Shogun's arrivel in Yokohama, Japan

                   To see the video, click HERE

mv Heemskerkgracht (Sevenstar Yacht Transport) shipped SHOGUN from Setubal in Portugal to Yokohama, Japan.

Unloading was not as easy as thought: Twice over the forward sling had to be made longer to make it a horizontal and safe lift.

Too bad my adventure on board ended here as the owner made a different plan.

So Long Shogun, Stay Safe!!

Once more, for the Youtube 

                                         click HERE

Salute.

Shogun is on its way to Japan.

Report from Setubal, 

Portugal.

Shogun got loaded onto the deck

 of mv Heemskerkgracht 

(Shipping company Sevenstar).

And will arrive in a few weeks time in Yokohama, Japan.

Awaiting the Waiting.

Unfortunatly the heemskerkgracht got delayed by over 1 week.

But...first at Lisbon and later at Setubal (Troia Marina),

those are comfy places to "fill in" time.

  AIS proof of upcoming arrival of the Heemskerkgracht.

Shogun is located in the middle of this screen-shot.

Heemskerkgracht is steaming into the bay...see her AIS left-bottom corner.

Yep,  looks like there is a parking spot open for SHOGUN.

  Getting the rig ready.

Luckily the weather is perfect and there is 

zero wave/swell action in the bay.

  The Dive-team gets instructions.

They had to wait for slack-tide what would be around 1700 local time.

 Ouch...that beam was just not clear of the anchor-light and weather/wind sensor.

 Due to miscalculations of the location of the lifting points @ the hoist in relation to sling locations @ SHOGUN...

she was not "sitting" comfy during the first lift-attempt.

And...to relocate those lifting points...would take too much time & so, the slings under water would have to be re-checked...

Oops.. by then the tide would be screaming again!

Hence it was decided to call it a day 

and finish the lifting at next DAYLIGHT slack time.

 SHOGUN stayed alongside the Heemskerkgracht for the night...all strapped-up with slings and tie-downs.

Luck was with us as we were able to join the ship's-crew for a Yummy Nasi Goreng dinner meal.

And a boat-workers breakfast next morning!!

Thanx.

No-Way the crew will allow SHOGUN to make a move while on the deck.

Sitting high and dry at first row seat.

Bon Voyage SHOGUN 

and HEEMSKERKGRACHT.

See you at Yokohama.

To go to the video, 
click  HERE

Salute.

Checking the Engine Room.

While underway on board of mv SHOGUN,

it's a good habbit to check the engine room every 2 hours.

No funny noises, no water-  fuel- or oil leaks, fuel tank levels, 

engine temperature, prop-shaft,  Racor fuel filters,

stabilisers,  etc etc.

WARNING..don't forget to use the ear-mufflers!

Click on the pix to see and hear the ER in action.

Salute

To Youtube or Not-to Youtube

Greetings from Spain!

Travelling comes with so many pictures 

and so many GoPro shots...

See here a small attempt to tell a story.

For more "up-to-date" pictures, you can zoeff to

SHOGUN's Page.

And one more from our Hike with Esther the Car.

Salute.

.

Oui oui oui, un sim pour mon iPhone.

Imperia Once More.

Hmm, that makes 6 times.

Travel light..travel fast.

(pfff, from door to door it was a 28 hour trip, grggr).

Oh-No, Mr Mitsuda's suitcase had overweight..

so some of his stuff got dumped into mine..

making it 2x 24KG.

All for me to be carried up and down the stairs.

 remember i'm on the job

Because Yes & Ouch, 

most if not all of the train stations in 

Fancy France and Hip Hop Italia are 

NOT AT ALL fitted out with elevators or escalators.

Wonder how wheelchair and kids-prams handle these modern means of transportations.

After arriving on board, 

we had ample time to get SHOGUN ready for the haul-out.

But we did it and all went well.

The job should be done in 1 week...

oops forgot the piano-piano style of the yard.

Lucky us, the weather is good.

Mind you, still not warm!

See that white fluffy stuff on the hills in the distance?

When the wind comes from that direction...brbrbrr.

But once we turn ourselves around we are reminded that we are indeed in semi tropical Italy.

And the sunrise is as spectacular as ever.

Busy times for Him on the Rooftop.

One day, i took the train to La Douce France 

to pick-up a local internet sim.

Oui oui oui, un sim pour mon iPhone.

The Steps to the Church are Tough 

and in need of some paint.

Sweet sweet Menton Train Station...

waiting for...

a Holy Shitty Train !

Truly disgusting to see these trains.

Inside and Outside.

(hmmm......probably I've been too long in japan.....)

But, i have to admit, it arrived almost on time and the staff is most friendly.

With SHOGUN on the hard, 

we checked into a local hotel.

It's still off-season, so rooms enough.

If you know where to look, you can see the mast of SHOGUN.

A few more days of work and she should be back into the water.

Ready for the TRIP.

Ciao for Now.

Making YouTubies @ wintery days.

With so many cold days around what 

else to do than doing some video editing?

See here a slide-tuby starring SHOGUN.

And an other one, 

about the Val Maremola Trail 2016

run with Hashimoto san in February.

That's it for now,

have to refill the heather...

Ciao for Now.

A Day in Genoa

From Imperia to Genoa it's only  a 1-and-half hour train ride.

So no excuse not to go.

A more serious reason to visit this city is of course the fact that Christopher Columbus hales from this town.

But the main reason is: Spend some Good Times with friend Remo!

 The new owner of sailing yacht Jan Haring...

Sweet memories.

So Remo met us at Genoa Train Station 

and took care of us for the day.

The town has loads of beautiful stone buildings,

and/but the main is of course the connection with the sea.

This monument tells it All. 

Famous harbour corner stones..

from where many nautical exploring trips started.

Time for a Coffee Break....

And Off.... to more city sight seeing.

And this, as it's said.. 

was Little Christopher's home address.

Chris-kun's neighbourhood.

The people of Genoa know what is yummy.

Thank you Remo.

It was an awesome day.

Ciao for Now.

Diano Castello

An other exploring fun run around Imperia, Italy.

This time my "goal" was a small town, with a church of course, 

i had seen on a hill in the distance.

 ....see it there in the middle of this picture...?

Readable signs...

what a change from all direction boards in Japan.

Almost there.

Could use some TLC.

But the location and view is great.

  Tokyo, only 9400 Ks away.

That makes Fukuoka about 8000K.

Walking around at Diano Castello.

Read more HERE

An other shot of Diano Castello.

On returning to Imperia...Holy Olive Oil....

What's happening in town?

It's time for the yearly OLIVE OIL festival.!!

And yes, that's an olive bonsai.

For 3 days the town was full about olive oil and more...

......like cheese....

...and sweets...

.. fun to watch: a mobile oh-no hamburger kitchen...

....and of course more cheese... 

..getting close to heaven now...??

Back on board at the Marina.

Dome City Imperia?

Ciao for Now.