This is awesome news!
Best story of the decade! Congrats to you hero
Sent from my iPhone
On Apr 26, 2019, at 6:41 PM, Ryck Lent
<ryckblent@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:ryckblent@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
I don''t recall hearing about his arrival before this item from Scuttlebutt
arrived today - a week old. Hooray for Hiro!
https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2019/04/21/blind-sailor-crosses-pacific-ocean/<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.sailingscuttlebutt.com%2f2019%2f04%2f21%2fblind-sailor-crosses-pacific-ocean%2f&c=E,1,fvrpeURv2oK3yhBEKLrwFpWpZ1-O1ORU4BUjNvVDpKweB0ThBVg8PiGHBtdye7AeT4BmAXKfi5zWLDdGmjYi8BzgGuQygwRdFATu6Si8AqxGSI4,&typo=1>
Blind sailor crosses Pacific Ocean
Published on April 21st, 2019
Blind sailor Mitsuhiro Iwamoto called himself “the happiest person on earth”
after conquering the Pacific Ocean after nearly two months of sailing nonstop
from San Diego, USA to Iwaki, Japan.
“Six years later, I finally could achieve my dream,” he said, referring to his
first attempt in 2013 that failed after his boat capsized and sank.
His 12-meter yacht, Dream Weaver, arrived in Iwaki harbor on April 20, 55 days
after setting off from the U.S. West Coast on February 24. His navigator was
Douglas Smith, a 55-year-old American and a longtime resident of Japan.
The successful voyage made Iwamoto, 52, the first to conquer the Pacific
through blind sailing, in which a visually impaired sailor steers a boat while
a sighted partner describes the surroundings.
In his previous attempt, he and Jiro Shinbo, a TV anchor, sailed out of Onahama
Port in Iwaki in June 2013 bound for San Diego. But Iwamoto’s boat collided
with a whale shortly after, and the duo were forced to be rescued by the
Japanese Self-Defense Forces.
Despite that, he did not give up his dream of achieving the feat and realizing
a message for Fukushima students, “A challenge will eventually pay off.”
Iwamoto, a native of Kumamoto Prefecture, lost his sight when he was a high
school student. After becoming an acupuncturist, he moved to the United States
where he married an American woman and they took up sailing together. He has
previously competed in the Blind Sailing World Championship.
Smith, who is married to a Japanese and has no prior experience in sailing,
said he signed up for Iwamoto’s undertaking to cross the Pacific as he was
inspired by the blind sailor’s quest.
Source: www.asahi.com<http://www.asahi.com>
Tags: blind sailing, Douglas Smith, Mitsuhiro Iwamoto, records
52-year-old blind man completes 2-month-long, non-stop voyage across the
Pacific Ocean
<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.google.com%2furl%3frct%3dj%26sa%3dt%26url%3dhttps%3a%2f%2fwww.timesnownews.com%2fthe-buzz%2farticle%2f52-year-old-blind-man-completes-2-month-long-non-stop-voyage-across-the-pacific-ocean%2f405890%26ct%3dga%26cd%3dCAEYDioTNTcwMzQ0MTcxNjcxOTQwMTg0MzIaNDE2MmEwMmYxYzc2ZmU0NDpjb206ZW46VVM%26usg%3dAFQjCNENKoQ_A_86kcre-zL8EgxKfQdHEA&c=E,1,WZioUKujDkx3H-M3H34AoAd4_nbW2Cv-iFZo6tKKnCMX8sbKyx37EEioPza5kAD1XYHwPdYbbUCziWp7c_vwOx725OM20ZizyWVg8QMRGMiFGNPbtjdwyLLR5ur2&typo=1>
Times Now
However, a blind sailor from Japan, who calls himself “the happiest person on
... Iwamoto has also competed in the Blind Sailing World Championship.
<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.google.com%2furl%3frct%3dj%26sa%3dt%26url%3dhttps%3a%2f%2fnextshark.com%2fblind-japanese-sailor-pacific%2f%26ct%3dga%26cd%3dCAEYASoTNTcwMzQ0MTcxNjcxOTQwMTg0MzIaNDE2MmEwMmYxYzc2ZmU0NDpjb206ZW46VVM%26usg%3dAFQjCNEuSM0QW1Bya_0lJ3d8yPkBoNT1og&c=E,1,nmUTf8yyOwYmeMZvxG7llTmUfwi7WcAbv8iT6jDUFOextIakuLCyCKARaMGBCx2o370n0SeaFS4pgLmSN-9w_cpM5SRubYkI-FemcBQiH14HywQEiGM,&typo=1>
Blind Japanese Sailor Crosses the Pacific Ocean in 2 Months
<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.google.com%2furl%3frct%3dj%26sa%3dt%26url%3dhttps%3a%2f%2fnextshark.com%2fblind-japanese-sailor-pacific%2f%26ct%3dga%26cd%3dCAEYCyoTNTcwMzQ0MTcxNjcxOTQwMTg0MzIaNDE2MmEwMmYxYzc2ZmU0NDpjb206ZW46VVM%26usg%3dAFQjCNEuSM0QW1Bya_0lJ3d8yPkBoNT1og&c=E,1,QK4dmJ3vMOS6lWrhV5FOC_jDwkBA3QqZ_GkHKGTJjBKiuCZ1dWNKdF5Qu3PrpGHN1fxIxlLq6G7gd15HkQJiNaXes9uBVnQALVzUTj7yscg,&typo=1>
NextShark
Iwamoto has become the first visually-impaired sailor to cross the Pacific
without making any stops, according to the Japanese Blind Sailing ...
Mitsuhiro Iwamoto becomes first blind man to sail non-stop across
Pacific<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.google.com%2furl%3frct%3dj%26sa%3dt%26url%3dhttps%3a%2f%2fnewsum.in%2finspiring%2fmitsuhiro-iwamoto-becomes-first-blind-man-to-sail-non-stop-across-pacific%2f%26ct%3dga%26cd%3dCAEYASoTNTcwMzQ0MTcxNjcxOTQwMTg0MzIaNDE2MmEwMmYxYzc2ZmU0NDpjb206ZW46VVM%26usg%3dAFQjCNFZdAg_DFEgJ_rrwnUW9nEVoTlToQ&c=E,1,fpgOwtUd71lkWItNb6b2ie0jMvbroQxqsd_qOochohp3JLU8zhmRschIALgKVb5jvzg4m1oQrtAR2jo0yBOo8Ss-Go6TgYijzO3m79oRlJQIZRV4&typo=1>
- Newsum (press release) (blog)
Full Coverage
<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fnews.google.com%2fnews%2fstory%3fncl%3dhttps%3a%2f%2fnextshark.com%2fblind-japanese-sailor-pacific%2f%26hl%3den%26geo%3dUS&c=E,1,huPnSBcaMrs-RA7TIpGt9IDCX35HQP1lYnVmKBArvFrIxCNpZy4XSS2-_-v_zF8R1gZDy70FR_BBZsuh7-DjWuU5hJ2Eh5HANFGZPbIw5ISe9Us,&typo=1>
More links:
https://www.foxnews.com/world/blind-sailor-successfully-completes-non-stop-pacific-voyage
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47997727
