Two Plus Two

Bluesette had guests this week, sailing with four aboard for the first time. I was interested to see how that would work out. I made sure we kept our weight toward the front of the cockpit and was happy to find that she sailed just fine.

Beautiful day on the lake with Mt. Tsukuba clearly visible some 38 km (23 miles) in the distance.

The weather was good, if hot (32°C or 90°F), and winds were a comfortable 5 knots - enough to move us along, but not so much as to make weight distribution for balance much of an issue.

First stop, of course, was for lunch at Mama's Kitchen. Three of us had pasta with nasu (eggplant) and horenso (spinach) with a spicy sauce that was just right, while Kimie satisfied her carinvore urges with a stir fry pork dish and some sausages.





Then it was on to the harbor and a full afternoon of sailing.

Martin has been sailing with us before - back in November when it was raining cats and dogs.

Our other guest was camera shy, but Martin grabbed my new Olympus μ 8010 and took several shots of Kimie and I and the scenery while I was busy at the tiller. With four in the boat, I would change sides when we came about, while everyone else stayed put. If the wind picked up while Kimie was on the lee side, she would just crouch by the centerboard trunk to help balance the boat. It worked out fine.

Look! Up in the sky. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's.... a wind vane.






After sailing, we checked into the hotel on the lake, Ikoinomura Hinuma, to relax in their bubbling onsen spa and enjoy an excellent dinner.



Our Japanese style rooms overlooked the lake.
Sunset on Hinuma - fishermen standing in the lake