Today's Report
Sep. 12/11 JST
Position: 33°08'N, 139°48'E
Remaining to
Hachijojima: In port
Remaining to
Yokohama: 140 nm / 99.8% finished, (ETA: 5 days)
An easy arrival just in
time for lunch yesterday closed the 380 nm move from Chichijima Island to Hachijojima Island,
with all onboard systems working well, and the weather also cooperating. Assisted by improved winds he was able to sail up to the last hour and then motor the rest
of the way into the fishing harbor at the northeast corner of the main island,
arriving a bit after 1100. He was given assistance at the pier by Mr. Takeuchi,
the owner/operator of a Yanmar-certified marine services company there.
 |
| Fishing harbor on Hachijojima |
As we mentioned yesterday,
Hachijojima has an interesting history as the outermost of the Seven Izu
Islands, going back thousands of years to the Jomon Period. We've always been fascinated by the
stories of the criminals and political exiles banished to the islands back in the 16th to 18th centuries. Elaborately long expositions
can be seen written into walls of volcanic rock deeply etched, apparently by prisoners, but
in Kanji almost indecipherable to
modern Japanese eyes.
Hachijo – its popular
nickname – is both the furthest out of the Seven Izu Islands, and among the most beautiful of the volcanic islands that stretch like a gorgeous string of pearls beginning near Tokyo Bay all
the way out to the two Hachijo islands 140 nm distant (Hachijojima and the much
smaller HachijoKO – "child" – jima). One can hardly fault Saito-san
for his impatience to get there, nor for his obvious joy that came from his easy
arrival at a place renown for its bountiful seafood and a wide choice of relaxing hot
springs.
Details are still being
worked out for how long he will stay there before the 30-hour sail he expects
it will take to go the remainder of the way to Yokohama.
