Hona Ichymonji. :(

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Osaka. Halloween is over and the shops are breaking out the Christmas decorations. It really is time for us to get a wriggle on.  The temperatures are falling and we need to secure the boat back in Yeosu.  We hope to travel home at Christmas and time is just flying bye.  We have so many people to thank for our wonderful time in Osaka it is hard to know where to start.  We arrived in despair and suffering a little shock.  We had endured the worst night of our lives and at one point thought that we would have been abandoning our home and dreams as Spirit of Sobraon smashed onto the dock in Shodo Shima.  The wonderful members of the Ichymonji Yacht Club lifted our spirits and we have managed to get our lives and dreams back on track. Spirit of Sobraon is wearing a few small scars however she is as sound as she ever was.

We plan to leave next week; however not before at least one last visit to Belle-Ville Restaurant at Umeda Station. These pancakes are simply the ‘BEST’ we have ever tasted. They literately melt in your mouth. Time for some sailing and dieting.

And not before at least one last farewell party.  I think we have had at least three!

Fine food, good drinks, great friends and fun times, even a little Karaoke and we have introduced the IYC to the finer traditions of passing the port.

We were all nursing headaches the following morning. We had presented the club with a crystal port decanter as a memento of our stay.   Teaching the customs that surround the passing of the port meant that we probably all drank just a little too much. Especially considering that after we ran out of port the decanter was filled with brandy. 😉

We hope the decanter is used on many fun occasions and we are remembered as we will remember our fantastic time at Kosien Harbour. 

In fact there are even plans a foot to return some time soon. After four and a half long months we pulled away from the club and are underway,  headed back towards South Korea.  Today was a relatively short trip from Nishinomiya Ichimonji Yacht Club to Suma Yacht Harbour in Kobe.

We are very sad to be leaving IYC. We made so many life long friends and have been welcomed into a truly caring community. The help and support from the members has been overwhelming and a highlight of our cruising careers.

Although sad to be leaving we were excited to be underway again and it was fantastic to share the first part of our journey with friends.  We had a great crew for this leg of the voyage.  Koyama, Kodama, Takashi, Simoto and Kenny had all taken the day off to join us this morning.  Wendy was spoiled for choice.  She was dreading pulling up the chain and anchor that had been submerged for the entire four and a half month.  The guys all pitched in and had it scrubbed in no time.  We had a peaceful motor to Suma Yacht Harbour, a short 15 miles towards the exit of Osaka Bay.  We tied up at lunch time and Wendy didn’t disappoint the crew. A fresh hot Passisto straight from the oven. 

We look forward to the next time we visit the Ichimonji Yacht Club and especially seeing our great friends, the three amigo’s,  Kodama, Takashi and Koyama.  Okini, without your help we would not have known where to even start to get ourselves back underway.