MERLION

First of all, I apologize for using the symbol of Singapore, the Merlion for something other than what it's meant to represent.

  I hope I don't offend anyone when I say, the other night during the overnight cruise, the director/cameraman for the documentary, Mr. Isaki and I both 'turned into' the Merlion. I don't think I have publicly humiliated myself like this since I was a student who had too much to drink at a bar in Takadababa.

  To begin with, I almost always get motion sickness. During my earlier years in elementary school, I always received 'Special Treatment' when we went on field trips because of my special ability to turn into the Merlion and the teacher would have me sit at the front of the bus just so I won't have to turn into one. By the time I started high school, I commuted to school by bus so I stopped getting motion sickness on anything on land but the sea is a different matter. However, I have been blessed with the opportunity to own my own boat so I have gotten used to the waves and thought I learned to not turn into a Merlion but my new found ability was no match for the heavy waves in the Osaka Bay.

   Wavelengths are proportionate to the distance the winds travel across the ocean so the waves in the Pacific are big but there's some time in between waves. But in Osaka Bay, the waves come from every directions in short irregular intervals. In the Pacific, the wave height could reach up to 10 meters so compared to that, even in heavy weather, the waves only get to about 1.5 meters so there's no concern of the boat capsizing. HOWEVER, these kind of waves, with the short intervals, not being able to tell from which direction the next wave will be coming from, for someone who is prone to turning into a Merlion, well, it's torture.  

   So, during this overnight training session, I was down inside the boat, asleep. I feel so ashamed. This time, 2 professional sailors and Hiro-san sailed the ship but when we set sail for San Diego, Hiro-san and I have to do this all by ourselves so for the first time since the start of this project, to be honest, I'm a little worried. But the reality is "The ship has already sailed', so for the next month and a half, I may not be able to keep myself from getting motion sickness but I can train myself to be functional despite it. I think my first I training session should be something like taking a ride on Space Mountain in Disneyland with a beautiful woman...LOL

  I am in awe at how Hiro-san can handle himself in such harsh weather conditions. Needless to say, the dark doesn't affect the blind at all. He does all the work without slowing down a bit. It is amazing to watch how quickly he can get things done on a ship in the darkness of the night.

Originally posted by Jiro Shinbo in Japanese on 4/22/2013

Translated by SWIS Project