For reviews and commentary please see below.
Diplomat and long-distance cruiser Nicholas Coghlan had been curious about Japan ever since his father, a veteran of infantry fighting in Italy and Greece, confessed to him a dread of being sent to the Japanese front when the war in Europe ended in the Spring of 1945.
Sailing to the Heart of Japan is a voyage of personal discovery as the author’s preconceptions are challenged. It’s also a unique account of one of the world’s least-known but most attractive cruising destinations.
Starting from New Zealand, Nicholas and his partner Jenny navigate Bosun Bird, their Vancouver 27, north through Pacific Island nations where memories of war linger. They make their landfall on Kyushu, in southwestern Japan. Over a period of fifteen months, they venture to the remote and depopulated archipelago of Goto Retto in the East China Sea, through Kanmon Kaikyo narrows and into the island-studded Inland Sea.
Everywhere – from Kagoshima to Tokyo Bay – Bosun Bird and her crew are met with astonishing kindness and thoughtful conversation. Travel by “yotto” allows them glimpses of an enigmatic land that are rarely offered to more conventional visitors.
The book comprises 242 pages, including 54 black and white illustrations (in colour in the e-version), nine maps and detailed descriptions of over 60 anchorages/mooring locations, complete with GPS coordinates, tips on weather and advice on navigating Japanese bureaucracy.
Sailing to the Heart of Japan is available in softback and electronic versions from all the usual outlets, notably: Sailing to the Heart of Japan: A Cruising Adventure and How-To Guide.
Reviews and Commentary
Yachting Monthly – October 2024
University of Oxford Alumni – September 2024
Ahoy Cruise News – July 2024
BC BookLook – June 2024
SailWorld Cruising – June 2024
Here’s an extract from Sailing to the Heart of Japan (Chapter Four – Kagoshima and kamikazes – southern Kyushu) that describes our first landfall in Japan, with additional photos that don’t appear in the book.