Sailing in Okinawa

KADENA MARINA, Japan — (June 28, 2016) Sailed Scarlette to Kadena Marina with Shingo Kazuko and Takahiro.  t.

 June 21, 2016 Summer vacation aboard Scarlette...training a first mate candidate. -- About 5 photos on facebook from this trip

 EAST CHINA SEA -- June 24, 2010 -- Took boat out in East China Sea. Also spent the night on boat. Photos on Facebook. 

Cap'n J and Kenny Yergler sport Santa hats off the coast of Cape Zanpa in Okinawa on Christmas Eve. EAST CHINA SEA (12/24/2008) I spent Christmas Eve off the coast of Okinawa skippering, Scarlette, my 24-sailboat with a coworker/deckhand/helmsman Kenny Yergler. Man, can my life get any worse? Our trip went almost as planned. Originally scheduled for Monday (Dec. 22), the Christmas Eve trip was our last window of the year to sail as I'm headed off on family vacation on Sunday Dec. 28 to Tokyo for New Year's celebrations. Monday's weather was rife with wind. So, we agreed to go on Wednesday -- Christmas Eve. Helmsman Kenny Yergler looks almost as if he's single-handing Scarlette as we headed north up the west coast of Okinawa We met at the Kadena Marina at 8 a.m. got Scarlette, a J/24 sailboat made in 1985, ready to launch. Although the skies were pretty much overcast we both splashed a little sunscreen on just in case. My nose -- like Rudolph -- was a little red late...

  SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2008 First Single Hand Trip EAST CHINA SEA -- (Dec. 7, 2008) -- On the same day that was supposed to live in infamy, I didn't purposely start out trying to singlehand Scarlette. But, that's how it worked out. The plan was to have three people join me for a three to four hour cruise along the coast of Chatan, Okinawa on the East China Sea. I had been using this as my area to learn how to sail Scarlette -- like a 15-year-old uses an empty mall parking lot to learn how to drive. Although initial plans called for a crew of four, those plans were scuttled when -- by 7 a.m. after waiting from the 5:45 a.m. showtime -- my car was the lone car in the Kadena Marina parking lot. So what to do? I checked Buoy weather one last time and here's what the buoy @ 27.0 N and 127.5 E (I call this the north buoy) had for weather: Breezy whitecapping conditions with moderate choppy seas. Moderate short period waves. Winds from North East from 13 to 18 knots. Seas North Nor...

  THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2008 EAST CHINA SEA (Nov. 27, 2008) -- The "other woman" finally met Scarlette. My  wife doesn't share the same passion I have for Scarlette and boating in general. But since she can't cook Turkey (our stove is just too small) and we both had the Thanksgiving Holiday off (it's an American federal holiday for us here too) she kind of ran out of excuses as to why she couldn't come aboard and tool around off the coast of Chatan, Okinawa on the South China Sea. Since owning the boat last May 2008 this was the first trip "the other woman" had made on Scarlette. She smiled a lot. She played along. She didn't get sick. But she admitted, that she wished the boat could go faster. Maybe Scarlette was a little jealous and didn't want to show "the other woman" a fun time. I'm batting 0 and 2 with my wife when it comes to sailing. After getting my sailing certification last year we went out on a rental Catalina Capri...

  SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2008 Kou's first sailing trip Boy, 4, completes deckhand duties aboard Scarlette Nov. 23, 2008 -- EAST CHINA SEA -- Kou Johnston completed his first trip as a deckhand aboard Scarlette -- a 23-year-old J/24 sailboat -- just 13 days after his fourth birthday off the coast of Okinawa in the South China Sea. Capt. J and Kou's older brother -- Kai -- also crewed aboard the 24-foot, sloop-rigged racer/cruiser built by Nissan in 1985 under license with J/boats. "I tethered both the boys to Scarlette to help avoid a man-overboard situation," said Capt. J. "Kou didn't get sick and he seemed to like standing back by the rudder when I was at the helm." "It was fun," said Kou. "I want to go again." "That's music to my ears," mused Capt. J. "One of the reasons why I bought Scarlette was to do something with the boys that we could all do and maybe teach them a skill, too." Kou seemed at ease aboard th...