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Osaka, Japan, The Summer Sailstice log of Catch 22, 2005

March 29, 2009 by jarndt
Osaka, Japan, The Summer Sailstice log of Catch 22, 2005

 2004 Summary
In 2004 Catch 22 was the only ‘gaijin’ (foreign) owned boat in Kobe Marina, Nishinomiya, Japan. Catch 22 signed on the Summer Sailsatice, however, on the appointed weekend a typhoon blew through the area and all boats stayed tied down. The following weekend was almost as bad as this in the ‘monsoon season’ in Japan. So Summer Sailstice was rained out in 2004.

2005 Summary
May 9, 2005
John Arndt sent an e-mail announcing the 2005 Summer Sailstice and an invitation to participate. Catch22, remembering the fiasco of 2004, respectfully declines.

Friday, June 3, 2005
After discussion with Crip (Brit), moderator of the Sail Japan web site and some reflection, it came to
Catch 22 that this year Kobe Marina now has 4 Gaijin boats and 6 active sailors. So, an e-mail was sent to the other boats and sailors to determine interest in participation. Two positive responses returned from 5 sent.

Friday, June 10
Catch 22 sent sign up to Summer Sailstice and ordered a flag and 2 shirts. PROBLEM!! The sign up form asks for all sorts of boat information: name, manufacturer, model, length and - if you read it as the skipper
read it – sail area. Strange the skipper thought. He didn’t know the sail area off hand so he wrote ‘not
enough’. Later, when the skipper checked the Asian sail area for other boats, the skipper discovered
Summer Sailstice was asking for geographical area – not sail (canvas) area!!!! So, Catch 22 is sailing in the part of the world called Not Enough…

Friday, June 17
The flag did not arrive. All of the other English-speaking sailors are busy save the skipper of Catch 22 and his student, Paul (American minister in the attached photo -check the grin of a first timer...). (The skipper owns and operates a one boat ASA school in Osaka, Japan.) This will be Paul’s first time ever to step on a keelboat. To complicate the event, his wife gave birth to their first son the previous Monday. Paul is a missionary and language teacher and a resident for 5 years. Sailing has been a dream for him. His first day goes very well and the grin on his face is priceless.

Saturday, June 18
Tom’s third lesson day. The skipper is a little late to the marina and finds Tom (American software
developer) in deep discussion with Kobayashi san and Fujiwada san about a 26’ boat in Lake Biwa. It will cost 100,000 Yen to transport the boat from Lake Biwa to Nishinomiya…. The lesson then begins. Another great day for beginning sailors. Tom sails Catch 22 on the big course beyond the inner harbor and into Osaka Wan. He confronts all manner of commercial traffic and many sailing situations where the Nav Rules become critical. He gets checked off on the MOB exercise where Jenn falls overboard. Jenn was the last student to rescue the float. Now Jenn will become Tom and it will be Paul’s task to rescue him…

Sunday, June 19
Suyoum’s language lesson. Suyoum doesn’t want to learn to sail except as a by-product of a lan.

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