We Made It To Okinawa!!

The Port of Inobe to the Port of Iejima : 78 nautical miles

09:00 Departed from the Port of Inobe

17:00 We arrived Okinawa!

A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained wind speed over 30 knots was developed, so we got stuck in Okinoerabu Island for three days.

While we were there, we kept checking the weather forecast from the Japan Meteorological Association.


On July 30, 2010, the tropical cyclone moved away. We finally departed from Okinoerabu to Okinawa. It was cloudy. The wave heights were around 1.5 meters to 2.5 meters. Of course it was not the best cruising condition but I thought it was good enough to go to Okinawa.

We gradually started to see Okinawa, and it looked like a huge dragon sleeping on the surface of the sea. We have finally come here. A long long time ago, ancient sailors/people must have seen the sight just like this......the same imager as I was just looking at it....... I thought.....

Well, bad news. We couldn't reserve a hotel room in Okinawa today. Most of the hotels in the main island of Okinawa had no room because there appear to be some big events taking place. We were hoping that some hotels in Iejima would have vacancies because it is far away from Naha, the capital city in Okinawa.

Also we needed to refuel Lukia as soon as we could. The Port of Iejima was the nearest one. So we turn Lukia in the direction of Iejima.

I heard Iejima Channel was the most difficult sea to cruise in Okinawa area.

The currents were strong, but it wasn't too bad for a Minor 29DC.
The port which we arrived was newly constructed and very easy to use.

We refueled our boat. Mr. Miyagi, the owner of the fuel station near the port gave us a warm welcome. He asked us where we came from and what our plan would be.

He called his friends at a restaurant and we all got together. We all had great conversations about our cruise for a long time. They were very kind and friendly. The local food in Okinawa was very good.
They suggested that the Port of Iejima would be a better place to moor than the Port of Ginowan.
Additionally, Mr. Miyagi offered us that he would be willing to maintain our boat, if we would want him to.

Indeed, Iejima is one of the most beautiful places in Okinawa. There are beautiful coral reefs surrounding the island, amazing white sand beaches, blue sky, clear water and dazzling sunlight. This is a tranquil southern island, a tropical paradise!

Next morning, we told Mr. Miyagi that we decided to moor our boat at the Port Iejima. He certainly welcomed our idea, and was more than happy to help us.

As we were leaving, we were looking at our boat, Lukia. She was now saferly moored. We kept staring at her.........until we could no longer see her.........

Our long cruise from Yokohama to Okinawa was, finally, over.