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