Gathering in Tokyo to update friends about the Voyage

On December 15 we had a gathering at a local pizza restaurant at which we updated people about the voyage.  Per Knudsen told how Doug’s interest in sailing was, in part, sparked by Doug sailing with him and his wife, Anne, on their boat in Japan.  Per and Anne gave Doug a teru-teru-bozu to take on the teams’s boat, Dream Weaver.  A teru teru bōzu (Japanese: てるてる坊主, literally “shine shine monk”) is a small, traditional handmade doll made of white paper or cloth that Japanese farmers began hanging outside of their window by a string.  This talisman is supposed to have magical powers to bring good weather and to stop or prevent a rainy day. 

12月15日、ダグの行きつけの近所のピザ屋で今回のチャレンジの状況報告を兼ねてダグの東京の友達と集まりました。Per Knudsenは、ダグがヨットに興味を持つようになったきっかけの話をし(日本にある自家用ヨットに彼の奥さんのAnneも一緒で乗せていただいた時の話)、同時に、彼がヒロとダグを結びつけた超本人だと公表しました。最後にPerとAnneからドリームウィーバー号の為に幸運を呼ぶてるてる坊主が贈呈され楽しい夜となりました。