So what is a Typhoon anyway?

After experiencing this last storm, I really began to wonder about the textbook definition of a Typhoon. I’ve lived in Japan for 11 years, so I’ve experienced a lot of “Typhoons”. But this time….what was this thing? This ranks in the top weather situations I’ve ever witnessed in my life. I’m sure that us being on the boat, really “in the weather” made a huge difference, but still, this thing was huge.

Oh, let me back up a bit. We are currently on an island called Hachijo-jima about 100 NM (Nautical Miles 1NM= about 1.2 statute miles) miles south of mainland Japan. We had hoped to leave early in the week, but forecast said there was a low pressure zone coming, predicting 40 knot winds (1 knot= about 1.2 statute miles). Normally 40 knots of wind would be strong, but not unbearable. But we are in “Kuro-shio”, which translated to English is “The black current”. This is a beautiful band of clear blue water that runs up the coast of Japan, starting somewhere south even below Taiwan. But this band of current really gets ripping round here. At places it can rip at up for 5 or 6 knots. Combined with areas of shallow water, the seas are reportedly some of the worst in the world. All my Japanese friends with sailing experience say that in going to Hawaii, leaving Japan is the toughest part. In all the books I read, they say the same.

So getting back to this low pressure situation….we decided to wait until this “little storm” blew over so that we could have a Wed. the 9th departure. Well, that little low pressure turned into something that every local I’ve talked is calling a storm worst than most Typhoons that roll through. I will not exaggerate here when I say we were fighting for the life of Solis (the name of my boat). Inside the harbor we saw that wind speed was 68 knots (about 82 miles per hour) and that is inside the harbor!!! The waves inside the harbor were so large they were coming up on deck. The boat was being thrown around violently. Over the last 2 days I had minimal sleep because we were on deck in the middle of the night increasing our tie-down lines, lashing things to the deck, etc. etc. If I had not tied off additional lines I’m am most sure that Solis may have sunk yesterday. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Even the locals were all down yesterday frantically tying down and securing their vessels.

Now for the scary part. The boat is tied up away from the tie-up wall so that we do not get thrashed against it. During the storm, two lines broke, both were just under 1 inch lines. I had to increase our tie down lines just to survive the storm, so I dove into the water, swam to shore and for the next 2 hours or so Dad and Luke were throwing me lines. After we finally got everything tied down, I counted and we have 23 ropes securing us. Multiple lines around the mast, all of the tie-down cleats, attached to winches, etc. So here is the scary thing I was mentioning. When I got to shore, I ran down the dock a little ways so that I could see the entrance to the harbor. From where we are there is about a 20 foot concrete wall separating us, not from the ocean, but from the other side of the harbor where the entrance is. When I went over there I saw something that ran a deeper kind of fear through me. Only for about 10 or 20 seconds or so witnessed it, but I could see the ocean. There is a massive concrete wall at the entrance which stands about 35 feet above sea level. On top of it is a small light-house. The swell of the sea…not breaking waves, but the swell were going OVER the wall and covering the base of the lighthouse. The deep blue color of the sea was beautiful, but the site was a pure an adrenaline injection. Close to the boat is another concrete wall. Standing again probably 35 or 40 feet. On the other side of this wall is the ocean. Since last night, water has been coming over this wall into the main part of the harbor directly where Solis lies. These are breaking waves hitting the wall, they must be 35 to 50 feet.



So getting back to my beginning thoughts….if this isn’t a Typhoon, what in the hell is it? With the airport closed in Tokyo, flooding and landslides on the mainland, multiple distress cries from crippled fishing boats and tankers everyone I’ve talked to says this is “more” than a Typhoon.

So team Nadeau is doing great. No injuries, were all feeling good, safe, warm and keeping our stomachs full with lots of coffee and beans.

So it is Wed. the 9th and the tail end of the storm is still hitting us. Were still holding at about 30+ knots of wind (INSIDE THE HARBOR!!) and the waves are STILL coming over the wall. No departure for us today….and there are reports of another storm coming in two days from now…..I’ll keep you posted…