I don't remember whose idea it was to sail from Okayama in the Seto Inland Sea to Okinawa, Japan's southernmost islands, but here we are — seven friends in a 45 ft (13.7 meter) yacht named Sea Fox, sailing in 20-knot winds down the coast of Kyushu in the Pacific Ocean. All hands on deck!

The journey didn't start this way. Our crew (two Australians, two Americans and three Japanese) left Shiraishi Island the morning of Oct. 3 under fair weather. We motored our yacht most of the way through the calm waters and past the serene islands of the Inland Sea.

At the Hoyo Strait (the gap between Shikoku and Kyushu), we entered the Bungo Channel into the Pacific Ocean at the top of an outgoing tide. Things quickly became turbulent, with 2.5 meter waves and 15-20 knot winds. We flew through the night, our boat pushed along by wind and wave, down the coast of Kyushu. In just one day, we were already on the same latitude as the city of Miyazaki.