CRUISING to Tannowa

 

For 4 days from May 3rd, as part of our training which includes sleeping aboard the yacht, we will cruise 24 miles (45 km) south of Hokko Yacht Harbor to Tannowa Yacht Harbor. The weather was a little chilly but nice. We set sail with 3 people from Kaientai, Hiki-san and me, the 5 of us, on board. There was very little wind so we started the engine and headed for Kansai Airport. Once we reached the vicinity of Kansai Airport, we turned the yacht slightly port side and started heading in the direction of Tannowa. I heard that once you reach this area, the color of the water changes and it's beautiful. We advanced forward as we watched various types of planes fly over us to land in Kansai Airport. When I see airplanes, I think about all the people on board and how each and every one of them have their own stories to tell. I pray for light for the ones who are facing darkness in their lives. Right before we reached Tannowa, Kaientai member Takahara-san made his rendezvou with us. He came on a yacht that's smaller than the Aeolus called a Dana 24 named Ariel. His wife and his 2 junior high school kids were on board the Ariel. Yes, his whole family enjoys sailing. I would love to go sailing with my family in San Diego. I hope there will be many more families like the Takahara family in Japan. We reached Tannowa Yacht Harbor around 3 pm. It was only a matter of time before all the yachts that will be participating in Around Kansai International Airport Yacht Race started coming in. I heard over 70 yachts have entered the race. They invited us to the pre-race festivities and I had a chance to talk about my feat to cross the Pacific. We listened to the band play and watched a hula dance show as we enjoyed sushi, yakisoba and other dishes. We will leave here in the early morning of the 6th. Anyone reading this who is nearby, please come for a visit!

 

                            
Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 5/4/2013
Translated by SWIS Project