Video-Right before the Aeolus was FLOODED

This is a video that captured footage right before the Aeolus became flooded after the crash on June 24 at 12:30. This will be submitted to the Japan Coast Guard and it was also uploaded onto the "Blind Sailing" official website. 　
【The Video】
This is from a camera that was set on the port side of the stern on the Aeolus (about 5 meters from the  water surface).
This was right before the Aeolus was flooded.
Jiro Shinbo retrieved the data (SD card) from the camera before he jumped onto the life boat.
Initially the data was too wet to play but we were able to restore the data. We were unable to digitalize it so this is a video that was recorded when the footage was played on a PC monitor.

　June 24, 2013 1:45 PM          Project D2 Creative Division

Video REPORTS June10

Shinbo-san struggling with the PC

Go Aeolus!

Shinbo Report- Hurt Shoulder

Hiro hurt his knees too

MEALS on Sails!

June 12, 2013 (Wed) 6:30 PM  N 35.37 E 140.56 Slight rain Winds:Northeast 12 knots Wave height: 3m　Choshi, Chiba Prefecture Inubosaki

 I'm back! Today I will write about what I ate during this trip. Before that, let me tell you that Hiki-san is a bit of a well-known chef in the yachting community. Just a little tweak of instant noodles or boi-in-the-bag food can enhace the flavors. As I blogged before, in winds at 25 knots, it's an effort to maintain your body position. However, the infamous chef has not problem and can magically cook up something delicious for us. House Foods and Toyo Rice are our sponsors and they have donated a lot of food for us. The first night we had curry & rice using a combination of House and Toyo products. There was egg in it and was delicious. We also have other ready to eat food like curry noodles, rice in broth, rice porridge with pickled plum, miso soup and rice. My favorite breakfast item is the como bread. Como bread is a type of long lasting pastry and we have crossaints and muffins. An absolute necessity on long voyages.  Having a crossaint with coffee is just delicious. Como bread donated some items like they did for the Earth Run. Thank you very much. I asked the chef the secrets to making everything taste so good and he said to keep it simple and use the sea water for added flavor.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 6/13/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

THANK YOU Kuroshio

June 12, 2013 12 PM N 35.24 E 140.43 Cloudy Winds:Northeast 15 knots Wave height: 2 m with some rolling waves. Off the coast of Kujukurihama, 12 miles to Choshi

　As I blogged yesterday, it was a day of survival. The day before that we were swept away a couple of miles north by the waves in Enshuri even though we were in the rhumb line(the line that connects the vessel to the point of destination). The weather forecast says a typhoon that was heading towards Kyushu is not heading in our direction and winds from east and northeast will continue for several days. Ugh! The winds are blowing from the direction we are heading to. With yachts, facing your destination, if the winds are blowing from the side or diagonally from behind, we would be able to proceed straight. However, if the winds are blowing from ahead, the yacht will zigzag left and right and we lose a considerable amount of speed.  And what's even more inconvenient is the yacht will be rocked up and down and sideways. I think many of you have been on trains where you are walking and the slightest jolt sideways makes you lose balance. Well, it's worse on a yacht. When the yacht is being hit with winds going 25 - 35 knots it takes a lot of effort to even hold yourself upright. Even simple chores like changing clothes or walking with a cup of coffee in your hands can be exhausting. I'm a slow mover as it is and it makes me even slower. So we struggled with the head winds but as soon as we passed Bosohanto, we started to pick up a little speed. The Aeolus is facing the direction of 110 degrees but is moving at 85 degrees. Wow! We're doing a little over 7 knots (about 13km/hr). We must be riding the Kuroshio that's in this area. We are all very excited with the speed. We were just talking yesterday after hearing about the approaching typhoon that we may have to take shelter at a port and if we do, we may not be able to head out of Onahama on the 16th as scheduled but the Kuroshio came to our rescue. 82 more miles. As I was writing this it looks like the speed is dropping and we are down to 3 knots. We'll do what we have to do. Sailing is full of surprises, both good and not so good.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 6/12/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

Scary PYRAMID Waves

June 11, 2013.  1 pm
N 34.41 E 139.06
Weather: Raine
Winds: Northeast 22
Waves: 1m
12 miles west of Izuoshima

　It was really frightening! About 2 hours ago, at around Mikomotoshima in the Oshima Islands, the winds that were already up to 25 knots went up to 30 knots. The wave heights reached 2.5 - 3 meters. It's been pretty rough out here. Suddenly, I felt the Aeolus being lifted up then I felt it go sideways. At that moment, I heard the roaring sound of the engine. In the direction we headed to avoid a vessel were chopping pyramid waves. Hiki-san and Ando-san who were steering knew they were there but had to head in that direction to avoid a vessel. We just caught the edge of them but the thought of being caught in the middle of them sent chills down my spine. I experienced that during a open sea race in San Diego before and it was almost as scary. I'll tell you about my scariest experience some other time. So, why do we take such huge risks to do something like this? Well, my watch is going to start in a bit so I will write about that some other time too.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 6/11/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

VIDEOS!

June 9 Report from Kushimoto Shionomisaki-the southernmost tip of mainland Japan!

Come SAIL Away!

June 10 2013 (Sun) 6:30 am
N34.14 E137.28
Wave height 2 m
Wind 22 knots SSE
Cloudy skies.
Getting close to Enshunada

 Maybe it's because Typhoon Yagi formed in the Philippines and maybe because the weather front that was down by Kyushu is moving up, the wind and the waves are strong and the waves are rolling onto the deck. I went up to the mast to try to reef the sail and ended up getting covered with water and got soaking wet. It was so cold. Wind speeds got up to 28 knots. This has been a good lesson for our final training. It was a new moon last night so it was apparently very dark. Not that it makes much of a difference for me but I imagine to have to do things in the dark must make things stressful for the sighted. I went out to set up the sail in the middle of the night last night but it wasn't any different from doing it in the daytime. One of the perks of being blind. I'm happily singing an old Japanese pop song that I like to sing when I'm speeding away but I will be mindful of the fact there is a typhoon approaching. You might be curious about the song but just so you know, it's a really old song.

LIVE from the AEOLUS !

Hello Everyone!

This is a message from Blind Sailing Headquarters.

Live broadcast from the Aeolus will be aired on "Ce Matin! ZIP!" from June 10(Mon)to June 14(Fri)

　　Ce Matin! ZIP! from 5:20 am

See you then!

DAY RUN 113 Miles

June 9, 2013 1 pm.
Coordinate: N33.30 E135.58
Wind bearing 4 knots SSW.
Wave height 1 m
Cloudy with a little rain.
Heading 75 degrees from Kushimoto to south of Izuoshima with sails up.

Since we left Hokko Yacht Harbor at 1 pm, we've covered a distance of 113 miles (day run). We will be using nautical miles (x 1.85 km) in our blogs from now on. I thought it was around 100 miles so I was happy to learn we covered more than that. There is the Kuroshio Current in Kushimoto right off the Kii Hanto so we got up to 8.5 knots at one point. The wind was only around 6 knots so we were going faster than the wind. It will be around 200 miles to Kii Oshima. We should be making our approach in about 2 days. The low air pressure heading towards us from the west so we will try to escape east.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 6/09/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

POSTSCRIPT

Kinta no Daiboken-san

Thank you for your comment.

This is the last training (to Fukushima) with the 4 of us and from Fukushima, it will be just Hiro-san and I all the way to San Diego. 

Thank you very much for your support.

Originally posted by Jiro Shinbo in Japanese on 6/09/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

DAY 2

Good morning everyone.

I am aboard the Aeolus, sitting in front of a computer.

We did the overnight training aboard the Aeolus twice before and the first time I turned into a Merlion and was not in the condition to sit in front of a computer and the second time I was so busy trying to steer the yacht during my 2 hour watches that I couldn't think about anything else but it's funny how easily we humans get used to things if we train enough and it helped that the sea was very calm last night,I am able to sit in front of the computer on a rocking yacht typing away during my 2 hour off time. It's so true that "Practice Makes Perfect". 

Last night I had a gourmet meal, House Curry's "The Hotel" with a fresh egg in it. This morning we had gourmet boiled eggs that we boiled using sea water, croissants, tuna (from a can) and coffee for breakfast.I was worried that if we boiled eggs in sea water the eggs would get salty but it tasted like any other boiled egg. I wonder how they make those salt flavored boiled eggs they sell on the Shinansen. It's good to know that boiling eggs in sea water won't make it taste salty. Now we can conserve the purified water by using sea water. 

I will blog more often now so please look forward to it!

Oh, just a moment ago, Seiji Chihara came by on a boat to wish us luck.

Many others also come right up to us to wish us luck.

Thank you very much.

Jiro Shinbo

Originally posted by Jiro Shinbo in Japanese on 6/09/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

All 4 of the Crew are DOING WELL

June 9, 6:10 am.  Currently we are sailing through the waters of Hikigawa-cho. We have been sailing for 18 hours and we have covered 80 miles. Not a bad speed. Shinbo-san, me, Hiki-san and Ando-san from Kazi are all doing well. The wind is blowing from the direction we are heading in and the tide is going the other way too so we are struggling a bit. We should sail past Kushimoto around noon. I hope we can just ride out smoothly on the Kuroshio Current. (Current location N135.30 E135.23)

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 6/09/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

A HEARTFELT Send off from Osaka

June 8. The day is finally here. We will be leaving Osaka. After the sail out ceremony at 12 pm, I took the helm and headed out of Hokko Yacht Harbor around 1 pm. There were about 1000 people at the sail out ceremony to see us off. We also had a press conference so there were many people from the media. We were blessed with beautiful weather. I thank everyone who came to send us off in this heat. As we headed out Hokko Harbor, we saw many ships had come out there to see us off too. I think there were about 40 vessels out there. We continued to wave for over an hour, to try to convey how much we appreciate everyone's support. At Shinbo-san's home port, Tannowa, there were around 20 vessels to see us off. Thank you everyone, thank you very much. We will reach Tomogashima Suido in a little while. We will probably make it through at around 2 pm.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 6/09/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

LAST DAY of Prepping

June 7. Today was a Friday but the people of Kaientai took the day off from work to help load and do some maintenance work. It was a beautiful day, perfect for making preparations. In the morning, some professionals came to put our sponsers decals on the Aeolus. From the bottom of my heart, I thank all the sponsers for their support.
In the afternoon, we set up the iPad mini to connect with external speakers via bluetooth. As I wrote yesterday, the iPad will read aloud heading, speed and wind speeds. Now, I can leave the iPad mini to charge the battery in the cabin and listen to the information outside.  When all the maintenance and loading was done, we put a star on the end of the bow to express in appreciation to all the people who have support us and to pray that we will make it safely to San Diego. Tomorrow, we will be leaving Osaka.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 6/09/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

Refreshing HAIRCUT

Thank you reading the blog again today. June 6. I went to get my hair cut this morning. While we are out at sea, we won't be able to bathe, not even take a quick shower. We can only use 1 liter of water a day per person and that includes for cooking, drinking, brushing our teeth...everything. If we want to shampoo, we would have to save 1.5 liters of water. So we would be lucky if we are able to shampoo once a week. I'm worried if I will be able to survive such unsanitary conditions I've never experienced before. For this reason, I decided to get my hair cut as short as possible and went to the barber shop I talked about before. I've never mentioned to the barber that I was going to be sailing across the Pacific but he saw me on Ce Matin so he asked me a lot of questions as he cut my hair. I feel refreshed now that my hair is really short. Afterwards, I headed to the harbor and set up the iPad (all four including the backups) all with the same settings and tested them by connecting them to the LAN and the bluetooth speakers. I can change the settings on SailSound much smoother now. They fixed the 4th camera on the Aeolus. With this camera, it will be able to video us working at the bow of the ship and get some exciting footage of waves rolling in from the front. I hope you look forward to watching these videos on this website. Tomorrow will be our final day of prepping. I will do my best.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 6/07/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

A NEW SAIL

June 5. Before we went to the harbor, we went to Konan Pro to buy some tanks and things to make oil changes easier. Changing oil on a rocking Aeolus is no easy task. Hiki-san, who has crossed th Pacific before has thought of everything so that it would be as easy as it can possibly be for Shinbo-san. This morning I learned how to use the iPhone/iPad application called Ariadne. This is a navigation application developed for the blind. One of its functions tells you which direction and how far a certain point is when you set the coordinates. WOW. But I'm a very 'low-tech' guy so I was having trouble with the app. We called an IT expert for the blind and got some support. Whenever I have trouble with using a software and I can't figure it out myself I call him. Step by step I followed the setting instructions he sent me in an email and it finally worked. Thank you Sakamoto-san. I am very grateful for you continuous support. A new sail from Quantum was put on the Aeolus. Sails start to stretch over time. It makes sense because the wind that hits it is powerful enough to move a heavy yacht. The sail is put through a lot. When a sail is stretched out it loses its effect. This new sail has been fitted and newly made for the Aeolus so we will be able to take on the challenges of the Pacific. All the staff were busy installing a backup camera, setting up the backup NavNet, and they all worked late into the night. Back in the boathouse they explained how to use the emergency equipment, marked all the medical supplies with Braille and prepared the food for our trip to Fukushima. I am in awe at all the support the volunteers have given us. Only 2 more days left to prepare. We have been blessed with good weather. I will upload something again tomorrow so see you then!

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 6/06/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

EMERGENCY!

 What a huge shocker. Early last week as I was eating the lately popular teppanyaki Napolitan I bit into something really hard. I thought there was a rock or something in my past and looked at the hard item only to find that it was a piece of my tooth.

 I'm very adamant about my dental hygiene clean and I'm proud that I don't have any gum disease, I clean my teeth with dental floss and pricey toothpaste and lately I've started to use that dental water flosser you see on TV to clean between my teeth. So in no way did I expect something like this to happen and it boggled my mind. I hurried to my dentist and found out that a tooth on the upper right side had a cavity and it was that tooth that broke off.  

 The dentist said "You were lucky. If it broke 1 mm more, you would have severed a nerve and it would have been excruciatingly painful." 

 But I don't feel lucky at all. If this happened when we were on the Pacific, that would have been terrible. The dentist covered the tooth as an emergency measure but what if it comes off while we our at sea and the nerve gets exposed? I won't be in any condition to sail. Luckily, I was able to get a last minute appointment and I got the nerve removed. What a relief. So many unexpected things happen.

 I lost a lot of valuable time to load my things to the dental procedure but now we are down to 2 days and we have been able to load most of the necessities. Now all we do is wait for the wind.

 I am so excited...and a little nervous. After the tooth incident, who knows what will happen?  

Originally posted by Jiro Shinbo in Japanese on 6/05/2013
Translated by SWIS Project 

4 WATERPROOF BAGS of Clothing

June 4. Today I went to Nippon Lighthouse to get some Braille stickers and Braille writing machine this morning before going to the harbor. I wanted to label the bags that are filled with clothes and food. As soon as I got to the harbor, Shibo-san joined me for an interview with someone from the Kansai version of Yomiuri newspaper. Shinbo-san will be writing an article for them every week. I hope all of you living in Kansai will have a chance to read it! We checked each extra pieces of rope and we separated the ones that we will load onto the Aeolus and the ones we won't be taking with us. Ropes can get pretty heavy when they are long. I bunched up 5 pieces of rope and carried them on my back to the Aeolus but by the time I reached the Aeolus, I was exhausted. Now we have back ups for every type of rope in case any of them tear or breaks. I've been asked before if the ropes for the sails ever break and to be honest, they rarely do. However, we do have to be prepared for any situation. Safety comes first in this project so we are prepared for everything we can think of. It's a huge risk we are taking so I am so grateful that we have so many people working so hard for our survival. As I mentioned before, Helly Hansen has donated many things to our project. We have 5 different pairs for rain wear alone so I am certain we will be fine in any weather. We also got deck shoes, Tshirts, reefer jackets, pants, fleece and many many more. I touched everything to memorize the items so that I can easily find them during our trip across the Pacific.  I put the Tshirts and reefer jackets into ziplock bags and marked them in Braille. When I put them all into waterproof bags, it totaled to 4 bags and all of them are the same shape so for the ones I assume I will be opening and closing a lot, I marked them with a short piece of rope. This will help in identifying which bag has what quickly. By the time I got everything into the bags and left the harbor it was already around 9 pm. I am very grateful I was able to get everything I needed to get done today without incident. Only 3 more days until we head out of Osaka. Hiki-san is worried that there are still so many things left to be done. Please pray for us that we will be able to head out of Osaka smoothly and as planned. Thank you!

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 6/05/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

DONATION from Tannowa Yacht Club ～Jiro Shinbo Blog～

Hiro-san has already told you the story about when we were invited to my home port, Osaka Tannowa Yacht Harbor for the IFDS Blind Sailing World & International Championships 2013 awards ceremony last month and last month, the former chairman of the Tannowa Yacht Club visited us with his wife and daughters at Osaka Hokko Yacht Harbor where Hiro-san and I were training. With a donation of 200 liters of fuel. We are planning to load 600 liters of fuel on the Aeolus to generate power and we now have 1/3 of that. Thank you very much.

We have been busy loading the Aeolus for the last 3 days. 600 liters of fuel, 400 liters of water, this already adds up to a ton. It is already very close to the load line limit and the  exhaust pipe at the stern looks as if it will go underwater. We haven't loaded the ropes so we are expecting to sail out for San Diego with a load of approximately 1.5 tons to cross the Pacific.

At the beginning of the project, the whole thing didn't feel that real...but now, as we count down the days and make progress in our preparations, it's really starting to sink in. I know, it's about time!! But better late than never?

Originally posted by Jiro Shinbo in Japanese on 6/03/2013
Translated by SWIS Project 

Igarashi Yacht INSTITUTE

June 1. This morning I was live on air on Wake Up Plus. A taxi came to pick me up and took me to Yomiuri TV. During my ride to the TV station, the director updated me on what the segment I will be in will be like. I had my wife and daughter join me because it's not very often we get to go to a TV studio. As soon as we got the Yomiuri TV, we were shown to the waiting room where we met the Chief Producer and then we were shown to the make-up room. Just as I was about to say "Hey, I don't need any make-up." they explained to me that it was necessary to apply something on my face to prevent the light from reflecting off my face. That's good to know because a manly man from Kyushu would never wear make-up. LOL They let us into the studio early to show us around. This was going to be a nation wide broadcast so I was really nervous. I remember they were showing an interview with Prime Minister Abe on the screen but I can't remember a single thing about it. Later, they talked about issues like separate surnames for married couples and a Motorcycle race to be held on Osaka Castle grounds and finally it was time for th Blind Sailing segment.  During the commercials I said hello to the commentators and then stood before the camera. This segment was hosted by Igarashi-san and is called "Igarashi Yacht Kenkyujyo (Institute)". They will be airing this segment every week until we reach San Diego. I was at a loss for words when I found out that popular musicians like Yuzu and Motoharu Sano donated songs to this project. After they showed the video they took a few days ago on the Aeolus, I answered some questions and before I knew it, it was over. I spoke with the commentators for a bit before I headed back to my apartment because I had to prepare for a trip to Kumamoto for shooting of another TV show. My wife and daughter will be returning to San Diego tomorrow afternoon.  My daughter had a great time in Japan because she got to go to Disneyland and got birthday presents from her uncle and aunt. I went to Itami Airport with them so they can catch the flight to Narita where they will be changing planes for a JAL direct flight to San Diego. I took the JAL direct flight from San Diego to Narita to come to Japan and it really did feel like it was much more convenient and that Japan was much closer. I really hope JAL will continue offering these direct flights to Narita. I headed to Kumamoto with Igarashi-san (announcer) and Fujita-san (director). It was pouring when we got to Kumamoto. We took a taxi to Kumamoto Lighthouse, a place I spent 15 years since the 1st grade of elementary school. I commuted to blind school from here. Despite the heavy rain, 60 people gathered there for me. It made me feel really nostalgic to see all my old teachers and friends and we talked for 2 hours. Afterwards we headed to my hometown of  Ushibuka on Amakusa where we will be filming on location tomorrow. By the time we got there 3 hours later, we were all exhausted. Ushibuka is really really far. But as soon as I got out of the car, the air smelled like the sea, just like I remembered it and found myself unwinding immediately.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 6/03/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

WEATHER FORECASTS & Safe Voyages

May 31. This morning we had a fitting session for clothing. Helly Hansen has donated a huge amount of clothing such as deck shoes, boots, rain ponchos, fleece, t-shirts and many more to this blind sailing project. We are so grateful. Thank you very much. Now, we are ready for any kind of weather. When I mention that the quality of our attire affects our focus and performance out there, many people think I'm exaggerating but it's true. Say that it's raining and I'm freezing. It can get really difficult to focus on steering the yacht. If I were freezing, my mind would just keep wandering off to eating a warm cup of noodles. If I'm unable to concentrate, then there is that much room for human error. It is very important to be dressed appropriately for the weather to be able to sail the yacht safely. That is why we are so grateful for this donation from Helly Hansen because now we have attire for every weather imaginable. Afterwards, Mr. Numada from Osaka Electro-Communication University came to the Aeolus to test the new version of SailSound. This new version allows me to use the function that is already installed in the iPad mini to read out the information on the screen such as the heading, boat speed, wind direction, wind speed and such as many time as I set it to read out in a minute.  They also added the function where an alarm will go off is the LAN or NavNet has any issues and stops sending information. From 4 pm, I had a meeting with Baba-san at Yomiuri TV, something I have been looking forward to. Baba-san is a marine weather forecaster and he provides weather forecasts to all vessels on the water around the globe. Should a strong weather front or a low atmospheric pressure be approaching, he advises us a route that will be least affected by these weather conditions. Baba-san's deep knowledge and vast experience accumulated by assisting many vessels across the Pacific is very reassuring. He taught us some basic weather forecasting skills and gave us advice on what we should be prepared for from a weather forecaster's perspective. Being prepared for wind speeds to be at 15 m in 12 hours reduces our stress level considerably. And of course, knowing that Baba-san is looking out for us takes a load off our minds.  

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 6/03/2013
Translated by SWIS Project

GOODBYE KANSAI! Off we go to Fukushima!

Hello Everyone!                                                                                                             

This is a notice from the Blind Sailing Headquarters.

We only have a week before the blind sailing project we all have been working so hard on since last year will sets sail from Osaka. Hiro and Shibo-san have safely completed their sailing training and now all we can do is wait for the big day!

On June 8th, the two of them will say goodbye to everyone from Osaka Hokko Yacht Harbor and head for Fukushima Onahama Port.

We ask for your continued support as Hiro and Shinbo-san join forces to sail across the Pacific Ocean. Please come by to wish them luck!

Date:   June 8 (Sat) 12:00 pm

Place:  Osaka Hokko Yacht Harbor

            2-13-18 Tsuneyoshi Konohana-ku        

            http://www.osakahokko-yh.com/

*Please note that parking is limited so please check their website for maps and details for public transportation.

INTERVIEW with Wake Up Plus

May 30. Today we were interviewed for a TV show that airs every Saturday morning from 8 am called Wake Up Plus. This is a popular show that's hosted by Shinbo-san where many powerful politicians make appearances. Since last week they started airing a segment for Blind Sailing. This interview was for a broadcast on June 1. They wanted to capture some scenes with my family so my wife and daughter who has been in Osaka since the 26th joined me at the harbor. I wanted my daughter to learn more about the Aeolus so I hid toys and snacks throughout the ship and made it fun for her to make her own discoveries as she searched for them. She found things inside a bag for ropes, a box for propane gas, tool box and such and I think she had a really good time. Afterwards, Igarashi-san interviewed us. I'm curious to know what they will show in the broadcast. There were times when I sounded a little awkward. LOL I believe it will be aired between 8:30 am and 9 am. I will be making a live appearance. I know I will be nervous again but with help from Shinbo-san, I hope the I'll be OK. I hope you can watch it. And if you do, please post your comment! I will be looking forward to them. My older sister came from Kumamoto and I got handmade dolls (one of me, one of Shinbo-san and one of Aeolus) from a teacher that took very good care of me in elementary school. I the afternoon, I went sailing with the Wake Up Plus staff for about 2 hours. During our sailing trip, I tried to explain to Igarashi-san how I sharpen my senses when I am steering the boat but I'm not sure if I was able to explain well. It's so hard to explain things to people. I hope that I will eventually be able to talk about yachts with people who are unfamiliar with them as well as Shinbo-san can.    

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 5/31/2013
Translated by SWIS Project 

Koji Tele CHU!

May 29. I was standing by watching channel 10 this morning so I wouldn't miss the broadcast of my Ce Matin interview taken on May 20. Like I thought when I was on their show live, I am amazed at the director's creativity and skill to edits long interview footage into a short and concise video for perfect for broadcast. The scene where the weather caster Yukino-san was almost in tears when she was climbing the mast and the scene where Yoshida-san was cooking aboard the ship were done nicely. As soon as the broadcast was over, I left the house and headed for Osaka Station on the JR Loop Line. I met up with Hiki-san and went to Itami Airport where the Chief Producer for Yomiuri TV, Yuuki-san joined us and the 3 of us boarded the 7:40 flight to Fukushima. It was a small plane built for around 50 passengers and the weather was really bad so I was afraid that there would be a lot of turbulence but it turned out to be a smooth flight. As soon as we got to Fukushima Airport, we were greeted by Narita-san who has been a volunteer to support this project and Saito-san who is a representative teacher for the Iwaki Kaisei High School Yacht Club and headed for the City Hall for Iwaki City by car. We talked in detail with the representatives from the department of tourism of City Hall about the event that will be held on June 15 and 16 and how long we will be staying in Onahama . It made me think about how much work it is to plan and execute a major event and felt so much appreciation for everyone who has worked so hard to make this happen. We left City Hall and went to check out the area the Aeous will be docked. We talked about what we should do if the wind or waves were really strong on the day we leave and the route we should take to leave the port. Yuuki-san was also busy deciding where to place the cameras and where to park the broadcasting van. Then we had to hurry to Fukushima Chuo TV.  Here I was in a live broadcast TV show called Koji Tele Chu from 4 pm. I shared by thoughts about my previous visit to Minami Soma City with Director Isaki. I thought 4 pm was an unusual time for a live broadcast TV show and asked why but all I got was a simple reply that it used to be on at 5 pm. After the broadcast was over, we headed back to Osaka. Today was another productive day. So, if you are still curious about what Yoshida-san made for us aboard the Aeolus during the Ce Matin interview I'll tell you. It was an omelette. It was really delicious. It would be great if we could eat delicious omelettes everyday aboard the Aeolus but it would be difficult to take eggs with us on our voyage because although eggs stay fresh for a surprisingly long time, they are very fragile. So I enjoyed every bite of it.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 5/30/2013
Translated by SWIS Project 

FUEL Ready to GO!

May 26. I headed out to Osaka by Shinkansen. Once I arrived in Osaka, I headed straight for Hokko Yacht Harbor. A team of volunteers from Kaientai went on their first round of shopping and the food was all piled up in the boathouse. I touched each item and confirmed each one. We will take everything out of the boxes and put them in ziplock bags to save space. Even the cup for the cup noodles take up space so the contents will be put into plastic bags. Some of you may think, then why don't we just take the instant noodles that come in bags? Well, with those types of noodles we would first have to boil water, then put the noodles in and let it boil for another 3 minutes or so for it to be ready to eat which means we would be using up a lot of propane. With the ones that come in cups, we only have to use enough propane for the water to boil then we can turn it off. It may seem like only 3 minutes but do it often enough and that's a lot of propane. The volunteers will go for their 2nd round for shopping at the end of next week and once it's June, we will start loading the yacht. When I arrived at the Aeolus, there were eighteen 20 liter plastic tanks and eight 18 liter plastic tanks tied together. A total of 504 liters. The Aeolus holds 110 liters so that totals to 614 liters of fuel on board the Aeolus. I don't think there has been any other yacht the size of Aeolus taking this much fuel with them to cross the Pacific. We need it all to keep the satellite machines for our live broadcasts and the 24 hour camera for the documentary running. At 3 pm, we borrowed an area at the harbor and had a BBQ. We had delicious meats and draft beer made by a member of Kaientai and had a great time. I planned this BBQ in an attempt to express my gratitude to all the volunteers from Kaientai who have worked so hard to help me but since I was on the road this morning, I ended up having to ask the volunteers to help get everything ready. Thank you once again. I know that for the next 2 weeks until we set sail, we will need the help of the volunteers from Kaientai, probably more than I realize.  

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 5/28/2013
Translated by SWIS Project 

WHAT I CAN DO and What I Can't

May 28. This morning, we turned on the VSAT and INMARSAT systems on and were on standby for a live broadcast testing from 10:30 this morning. The INMARSAT phone rang so I picked it up. It was Shinbo-san saying; "Hello? Shinbo here!" The phone works fine. Now we are ready for interviews over the phone. Next, we tested to see if we can send video and audio over the VSAT. We were able to send video but not audio. They said that it could be due to unstable transmission speeds. Once it reached 200kbps, we were able to send audio as well.  I hope we will be able to reach triple digit transmission speed when we are out there on the Pacific. After having cup noodles for lunch on the yacht, Shinbo-san got busy listening to Hiki-san explain alternative methods of communication in case we have trouble with satellite communication. The amount of information was tremendous and I was amazed with Shinbo-san's ability to absorbe all that information. And the fact that Hiki-san thoroughly understands all of it to the point he can teach someone is incredible. Anything related to the engine or anything electrical, I have no choice but to have Shinbo-san handle it. I felt bad as I listened to them talk. I reminded myself over and over again that my responsibility is to do what I can to the best of my abilities. The code that I live by is to not dwell on things I can't do and focus on what I can do and give it my all. After Shinbo-san left, around 3 pm, we wanted to test the new SailSound and tried to connect it to the on board LAN but we were having trouble. We fumbled around for a while trying to figure out what was wrong and when we turned on the VSAT we finally got connection. With the new version of SailSound, you can set how many times you want it to read out the information on the menu using a function already available in the iPad or iPhone. I always think it's great when I am enabled to start doing things I couldn't do before on my own.  We returned to the boathouse around 4 pm and discussed the food items to load onto the yacht with the leader of the shopping team Mackie until a little after 7 pm. Thank you all for your help again today. I will be heading out for a live broadcast of 'Koji Tele Chu!' tomorrow at Fukushima Chuo TV. If you live in Fukushima, I hope you watch it!

Message from Headquarters:
A VSAT system will be on board the Aeolus for live broadcast and uploading blogs from the PC for this voyage. This will be our primary communication system (There is a huge dome antenna on the stern. In case we run into problems with the VSAT, we have the INMARSAT phone as an audio backup during live broadcasts. This will be our secondary communication system. And we will have an iridium phone that will constantly be connected to the two of them. This is our third and last communication system. 

The systems are all there to support one another and thanks to the technology provided by Furuno Electrics and others that allows us to use all this technology without a hitch, our safety is ensured. We will be commencing the final countdown soon. Thank you for all your support until now and hope you will stay with us on our journey. 

To all of our supporters out there, we promise to upload videos and blogs every moment we can. We hope you look forward it. And of course, our broadcasts can be enjoyed in Hi-Vision.  Stay tuned to watch cutting edge technologies being used for the first time in the world!

P.S. It will be Shinbo-san that will actually operate them and believe me, it's not as complicated as you may imagine but in no way is it easy. Good luck Shinbo-san! LOL

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 5/28/2013
Translated by SWIS Project 

IFDS Blind Sailing World & International Championships 2013

May 25. I visited Aburatsubo Boat Service in Miura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. It was very quiet around me so I heard the sound of craftsmen doing maintenance work inside the yacht that was raised from the water. There was a 38 ft yacht, that made me think it looked like it could be Aeolus's big sister   docked near the floating bridge. Last September, before Aeolus was moved to Osaka, we had some major work done on her here. That evening, I was invited to the opening ceremony for the IFDS Blind Sailing World & International Championships 2013 that was being held at the Seabornia Marina. I had a great time with some old sailing buddies. Competing blind sailing teams consist of four sailors on a boat, two of whom are blind according to IBSA classifications and two of whom are sighted to serve as guides.  The helmsman and crew (in charge of the main sail) are blind sailors. One of the sighted sailor can not physically touch any of the controls and must verbally inform the helmsman the location and the heading of the vessels around them. The blind sailors listen to the information and maneuver the yacht to avoid crashing into other vessels.  The other sighted sailor is in charge of the jib. Teamwork is vital to these four sailors. They must work together to steer the yacht to find a spot at the start line and avoid collisions when the multiple vessels sail close together when they go around the mark. Talk about an adrenalin rush. Non-stop, heart pounding, breathtaking sailing. I just remembered people talking about how funny the start of a yacht race is. It's quite different from a car race or a 100 m running race because the yachts don't suddenly start racing in the water as soon as you hear "GO!".  The race starts with the yachts sailing parallel to the start line about 5 minutes prior to when the race actually begins and as soon as you hear the sound of the pistol go off the yachts cross the start line as fast as they can. If you pick up speed because the wind got stronger or if the tide pushes you forward and you accidentally cross the start line before the race starts, you have to return to the start line and start all over. So one moment you may think you are first in line at the the start line and the next you are last. Yacht races can be very dramatic. Back in 2006, I was part of a Japanese team for the blind sailing championships that was held at the New York Yacht Club in Newport, Rhode Island. 3 team members from that championship were in the race today. A sailor I became friends with at the U.S. championships that I participate in every year was there too. More power to you all and I hope that everything you learned during practice will yield fantastic results. At the opening ceremony, I was introduced to Mr. Kojiro Shiraishi, a marine adventurer who has sailed around the globe 3 times and I was able to talk to him about my upcoming adventure. I also talked about Furuno Electric's NavNet Touch and how when connected to the iPad Mini, SailSound can convert the information to sound. Many of the blind expressed interest. I assume it's because there is no other system in the world that can convert this much information into sound. I am so proud and extremely grateful that I have been given the opportunity to use this system that was developed for me to cross the Pacific Ocean.      

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 5/27/2013
Translated by SWIS Project 

APOLOGY and CORRECTION

                                

I'm sorry. Let me correct my mistake. In my blog in Japanese, I wrote the wrong character for the name of the legendary yachtsman, Kenichi Horie. I wrote '堀江健一’ when is should have been '堀江謙一’. I also made the same mistake on another piece I wrote. I deeply apologize for my error. 

I have a friend from my school days named Ken Horie and I have gotten so used to using his character for 'Ken' that I chose this character out of habit. I also have friends who have names that sound like sentences in Japanese that would translate into English as 'I'm climbing a stone wall' or 'A puddle of water'. OK, completely off course here.

The weather in Osaka is beautiful today. Why we are missing out on practicing in this beautiful whether is my question but we have our reasons for taking this day off. I also have to do a recording for our weather song on my Kansai local show 'Ce Matin' tomorrow so I have to practice playing the drums. I have been practicing since 8 am this morning and my right leg that I use for the bass drum is starting to cramp. The music score they handed to me me only a week ago is clearly something too demanding for an amateur to play so I'm about ready to give up. 

Two more weeks until we set sail for San Diego. I have a feeling there are more important things I should be doing right now...oh, well.

Originally posted by Jiro Shibo in Japanese on 5/26/2013
Translated by SWIS Project 

The GIFT Part 4

                                     

Last week, the architect Tadao Ando invited me to dinner. I had an opportunity to have a meal with the legendary sailor Kenichi Horie-san, who has been friends with Ando-san for half a century. He said to me; "Shinbo-san, the cup of coffee you have on board is a magical cure to clear your mind and soul for an instant." and handed by some instant coffee from Starbuck's. when I told Hira-san this story, Hiro-san said; "I was contemplating whether to get those or not." So we were very grateful for the gift. Thank you very much. 

On this note, I decided to read 'Alone on the Pacific' authored by Kenichi Horie again. As I read it over, I realized what an intense voyage it was. This book contained a list of the items he had on board and for example, the list of clothes was like this;  

Clothing

 (Pants) 5 pairs. All jeans.

 (Long Johns) 80 pairs. So he can just discard after each use.

 (Belts) 3. 2 extras in case 1 falls into the water. 

Etc., etc...there were at least 20 different items on the list. You'd think a belt would be one of the last things on his mind but it shows how much thought he put into creating his list. Unfortunately, all these items he stocked were drenched in seawater only a week after he set sail when the bottom of the boat filled with water. 

Even more surprising than that was the fact he calculated 0.5 liters of purified water a day so he only had a total of 68 liters of water on board. Back then, they didn't have bottled water so he poured tepid water into plastic bags and again within a week the bags were torn, the water spilled out and whatever he managed to save ended up getting moldy so he survived the rest of the trip with rainwater and beer. His story sounds more like stories of someone being stranded after a shipwreck. 

Compared to Horie-san's voyage, we are blessed. We plan to have 90 days supply of water where we should be able to use 2 liters per person a day. We also have man's greatest invention the plastic bottle on our side so we won't have to worry about the water going bad so as long as we make it to San Diego within the scheduled 2 months, and we may even have enough to wash our hair with shampoo right before we enter the port. 

 Horie-san said something very impressionable.

 "Crossing the Pacific is a feat that every man should accomplish at least once in their lifetime."

 You know, I get what he's saying but...

Originally posted by Jiro Shibo in Japanese on 5/24/2013
Translated by SWIS Project 

Shinbo-san is IRREPLACEABLE

May 22. Today I was interviewed by Braille Mainichi, a Braille weekly for the blind by Mainichi Newspaper. The interview who got on board with us was very sensitive to motion so although the winds and waves were gentle the interviewer got sick and we had to cut the interview short in the middle of sailing. I feel so bad for them. I imagine they can't say no to an assignment just because they get motion sickness. We had another guest on board. It was Wakihama-san, a female announcer from Yomiuri TV who is know by a select few as the person who Shinbo-san would pass the baton to should Shinbo-san not be able to make the voyage. Apparently, there was even a newspaper article with comments from Shinbo-san and her picture in it. Her hobby is scuba diving and just the other day, she went diving to celebrate using her 900th oxygen tank so her passion for scuba diving is admirable. Currently, she is also passionate about sailing dinghies and she sails at public yacht harbors. I hope everyone out there can find a public marina so that they can try sailing. I want to get rid of the biased opinion in Japan that sailing is an indulgence for the rich.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 5/23/2013
Translated by SWIS Project 

Ahoy! Female Announcer CLIMBS THE MAST!

May 20th. We had another interview with Ce Matin today. Danette Davis from Blind Sailing International (BSI) joined us on the Aeolus from the U.S. The plan for this episode was to have the female weather forecaster Saito-san climb up to the tip of the mast before we head out and have another female announcer Yoshida-san cook while we sail. As Saito-san climbed up the mast with her safety harness on, I could hear her yelling "I'm scared! I'm scared!" The mast on the Aeolus has a little stairway so it's easier to climb than most masts but I imagine it must have been very scary for her. She was up halfway when I heard her scream "NOOO! I can't do this! Don't make this do this!" We all yelled back up at her "Yukino-chan! You can do it! Don't give up!" and urged her to go on. She screamed all the way up and screamed all the way down but she did it. Apparently she's not afraid of heights but she said climbing up to the top of the mast was a completely different experience from standing on the roof of a tall building. We headed out of the port to do some sailing. The weather was lovely and the wind was very pleasant. The perfect day for sailing. As soon as we raised the sail, stopped the engine and started sailing, Saito-san started feeling a little seasick. What a horrible day it must have been for her. First, they make her climb up the mast and then she gets seasick. Yoshida-san went into the cabin and to cook and something smelled delicious. Yum...and it tasted as good as it smelled. Do you want to know what she made for us? Then watch Ce Matin on May 29th around 5:50 am. As for the people who live outside the Kansai broadcasting area, I will blog what it was on the 29th. Stay tuned!

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 5/21/2013
Translated by SWIS Project  

A Visit to FURUNO ELECTRIC CO. LTD.

May 20th. We paid a courtesy visit to Furuno Electric Co. Ltd. this morning. Furuno Electric Co. Ltd. is one of the official sponsors for this blind sailing project. We have something similar to a car navigation system aboard the Aeolus called the NavNet Touch. Instead of road maps it displays nautical charts on the screen. It also displays important information such as the heading direction, speed, wind direction and wind speed at all times. We connect this to an iPad Mini via internal LAN which lets it read the information out to me. The application used on the iPad is called Sail Sound which was developed by a team at Osaka Electro-Communication University. NavNet Touch has other many other functions too. The most important function of them all is the radar information. As long as we have this, even when we can't physically see what's ahead for example due to thick fog or something, we can see the obstacles in the water like a ship or buoy on the radar which will allow us to avoid collisions. Shinbo-san said that he had a scary experience when he was sailing on his yacht which wasn't equipped with a radar where suddenly he wasn't able to see anything ahead and had to cautiously steer his yacht back to port. He said that experience made him fully realize the importance of a radar. This radar has an alarm built in and we can set the distance of how far the obstacle should be when the alarm goes off.  I plan to set it for 5 miles when it's my watch. Inside the Osaka Bay, there are so many tankers, cargo vessels and fishing boats that the alarm will probably be sounding non-stop so it won't help me but once we're out in the open Pacific, we may or may not see one vessel a day. Once the alarm goes off, we will use the international VHF radio to inform them which way the Aeolus is heading and we should be able to avoid a collision. If we don't get a response from them, then I will need Shinbo-san to watch the screen. I hope one of these days, the radar will also come with audio capabilities. I think this would be an important function not only for the blind but for people who can see as well. 6 executive directors including one of the founders of the company came to meet us. The founder, Furuno-san is from Kuchinose, Nagasaki told me he had been to my hometown of Uchibukashi quite often to sell fish finders which made me very happy and gave me an extra boost of energy. I promise to utilize the NavNet Touch to it's fullest potential for a safe voyage across the Pacific.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 5/20/2013
Translated by SWIS Project  

Aeolus FRESHENED UP!

May 19th. We reached Itami Airport from Fukushima at aroun 10:20 am, got into a taxi and headed straight for Hokko Yacht Harbor. When we got to Hokko, we found the members of Kaientai busily working on the Aeolus. I walked up to the Aeolus and found the bottom of the Aeolus repainted and there was a Blind Sailing logo on the starboard side of the bow. As I touched the logo, I felt my excitement for this challenge grow bigger inside me. Thanks to the members who came all the way down from Tokyo and Shizuoka and the members who took a day off from work on a Friday to work on the Aeolus, the maintence work was completed. After she got her make-up retouched, I think she looks at least 5 years younger. I was onboard the Aeolus when they put her back into the water after they completed all the maintenance work. I climbed up the ladder and boarded the Aeolus that was by the slope. I held on tightly to the side stays (the wire that supports the mast from the side) and waited. I could feel the Aeolus being carefully lowered into the water. I could feel the vibration from the berth then the next moment the Aeolus was afloat on the water. We tied the mooring ropes at our usual place by the floating pier. After that, they worked until after 6 pm to make the shelves for me to put my PC and iPad. They are doing everything they can to make my journey across the Pacific as effortless as possible. At the boathouse, they discussed which foods should be loaded into the bottom of the boat and how much food should be loaded. It was a day I truly felt how much progress our preparation efforts have made. To the members of Kaientai; Thank you very much.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 5/20/2013
Translated by SWIS Project  

How TOUCHING the Dinghies Destroyed by the Tsunami Made Me Feel.

May 18th. This morning, I met the people of Iwaki Kaisei High School yacht club and Iwaki Junior Yacht School. First of all, Saito-san, the teacher who is also the adviser for Kaisei High School gave me the opportunity to touch the dinghies (1 to 2 man yacht)  and boathouse that was destroyed by the tsunami. When I was still in San Diego, Saito-san sent pictures of the damages caused by the tsunami and I had someone describe the pictures to me so I thought I had a good idea of what the damage was like but when I actually touched the damages, I realized that it was far worse than I had imagined. There were yachts with 15 cm holes in the front and sides, there were yachts that were so damaged they no longer looked like yachts...I was really shocked. Many old member of the yacht club came and told me stories of what it was like at the time of the disaster. They had to start from removing sand that was piled up 30 cm high inside the boathouse, then they had to build a simple wall and then they start repairing the dighies. It took them over a year to finally be able to practice sailing again. But no matter how dire the situation, no one stopped coming because they couldn't sail anymore and they all continued to work to rebuild/restore everything. Their efforts paid off and now they are able to practice in the waters of Onahama again. For a while after the tsunami, the radiation level was too high so they had to go to Innawashiro Lake which is about an hour away to practice. Saito-san quietly expressed how grateful he is that they are now able to practice in the waters of Onahama as he remembered how horrible things were back then.  The Iwaki Sun Marina, where they used to practice has still not been repaired and is not scheduled to be repaired any time soon. They told me that they have been using a slope that is in the area where abalone fishing boats are anchored to bring the dinghies in and out of the water. Ohira-san who is a representative of the junior yacht school also told me stories about what it was like 2 years ago. Unfortunately, there was a sports festival at the local elementary school so not many people were there but I was able to talk to a junior high school student. He spoke passionately about how he wants to be in the National Athletic Meet and the Olympics in the future. It is very lucky to be able to start sailing from elementary school. I hope that there will be more junior yacht schools and that it would become more common for kids to sail at an early age. I am leading a drive on behalf of See What I Sea (SWIS www.seewhatisea.com) an organization of volunteers that is backing me up from San Diego to collect money to donate 420 dinghies. We plan to present them with a list of our donations when we leave Onahama Bay in Fukushima to head for San Diego. This is a plan I thought up when I first heard of the March 11th tsunami when I was in San Diego. I wanted the children who have come to fear the ocean because of the tsunami to remember how wonderful the ocean is throught sailing and I wanted to find a way to help them do that. We've received many donations from many people and we have been able to reach our goal to get 420 dinghies. I thank all of you who have donated for your generosity. I can't wait to see the kids sailing on the 420 dinghies. The junior yacht school members made me (Tonjiru-pork miso soup) and onigiri (rice balls) which were very tasty. It was important to me to reconfirm how much the students at Iwaki Kaisei High School and the junior yacht school are looking forward to the SWIS dinghy donations. Today was another wonderful day. Tomorrow I will return to Osaka.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 5/19/2013
Translated by SWIS Project