Jaap Mulder and Marijke Jansen, builders and owners of Jan Haring, started their world cruise 1984.
5 Years later they arrived in Japan as participants in the Yamaha Cup Yacht Race from Auckland (NZ) to Fukuoka (Japan).
After 2 years in Fukuoka, Jan Haring left for a cruise around the Pacific with stops in Hong Kong, Philippines, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Banaba, Micronesia, Guam.
And then, the next stop was Fukuoka. Again.
They headed straight to the little harbor in Meinohama where friends welcomed them "back home".
From here, they cruise among the numerous Japanese islands.
And after 19 years of living on board of Jan Haring, more than 50.000 miles of sailing and I don't remember how many anchor stops we took a big step: we bought another yacht. So since May 2003 our new home is sailing yacht Alishan.
Jan Haring is a super good cruiser. Still so. It was just that we needed a bit more space for that mountain of souvenirs. And a little bit more luxury, like a shower.
Cruising in Japan is something very special, and there are certain advantages. For example public yacht harbours offer a free stay to foreign visitors for a limited period of time. There are zillions of fishing harbours with a vacant corner for a night or 2 and many friendly, helpfull, however usually very shy people.
To stick to Japanese-English, here are some pictures of " Japan Boat Life".
Despite the taiphoons - the season runs from May till November - we find cruising around the Japanese islands no problem. The weather forcast by the Japanese Meteo is very accurate and there is always a safe place for your boat nearby.
As we all know, with your own yacht it is possible to visit those places where other tourist don't or even can't come.
There we get a taste of Japanese traditions, food and friendliness unspoiled by the Fast Lane, Big Macs and Stress.
After weeks of cruising around the "99 Islands" near Nagasaki, it's nice to hit a city again. Fukuoka has many things to offer: shops, nightlife, museums, libraries, parks, restaurants, an international airport and for us: work.
The communication hick-up is the flipside of the medal: go to the supermarket with no skill in reading or speaking Japanese and buy flour for pancakes.... Big chance you come home with washing powder! However, we see that as the fun part of the fun. We do notice that English is being used more and more, especially in public transport. Now thaat we've been here this long, we both get by quite well and we do eat pancakes on a regular basis. But Japanese food is our favorite. One of the aspects of living in Japan is: safety all around the clock. Okay, okay, things are sliding down in the wrong direction, but after all that we have seen and experienced in our travels and during our stay in Holland and New Zealand....it's nice to be here.
Under way, somewhere between New Zealand and Fiji, 1998 Built in the Netherlands by DEVO after a design by F de Vos , this special ocean cruising version DEVO 960.
DEVO is well known for semi-custom yachts built in aluminum and steel, from 30 feet up to 75 feet Year of launching: 1983, Dutch register number: 17013 Z ROTT 1983, Panama Canal registration number 271942.
| Length over deck | 10.10m (+bow sprit: 11.00m) |
| Beam | 3.30 m |
| Depth | 1.70 m |
| Tonagge | 7 ton |
| Hull & deck | steel |
| Engine | BUKH DV20 # 103879, loads of spare parts |
| Sails | Cutter rig with: main, jib, furling yankee, MPS in chute, storm jib, storm trysail, spare yankee |
| Mast & rigging | HASSELFORDS turnbuckles, all SS standing rigging 7 & 8 mm, PROFURL oversized furling, double spreader aluminum mast with steps |
| Ground tackle | Custom SS anchor winch, 45 CQR, 50 m chain 10 mm, Danford, chain/rope warp, Fisherman anchor |
| Cruising gear | ARIES wind vane, AUTOHELM, SIEMENS 50 Solar panel, LVM wind generator, semi hard dodger, sun awning, SESTREL MORE compass, handheld compass, JRC GPS, Depth sounder, VHF, YEASU ham & ssb radio, tuner, sextant |
| Interior | 12-volt fridge, 3-burner stove, RM toilet, Dutch oil lamp, sleeps 5 |
Cruising history:
More than 50.000 miles open ocean sailing
- 1984 from Europe, through Panama Canal to New Zealand 1987
- 1989 successful entry in Auckland Fukuoka Yamaha yacht race
- 1992 from Japan via Hong Kong, PNG to NZ, mostly into the trade winds
- 1994 from New Zealand via Micronesia to Japan 1995
We'd like to refer to our sailing articles in the Dutch Waterkampioen.
(See wk 19 / 1989, wk 5 en 6 / 1991, wk 12, 13, 14 and 15 / 1993, wk 8 and 9 / 1996)
From our original blog made in 2003. Apologies for the poor quality of the pictures.
