April 16-22
Hi All,
Progress North: I’m writing this blog from Fukuoka at the Marinoa Marina….33 35.88N: 130 19.43E. We have now come 2350nm from Kota Kinabalu Malaysia on Borneo, our starting point and have ~5500nm yet to go to Sitka. KK is at 6N so we have come 27.5* north or 1650 nm or maybe about halfway north. And it is indeed getting cooler….water temp is ~63*F and air temps are low 50’s to upper 60’s to mid 70’s….actually really quite nice. The Kabola comes on a few hours in the am to take the chill off and then the boat heats up nicely during the day!!!
“Fukuoka, capital of Fukuoka Prefecture, sits on the northern shore of Japan’s Kyushu Island. It’s known for ancient temples, beaches and modern shopping malls, including Canal City. Maizuru Park contains ruins of 17th-century Fukuoka Castle. The central Hakata district contains Tōchō-ji Temple, home to a 10m wooden Buddha and the Hakata Machiya Folk Museum, with displays on daily life in the Meiji and Taishō eras.”
Unfortunately, we did not get to do much sightseeing as we were very, very busy taking care of Mystic…..the rest of the story….
We did leave Hirado at 0700 on April 16 for the 47nm run to Fukuoka and Marinoa Marina. The conditions were ok….had some choppy, confused and beam seas, some spray on the boat but a nice 0.3-0.5 fair current!! We arrived around 12:45 and Jaap, a very friendly retired cruiser from the Netherlands and who has been here on/off for >30 years, and has helped us a bunch! He had contacted the marina and was Facebook messaging Kathy where to go…..this marina does not have a VHF either…..we have since learned it is difficult to get a VHF license due to some very archaic maritime laws and few ground stations, so most Japan boater/marinas do not use VHF….yikes!!! We get to our spot, all tied up, chat a little with Jaap and the marina staff and go to hook up power and discover it is only 100 volts….won’t work…we specifically had emailed the marina and told them we needed 200 volts. The staff guys said ok, and immediately went in search for a 200 volt pedestal…..they found one on the adjacent dock, but a small boat was there…no worries, they will just switch spots….oh, just to add a little drama….the turns here are for small boats and as we start to make the switch a 20kt crosswind comes up….really….TG for thrusters that didn’t overheat:)))) So, we moved once again…..now 6 out of 8 ports we have moved….this is getting to be the norm for us…..arghhhhh!!! But…it continues….we plug in the shorepower USA cord and it does not work….so, the staff and I spend the next 2 hours with Google Translator trying to sort it all out….I eventually solve it by wiring our pigtail to their spec and voilà (haha, spelled it right this time I hope….Sue/Kathy just told me I have been spelling this French word incorrectly…thanks spell check you dog!!!) So by 2pm we are on the new dock and by 4pm we have power and our passage beer….but wait….put that beer back in the firdge:)))
We had told the marina we needed a mechanic to change the toilet discharge hose and to load test the batteries. The mechanic comes to the boat with Etsuko, the front office woman who can speak English, to act as the interpreter. So, back at it we go…..show him the discharge hose and how difficult the job will be and he might have to remove the Thermopure unit….he nods, talks Japanese, Etsuko tries to interpret but has problems with the technical terms, so we use GT a lot…he eventually says he can do it and will order the hose today…might take a day or two to get….but no issues as everyone is off the next 2 days…..their normal workweek is Thursday-Monday…yep!!! We then go into the Laz and he has a what I think is a battery load tester….but it is Japanese so I can’t tell. He tests one battery but can’t get the instrument to work…..I tell him in USA we need to take the cables off….he says not necessary with this instrument….but eventually he takes cables off….and then proceeds to test all 4 batteries and tells me they are all bad….yikes….this is going to be a BIG PITA….might ruin the trip….arghhhhhhh!!!!
We never did get that passage beer….I was pretty depressed and stressed on what to do so went straight for the whiskey:))))
Later that evening as the batteries were under a bulk charge at 14.7 volts for 6 hours…..I kept inspecting the batteries…..2 of the batteries were very hot and felt badly deformed….we shut off the charger after 3.7 hours when the temp got to 126*F and climbing…..batteries will eventually crack and leak toxic gases. I didn’t sleep much that night….tossing and turning….but concluded not all 4 batteries could be bad as the last 3 weeks the batteries acted more like a bad apple than the whole bank going out. So, I was up early the next day and proceeded to empty half the Laz so I had plenty of room. I then took out the 2 bad boys and reinstalled a spare battery we had kept from the house bank from 2011-2015. So instead of the 10 house bank batteries….remember our house bank is split…6 in the forward bilge and 4 in the Laz….so 1800 amp hours instead of 2000….not ideal for our use but livable until we get to Sitka….I hope…..fingers crossed. Anyway, Kathy has to help me get the batteries up over a 2″ lip…these are 120 lbs….but with leverage and a board we get all 4 removed and all 3 reinstalled….yeah baby….and we turn on the switch and run them the rest of the day and drum roll….all seems ok….we give them a good 6 hour charge overnight and all looks good in the am….the batteries are staying cool as appropriate!!!! We shall see how all this works when we start to head north next week!!
So after all that, we put the laz back together and just in time to go 400 meters to a fuel pontoon. Jaap has arranged for a truck to come for our 3300 liters….but yikes, it is a very small pontoon…and 15kt crosswind again….and there is big buoy very close….gulp, this is going to be a tight one….and, as I feared I could not get it lined up properly the first time….so, tried again….did run over the buoy but fortunately nothing attached or hit the stabby fin and Jaap was able to get us tied up with about a foot of room next to the buoy….whoa!!! Eneos is the gas station here and they send trucks all over the place. One truck had 2000 liters and 1 truck had the other 1300 liters we needed…..and it about drove me crazy…everyone wanted to know precisely how much in each tank we wanted….we have to alternate tanks 2x in order to handle the list…..so I must have calculated the stuff a gazillion times…arghhhhh!!! And of course, it was raining…..fun….NOT!!!
To celebrate the temporary battery fix and getting the fuel we have a steak dinner with a nice 2004 Markham Cabernet Sauvignon…yummers…but we both fall asleep watching the movie!!
The next day we had Andy and Sue over with Kirk Patterson, a cruiser from Canada who has been here off/on for close to 30 years. Spruce is staying in the Odo marina….maybe 1k from us….not sure why it is arranged as such but we are in the motor boat marina and they are in the sailboat marina….curious!! Kirk answers a lot of our Japan cruising questions as he has cruised Japan for the last several years and has even completed a circumnavigation of the country. He is also trying to write a cruising Japan guide book as well as changing some of these archaic laws, which will be a huge help for the cruisers to come! He also helps us plan our trip north and gives us about 10 of his favorite spots….wow, there are some great places to visit!!! We then take him to lunch for all his help…sort of like a Chinese/Japanese restaurant….delicious!!!!
We are up early the next day to complete our 2nd closed port permit application….takes us a few hours to plot it all out, get the lat/lon, fill out all the paperwork and send in the new application…..again a PITA!!!!
The next day I wash the boat…wow, was she dirty….takes me close to 4 hours….ugh!!! Then the mechanic shows up….the white sanitary hose we want will take until June to get but he has a black sanitary hose they use in Japan…..not as sturdy/wire reinforced and probably not odorless but it should be ok until Sitka and we can change again….drats!!! Well….it takes us 3.5 hours to get the hose out….he has to cut it into 3 sections…and indeed the hose is full of hard piscrete….slang for what happens when urine solidifies over time forming calcium carbonate and urine crystals….then he comes back the next day and it takes 4 hours to get the new hose in and then another 4 hours to make the connections….he has to make up new connections hoses as this new black hose bends too easily and can crease if it makes too short of a turn…..ugh, ugh, ugh….and the story continues…..He comes back the next day and we work for another 4 hours trying to unclog the next 2 hoses. From the toilet, the discharge hose we just changed runs to a 3 way valve…1 hose to the holding tank and 1 hose to sea via an anti-siphon valve and a 2nd hose from there to the thru-hull. We think when we used the acid and created a hole in the concrete, all we did was wash some of the concrete further down the line and pieces lodged in the anti-siphon U joint and in the thruhull…..and that is exactly what happened. There were a few pieces in the anti-siphon U joint but we found the hose at the thru hull completely clogged with pieces of the concrete as well as the thru-hull. But, the mechanic was great and we doggedly cleaned everything and then….drum roll…we flushed for 10 times and did the Happy Dance….3 hard days at this job….whoa!!!
OK…you ask….where was the FUN….well, a Costco run, of course:)))) Jaap volunteered to take us and Spruce for a Costco run….yes, there are many Costcos in Japan….the Admiral was salivating in anticipation. Kathy has her Costco card but can only get in 2 guests…..I do not have my card….searched for 30 min, but do have the Citi Visa membership card with my photo…that should get Spruce in!!! So off we go….we think the store opens at 10am but we get there at 9:35am and ODG….there are a gazillion people lined up and already entering. Think Costco in the USA the day before Christmas or Thanksgiving….wall to wall people…..but, they are all polite and patient so we are able to get around and fill our 2 baskets. Wow!!!
We did take Japp and his wife, Marijke, out to dinner to show our appreciation for all Jaap has done for us. Well, it was Saturday night and we got a late start as we were just finishing the toilet job. We soon found out that all the restaurants were packed with long waits…..the weather is just starting to turn nice here and Jaap speculated many people were out in celebration. We eventually found a family restaurant near the marina and had a typical Japanese dinner….Marijke talked me into eating eel for the first time….it was great….a bit fatty & oily but very rich with a mild fish flavor and the sauce was perfect!!! Oh the things this boy from Kansas is doing now:))))
We spent Sunday getting everything cleaned up….massive bathroom and bilge cleaning, a few small boat projects, a quick walk to the Supermarket….we only wanted 5 onions but the Costco bag had 30….et al. And, we celebrated getting the two big jobs done in our 7 day stay….not much sightseeing but well, it feels good to have a working toilet and the batteries seem to be happy for the moment….and it was good to meet/socialize with Kirk, Japp, and Marijke…and hey another Costco:)))!!!
We are leaving tomorrow, Monday, April 23 at sunrise….~5:30am for the 88nm run to Hagi. We are indeed feeling the pressure to head north….we have 925nm to make Hokadate by 5/15 (22 days) and then another 225nm to Kushiro by 5/23…..Mark arrives on 5/25…..so still a long ways to go!!! Unfortunately Spruce will be several days behind us and we are not sure how/when our next rendezvous will happen…..whaaaaaaaa:(((( It has been great travelling with them as we tackle this very enigmatic country!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
Fukuoka Kyushu Japan
PS: Pictures on the website: https://www.mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Fukuoka
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