What Day is it? What time is it? It’s a conundrum. Friday, 22 April or Thursday April 21, 2011? 1015 Z or 1914 JST or 0015 HST? Boy have we been confused!!! Not about our port of departure (Osaka) or our port of arrival (Honolulu), but about what time are we using on the ship’s clocks and what time is it when we report to our weather router or write entries at the start of...
21 April, 2000Z, We are at the International Dateline. Pos 22 12N/180E/W Nm run since Ashiya 2820Nm, 16 days running so far. Distance left to go to Honolulu, 1230Nm. 6 plus days left to finish. The generator only ran 17 total hours during the first 15 days. Due to the temperature and humidity, we have started the genset so we can have A/C and more comfort for sleeping. ...
Starr 10 April 10, 2011,0400Z 26 22N/144 46E We are 700nm SE of Ashiya. Yesterday at 0200JST, we pulled into Chichijima 27N/142E., 600nm from Ashiya and re topped off, loading an additional 2700 liters of fuel. We departed Chichijima at 1500JST, 13hrs later. Currently we are 150nm ESE of Chichijima. Our next way point is 25N/160E with 3162nm left to Hawaii. Don Notes from crew: This is Jean...
Sayonara Japan, Aloha Hawaii 5 April 2011 MV Starr is departing from Osaka this afternoon at 1230, Tuesday, April 5 in Japan We anticipate that the passage will take us 3 weeks, so our ETA will be sometime around 27 April to 1 May. You can follow Starr on our passage by clicking on the link directly above this entry in the website. We have a very experienced and compatible crew:...
Stretching the Fuel Range to Cross the Pacific Part 2: Fitting the auxiliary fuel tanks. Guest blog entry by Viktor Grabner, crewmember Don has already written about the challenge of making our fuel last the 3800 nm voyage across the Pacific. He discussed fuel saving strategies and stretching our fuel capacity by using Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) as auxiliary fuel tanks to add another 1000 gallons of fuel for our voyage. We...
News Flash: Change of Watch aboard Starr 1 April 2011 Preparations aboard Starr for her voyage to Honolulu are in full swing. Unfortunately, we have to make bit of a startling announcement: Don decided to not take this trip with Starr, but instead retire from cruising effective immediately. Having just taken delivery of, and “commissioned” his first granddaughter, Don can’t wait to see her again! He’s taking the plane back to Seattle to...
What’s really going on at the Fukushima Nuclear Power PlantMarch 17, 2011Sent to us by a friend in Ashiya, JapanWritten by Bill Andrews and emailed by the Dean of Engineering at the University of Washington:Here’s a little more measured and accurate article than what you have been seeing in the media about what’s going on at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. It’s written by the Dean of Engineering at the University of Washington, but he’s...
Newly Homeless Re-Establish Order Amid Chaos - NYTimes.comMarch 26, 20100Please read this article from the NY Times. It touched me to deeply that I cried. ...
Back to Japan March 24, 2011Note from Don: Go to "DON’S LOG" for additional articles regarding preparing for our passage to Hawaii: “Getting Ready for the Passage to Honolulu” (1 February) “Stretching the Fuel Range to Cross the Pacific” (9 March)We are packing our duffel bags for the return to Japan on 29 March. We anticipate that our departure from Japan will be around April 6 (?) Survival suits, tiedown straps, etc. ...
Life in Japan Today March 24, 2011 Sharry's Note: The Japan death toll is now 9800 bodies and 17,500 missing.It is so easy to stop watching the news regarding a disaster like this: it is so far away and life moves on. Don and I are returning to Ashiya on Tuesday, 29 March. We know that we will be entering a world of mourning, a world that we Americans can relate to because it is...