To Japan, again! 2023 Starr Voyage

07 Feb To Japan, again! 2023 Starr Voyage

We are preparing to take Starr on what will most likely be our last significant passage.

I’m turning 80 next month and Sharry is three years into being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  Sharry and I have been holding hands for 60 years.

Sharry paddling her OC-1 off Diamond Head over the summer

While we are both grieving the loss of her memory, we also want to keep living our lives the best that we can.

We are told that the best thing for Sharry is to get vigorous exercise and have social contact and cognitive stimulation.

Sharry is most at peace when the boat is on extended voyages. She loves being on night watch looking at the stars. To top that off, Japan is her favorite cruising ground.

We plan on departing Honolulu tomorrow for the 3300nm run to Guam and then another 1200nm to Okinawa. The last few months have been filled with testing and maintenance!

Testing the diesel-powered emergency pump

Why might a nearly-new watermaker membrane produce bad water? A crack…better to find out in Honolulu than half-way across the Pacific.

The plan is to cruise up the west coast of Japan and be in Hokkaido by the end of May.  Once in Hokkaido we will look for a weather window to run to Attu in the Aleutians. From there we explore the Aleutian Islands and cruise Prince William Sound., South East Alaska down through BC to Seattle.

Crewing with us will be Celeste Mausolf, Sam Landsman as co-captain , and Clay Hutchinson from the Kaneohe Yacht Club here on Oahu.  Clay crewed in 2019 on the Hawaii to Unalaska island run and again on the 2019 Seattle to Hawaii voyage.

Clay on the 2019 Seattle to Honolulu run. We hope not to repeat the flooded-swimstep experience!

Advantech/Freeman never could make our hatches waterproof, so we modified them with inflatable gaskets. They will get a good test on the coming trip.

We expect to cover about 14,000nm and plan on Starr being back in Hawaii late October.

This passage will be significantly different because we have Starlink satellite system and we hope to be on line through most of the voyage.

Out with the old (Seatel satellite TV) and in with the new (Starlink)! One of the Starlink antennas is hidden in the old Seatel dome, the other is on the aft deck.

This is a first for me to share the captains’ duties. Sam has been on Starr for the past 9 months and is a great addition to the crew, he is really fun to work with and a whiz in dealing with the ever challenging  electronics.

Sam working on replacing a failed seawater fitting

Sam doing some boat yoga

Sam hopes to get some good drone pictures along the way

Celeste has been with us for almost a year and is a great pal for Sharry and has been a nurse for 35 years . She lives on a boat with Joe, her significant other. This will be Celeste’s first ocean passage and I know she will do just fine.

Celeste traveled with us to Seattle.

She learned to drive the dinghy in Hanalei Bay

Celeste and Sharry working out on Starr

We head out tomorrow, Wednesday the 8^th, and expect  robust easterlies with gusts in the 30’s. You can track our progress by clicking here.