Blog

Weather always influences the decisions about sailing routes. Prudent sailors wait for favorable weather windows before heading out on distant voyages. Patience was especially important on this voyage from Hokkaido to the Aleutian Islands, an area that produces a constant train of low-pressure systems that march across these waters West to East. Fortunately, the weather forecasting program Predict Wind and confirmed by other sources delivered a promising window of fair weather and we were underway...

27 May, 2026 /

(this was written by Clay Hutchinson) “M/V Starr” Co-Captains Don and Patrick are very serious and patient about reviewing and explaining general emergency equipment and procedures and those specific to this voyage. Before departing Otaru we busted out all the safety gear and discussed the use of each piece and situations that might necessitate the use of the equipment. Completing that was a comfort and a confidence boost. These are unpleasant subjects that must be discussed and clearly understood. Patrick reviewed Man...

21 May, 2026 /

We are underway again! Mvstarr.com/Location We departed Wakkanai on Japan’s NW corner of Hokkaido at  0800,  May 20,2026.  Destination Aleutian islands and then Seattle. Our route will be different from our 2023 passage. Rather than going up the East side of the Kuril Islands, we are going to run 600nm up the Kuril / Okhotsk  basin and exit thru a somewhat narrow pass at  49 57.6N, 154 42.3E into the Pacific. This pass at the top of the basin will have us within...

21 May, 2026 /

We are in a small group of islands (The oki Islands) in the Sea of Japan, 40 nm west of Honshu. What was intended as a short stopover of a day is now turning into a week. [caption id="attachment_4630" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]                                                                      ...

17 April, 2026 /

(The above photo was taken about 10 years ago, Angela showing Sharry and Kat the helm.) We want to say goodbye to our good crew mate Angela, a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain who spent a number of years in Hawaii running submarines for Atlantis. She just spent the past three months looking after Starr while Patrick and I were back in the States. She kept Starr in great shape and gleaming, which we appreciated greatly. That...

31 March, 2026 /

                                                     (Above a photo of Starr and Capaz together in the Sea of Japan 2023) I was with Sharry the night she passed in peace. The next thing I did was to take the redeye flight to Seattle so I could give my family a hug. After a few days in Seattle I...

29 March, 2026 /

Sharalyn S. Morrow Stabbert May 10, 1945, Seattle, Washington -- March 7, 2026, Honolulu, Hawaii This is a remembrance of my wife, Sharry — my companion for sixty-one years, my partner in life, in work, and in adventure. Sharry was born Sharalyn S. Morrow on May 10, 1945, at Swedish Hospital in Ballard, Seattle. When I met her, she was seventeen years old, a junior at Ballard High School. Years later she liked to tell people that during...

07 March, 2026 /

With just Patrick and me onboard, we spent a few days cruising the Seto Inland Sea, two bachelors island-hopping, more interested in admiring boats than women. One thing you notice about the Seto straight away is how alive it is. Even though it stretches a fair distance, roughly twice the length of Puget Sound at about 280 miles, it’s absolutely packed with islands and boats.   [caption id="attachment_4549" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]       Cruising the islands, quiet...

17 November, 2025 /

After spending five days in Chichi Jima waiting out Typhoons Halong and Nakri, Patrick and I decided to tackle a project that had been on the list for a while: the starboard stern swim step Freeman hatch, which had a broken chain drive. When opening this hatch, a winch handle is inserted into the master dog. Turning that single dog drives an internal chain that operates all four hatch dogs simultaneously. [caption id="attachment_4512" align="aligncenter" width="768"]  ...

29 October, 2025 /

ChichiJima arrival, 10.8.25, 0730 JST 27deg 05.9N;  142deg 12.0E We were given permission to do a temporary clearance for refuge.  Our permission was arranged by Kirk Patterson, Konpira Consulting.  Konpira is a yacht support agent we met  3 years ago and Kirk was a great help in making our 2023 Japan cruising a pleasure. Kirk is defiantly on top of all the rules and regulations. kirk@konpira-consulting.com Minutes after securing the lines to the concrete dock we were met by about...

08 October, 2025 /