News from the crew of Out of the Blue. The hottest Quarter Tonner still racing in Western Japan.

 
2005 is all but passed, so here's a review of the highlights:
Sadly, not a lot to write. I was so busy in the yard that I hardly had any time to sail OotB. She sat at her moorings for the best part of the year, but the good news is that Paul has finished his house and is back in "Boat mode".
We've just spent the last six weeks or so installing a new hatch, glassing up a few cracks that had appeared in the bow (thanks to whoever it was that cast our anchor off last Typhoon!), and giving the old dear a few much needed coats of paint.
She was re-launched this weekend, and awaits new halyards, a bit of work on the stbd aft quarter stanchion base (that was also damaged as a result of the previously mentioned wanker - we know who you are...), and new boat cover and boom cover.
We should be all set for the 'Hatsu-sailing' event on Jan. 2nd, and the Gaijin meet early next year. Write to us here if you're going along to that!
So, we're back in business for 2006 :)
posted by Crip at 6:25 PM

 
Well, 2004 has been and gone and we're well into 2005 now. I've been getting mails asking if the site is dead and if not, why no updates?
Where to begin? A summary of 2004 would probably be as good a place to start as any, I suppose.
Feb-March: Out of the Blue got a major refit. We replaced the stringers which had all but rotted away, replaced the worn out haliyard cleats with spinlock clutches, repainted the top sides and antifouled the bottom. The interior was completely stripped out to reduce weight and spit and polish was applied libraly.

April: OotB got a new suit of sails. Oh my goodness, what a difference they make. We intended to only use them for racing, but hell, they were so different to the 18 year old tea bags we'd been using till then that they went up every time.
April also saw the first Sail Japan/Out of the Blue BBQ. www.Sail-Japan.info is a website that some friends and I have set up to try and bring together the foreign sailing community here in Japan. The site has generated quite a lot of interest and is essential reading if you're in this neck of the woods.

May-June: The crew of OotB were invited to participate in the regional preliminaries of the Nippon Cup (which in it's final stage is a part of the Swedish Match Tour). This is serious racing. Match racing. Something we'd never done before. Understandably, 1/4 tonners are few and far between and of a rating no longer in use. We raced 40 races over 4 months in Yamaha 24s provided by the JSAF and ShinNishinomiya Yacht Harbour. We were up against former Japan Challenge (Japan's Americas Cup team) members, Olympic sailors, proffesional crew and basically the best sailors west Japan has to offer. Needless to say, we had our collective butts kicked. But what a privilege and what an education. Damn, I'm still buzzing 6 months later.
What with dieting to make the weigh ins, working out to get in shape, studying to try and make head or tail of the rules and not to mention the hectic racing schedule, poor old Out of the Blue spent more time at her moorings than out in the bay.

July: Team Out of the Blue took their newly aquired confidence (and hot 1/4 tonner) out into the bay and kicked some ass! Coming in second in the biggest club race of the season (Tenjin Matsuri Cup). Coming in second of 49 (corrected time) really made our day :)
More match racing concluded with a dismasting. A first for any of us. It would have been pretty bloody scary if it had happened any slower, but one second you're screaming "Starboard" and throwing the tiller hard over to avoid the pratt coming straight at you, and next thing you know the boat is dead in the water and there's an god damn awfull mess of wires rope and sailcloth trying to drag itself off the boat. Luckily no one was hurt, but hell, talk about going out with a bang.

August-Sept: Back to our little old club for some freindly whomping and it all seems a little underwhelming.

October-December: And the group seems to have lost steam. Dom's got a business to start up, Paul's building a house and I'm going through some marital status readjustments while getting out of the Edutainment industry and into the boat buisiness full time.

Greif! What a year!
2005:
Here I am, left holding the boat (wouldn't give her up if I was paid too). Looking for new crew. Drop me a line if you're local and want to have a seriously fun summer!
posted by Crip at 12:03 AM

 
Quite a lot has happend since I last wrote here. Where to start...
Chris and Sime have left the syndicate. Chris to ride his bike and crew on other people's boats and Sime to buy his own boat (a lovely Peterson 30', I think, going up to have a look next w/e). Well done, Sime. See you on the race course, Chris.
OotB is down to 4 crew/captains now, which means that things are a little quieter and less crowded than before but there's still enough of us to take her out every w/e and to race. We entered the annual Tenjin Matsuri race out of Hokko in July. That was alot of fun and we didn't 'run-away' - as Sunluck's crew put it last year - this time. Buggered up the first spin-up and lost ground to three boats in our class that we never managed to make up :( Came in 5th of 8... Better than DNF :)
There have been some new pix put on the albums pages and there'll be another set as soon as I get home tonight (got to pick up the film) including ones of the frigate that pointed it's missiles in our general direction (well, nearly) and one of the weirdest ships we've encountered out there on the bay... all will be revealed tonight.
Dom has been doing some research on Quarter Tonners and has come up with what seems to be the latest adaption of the IOR that we race, the ILC 1/4 tonner. Very sleek looking they are too, not quite as wide nut nice. There are pics on the 1/4 tonner history pages.
That's all for now. It's too close to sit here without a/c any more.
posted by Crip at 8:50 AM

 
It's been a while, but here at last is the latest news from OotB.
The winter saw our Blue beauty hauled out and cleaned off. A few dings were touched up and decks and underside painted afresh. Spic and span.

Since then, we've put her back in the water and entered a couple of races. The first Dejime (home port) race was a blast and we rocked in 500 seconds (corrected) ahead of the fleet. Lovely :)
Our second race was down the coast a ways at Izumi Otsu. Finishing 10th out of 13 wasn't so hot, but we were off to a late start and had a stiff handicap to rekon with. point 49 instead of the usual .68 (or was it the other way around...?) Lots of trouble free spin flying, and I think we all feel more comfortable with it now. ('bout time!)

We took OotB out for a night cruise this Sunday. Rather pleasant and a bit of phosphoresence (sp) left from a week ago. Pretty.

The Melbourne - Osaka race is over now, and we went up to see the big boats at Hokko. Some real beauties there and the top 3 placers were a class aside from the others. No wonder they placed so well. It was nice to see such a festive atmosphere there, and all the race crews added a very cosmopolitan touch to events. Nice, almost forgot it was Japan for a while.

Anyway, that's all for now. More later.
posted by Crip at 11:30 PM

 
The final race of the season was due to be held last week, but 'the wind was too strong'!! What?! Too strong, you say? Bah! We got ourselves out to the sea wall where the comitee boat was hiding (wooses) and were told to wait there until a decision had been made. 'Bugger that', we thought. 'Let's go have a look.'
We poked OotB's nose out around the wall and were greeted by a sweet North to North Westerly somewhere around 20m/s, I'd guess, and a not inconsiderable 1 to 1.5m swell. Perfect! Under full main and the much debated storm jib, we decided to take her for a blatt. Wee!
Having a full crew - under the new 'sans Chris' line-up :( - did we ever rock! Tim was on helm with Dom on main, Sime and Paul on cockpit duty and me up in the bows/on the rails, OotB fairly hummed along. 'Perfect racing conditions' we all thought...
Turning around, we headed back to tell our findings to the comitee folks.
With big grins and extravagant "OK" gestures, we thought we'd made our willingness clear and so whipped past the comitee boat a-glee.
On passing them for the third time, heading back out, we were hailed with the most disappointing call a comitee boat can make. "Race cancelled, gentlemen." "Too dangerous!"

Pah!

Biting our tounges, and with not a little derision, we headed out to sea once more. What a ride. We would have absolutely romped home had there been a race. As it was, we did what would have been the course (or a rough approximation) on our own.
The waves soaked us all thoroughly , the wind had OotB heeling over like a willow in a gale and our whoops of joy and exhilaration must have been audible a mile away. What a day.
One of the 'Great Sails' to be added to the list somewhere near the top.

Back to port where we met up with Dom's Dad (a lovely man) and family, for beers, lunch and chats. 'Twas good.

Shame Chris couldn't be there.
posted by Crip at 9:19 AM

 
The long, hot summer has finally come to an end and we'll be in autumn proper in another couple of weeks, and the past two weekends have been just ideal.
Racing has been a blast with a reasonable handful of 'first's to remind Out of the Blue of her former glories. We seem to have all the systems worked out now, and there are only minor 'kups that are usually brought about by getting carried away rather than incompetence. The lady herself is due for a few touch-ups where she's chipped a little paint but is looking lovely what with all her new haliyards and cleats. Bits keep getting replaced as we realize that they're needed.
Next weekend, (21, 22, 23 Sept.) we are taking her out for a three day cruise down to Awaji shima, a small island between Honshu (the Japanese mainland) and Shikoku. Really looking forward to that.

I've updated the site today, and there are now new photos up in the gallery area.

More later.
posted by Crip at 3:28 PM

 
SITE UPDATED:
Well, we're entered in the Tenjin Matsuri Yacht Race out of Hokko next weekend (20th). This will be our first open race and there will be some serious competition out there. Gulp. No inter-club knock about, this!
After breaking the spin pole in our epic win last weekend, man- what a win, there were a few repairs to make before the Tenjin race. this weekend (14th). Couldn't get all the parts for the spin pole but should have them in hand and fixed on by the Big Day. Deck holes finaly got epoxied, tiller extension got fitted, rope protectors on the turnbuckles got taped on, boom got taped as did the runners.
Not a bad day's work considering the beers, and Dom's America's cup video was insightful too.
Typhoons are here again. Makes for some spicey sailing, I'll tell you. Horribly humid of course, but that's what you get with global warming, eh!
That's all for now.
posted by Crip at 6:50 AM