mighty Cashmore is there.

I skip the conference dinner, events that I usually dislike, to play music in the ‘Warrior Celt’.

Sleaze

The bar is in a sleazy maze of streets near Ueno. Fantastic place.

Hit me with your rhythm stick. Notice how gleeful everyone looks.

Great night, despite having difficulty crossing Tokyo on the subway at 12:00 after 3 pints of Guinness. However I finally make it back to the squat.

So that is it! I am Okinawan! Yay!

Permanent resident

This means I can live in Japan for the rest of my life. Folks, this makes me very happy! I now have Japanese permanent residence, a Green Card and a British passport, er for what that is worth post Brexit.

I am changing my name. No more Neil Calder, from now on please address me as Ryutaro Higa.

I am invited to a very posh do to mark the 55th Birthday of the Kariushi Hotel chain. I have got to know the owner, Taira san, over the years and he is a very fine fellow.

Taira san, doubtlessly ruthless but great fun to be around.

It is also the Governor, Onaga san’s, birthday. We all party like crazy.

Onaga san also good bloke.

The food is completely over the top. Tables groaning with every imaginable delicacy.

Ham

Duck

On such occasions well-wishers send sprays of orchids and other flowers.

Flowers everywhere. It is hugely impressive.

There must be a hundred trillion million white orchids.

Thanks Taira san and congratulations Kariushi enterprises.

View from deck in 2013. Notice how small the tree is and how low is the vegetation.

The vegetation,mainly Aloe, has grown up into the tree

Ben goes wild with the saw.

I now have the best view

Unfortunately it turns out that cutting down vegetation on sea front is against the law.

A man from the Village Office comes round.

“Who did that?”

“Ben did!” I sneak.

“He must go to prison!!”

“Will you let him off if I sing “Tancha Bay I Wish You Were Sake?”

“OK”

I sing and everything is fine.

He was actually very sweet and rather embarrassed about telling us off.

Ben likes beer

Yay! Ben and Courtney come to visit.

We eat fish

I order Octopus

Shaved ice

The Cambridge University Theatre Group perform at the university.

Et tu Brute

We sail

We dive

Bat Fish attack Ben

Bat Fish attack me

Old friend cleans Puffer fish as we set out

Gentle sunset sail

Sunset from boat

At the university

It has actually been a very busy week with meetings of our Board of Governors.

At least 4 Nobel prizewinners in this picture

This is the best restaurant in the world! We eat lots of little starter things, amazing fried octopus, goya champuru, shellfish from the bay with spring onions and beni imo and finally a huge fresh fish each, just pulled from the East China Sea to be cooked in butter and garlic. All home cooked by my much beloved Noda san and Ishigaki san. We drink Orion and awamori on the rocks. Aregato gozaimasu.

Octopus

Ben likes fish

We meet Godzilla on the way out of the restaurant

Background noise:

https://www.oist.jp/news-center/news/2017/9/29/dr-cherry-murray-elected-new-chair-or-oist-board-governors

What a great week! Thanks Courtney, thanks Ben.

So, I take up the story from last night. You will remember that I had to watch the Scaffie being slowly dragged to her doom as her anchors dragged in high seas. I, the pusillanimous, dared not jump into the raging surf to rescue her.

I woke this morning fearing the worst. It is  6:30 when I rush onto the beach with my heart thumping. She is way down by the bridge but still afloat and not grinding horribly on coral.

She has had a rough night.

The yard and sail have burst loose, she is full of water and a very good sea anchor, which I should have rigged, and a hammock have been washed away. Otherwise she seems OK.

The place where she is, is very accidented, The bottom is ridges of coral and as I drag her back to the original mooring, I trip and stumble in the high waves and surf. My legs and hands are cut on the coral as I flounder.

Frankly folks, I cannot think of anything I enjoy more. At 7:00 am I am dragging my Scaffie through the high waves to moor her securely. I stumble and spend a lot of time underwater, the wind is strong, the waves are high and I am totally alive.

I set 3 anchors and drive them into the coral sand with a lump hammer. This is mask and snorkel stuff.

I think she will be OK

So, this all goes to reinforce my belief that you have the best fun when things go wrong.

I was wrong to state in the last entry that the storm was over. It has redoubled its efforts and today is very windy and the sea is very angry. Luckily it is Saturday and I sit the live long day watching the Scaffie tugging at her anchor rope.

I went out early this morning to bale her out and check the anchors. Regrettably and unexpectantly, the weather got much worse during the day. At low tide we are Ok because the reef absorbs the anger of the ocean but as the day matures the tide rises and the huge swells sweep over the reef to pay court to my sweet, innocent Scaffie.

Help

She is brave.

What can I do?

So, what can I do?  The anchor is dragging. I measure the progress by  laying markers along the seafront. I am too scared to go into the sea to reset the anchors. The tide is super high and I fear I will drown if I go out there.

Angry, probably Brexit.

So I sit and wait. Hopefully the wind will abate and with the low tide the seas will moderate. Poor Scaffie, I try to talk to her about her suffering but she is very closed.

A big typhoon skirts Okinawa. All the fishing, diving boats are hauled out of the water to avoided being washed ashore. Work really gets in the way and I am unable to take the Scaffie to safety. She will have to ride it out at anchor. Will the anchors drag? Will she be wrecked?

Out on the reef

This situation imposes strict discipline onto my usual lackadaysality.  Wake up at 6:00. Rush out, in blue towel clad, to see if the boat is still there. Wade out into sea in driving rain to bale boat and check anchors. Go to work but escape at lunchtime to wade out to recheck anchor and bale. It has been raining like crazy and the winds are very strong. Leave work as early as possible to wade out to check anchor and bale, usually in driving rain. I love it! Discipline, stern mistress!

Still life.

The last 3 days have been wonderful. However we have not had a real typhoon, like in our faces, for 2 years. My Okinawan buddies feel this is very strange and blame Brexit, as the harbinger of global wierdness.

The bad weather has driven birds to shelter and a field nearby is sputtered with plovers.

Pacific Golden Plover faces into the wind.

Kentish Plover yearns for Maidstone.

Now the storm is over and I feel gratification that my 16 ft Scaffie braved it at anchor whilst vainglorious diving boats skulked onshore.