Haul Out at Odo Yacht-harbor in Fukuoka

This YouTube shows the haul out at 

Odo Yacht Harbor in Fukuoka.

Alishan is a Taswell 43.

Huis Ten Bosch Bad News.

In the past, now i'm talking about maybe 5-15 years ago,

 after sailing to Japan, a visit and stay in HuisTen Bosch Marina

was almost a must!

It was cheap, fun and and a very safe place in all seasons.

So many good Blog stories can be read about HtB

 ( see eg Illywacker, Shaddow of Lorelei, Alishan).

But since a few years, the tide has changed.

Maybe because of bad experience with foreign boats,

maybe because of the Total New Management...

now the situation is:

Foreign boats are NOT WELCOME at all.

I just talked to the Marina Manager to arrange a berth 

for an foreign boat and he tells me..

No Visitors Pontoon available..

(he meaned something else of course).

I bet.... if a Japanese boat shows up.....

So, give Huis ten Bosch a Big Miss!

It's a pitty as it is still the best place in all seasons 

 and there are berths available!

Odo Marina, Fukuoka

It’s not always Sushi and Shine for an overseas visiting yacht here in Japan. This following report was written by the crew of sy Safina about their stay at  ODO MARINA in Fukuoka.

Pros:

The haul-out is very secure,

The yard employees are in general skillful and meticulous,

The marina is strategically located close to supermarket, hardware store, chandlery, subway station, restaurant, coin laundry, etc

Shower and toilet.

Cons:

Communication: don’t return E-mail,

Communication in general: don’t speak comprehensive English,

Reception: No help from the marina on arrival,

Yard: they apply paint with brush and they don’t know how to brush paint,

No electricity and water on pontoon,

Pontoon charges applied even on the hard on top of hard stay charges,

Pay in advance policy,

Yard: they didn’t know how to change a cutlass bearing,

They aren’t very friendly.

Too bad sy Safina doesn't keep up a Blog, so we can’t read more about their adventures in Japan.