SAITO CHALLENGE 8 DAILY LOG (2008-2011)

Nov. 28/11 -- Staying Busy Post Return

2011-11-28T16:33:00.001+09:00

Today'sReport

A quick summaryof activities that have kept Saito-san and the Saito 8 Committee busy overrecent weeks.

The Skipper

We've lost trackof all the articles, interviews, and news clips in the national and local media– newspapers, magazines, TV and radio, as well as web – that have appeared orwill soon appear. Some we are called about; others we only learn about later.

To summarizethem: Wow! Amazing!And always: Minoru Saito is what disaster-shocked Japan especially needsnow.

At the top ofall this national exposure is the NHK music special that was filmed in midOctober and airs tomorrow night. It's a 90-minute charity show starring anumber of Japan's top singers, during which Saito-san is treated to a livelyon-stage interview by a team of presenters. Images from the voyage will beshown.

If you haveaccess to NHK, Japan's national public TV network, you can watch it here:

Tuesday, November29th at 19:30, "Kayo Charity Concert" on Channel 1 (NHK).

(Not in Japan?We know of one Saito Japanese expat friend who plans to view it with herhusband on their cable -- on their cattle ranch in rural Texas.)

CongratulatoryParties

Saito-san wasfeted two Tuesdays ago at Tycoon Restaurant, where nearly 70 friends andsupporters came to congratulate him. Among the several highlights of theevening:

Brief congratulatory calls with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (in London), Rose Bliss (in Santiago), Don McIntyre (in Fiji), and Brian Peterson (in Auckland). (See Note)
The ceremonial signing of the circumnavigation start and finish affidavits by Junya Hirose and Katsuhiko Ida, who were the "official witnesses" for the circumnavigation record.
An engrossing interview of Saito-san by Nico Roehreke, president and CEO of main sponsor Nicole BMW.
Certificates of appreciation to sponsors and Saito 8 Committee members, gratefully handed out by Saito-san and Hunter Brumfield, as the executive director of Saito Challenge 8.

Note:

We greatlyappreciate their participation with the calls, which were tricky across so manytime zones and with the tight party schedule. Each of these folks helpedSaito-san during the voyage; in the case of Sir Robin, history's first non-stopsolo circumnavigator, it was a chat between two long-time sailing pals. Ouronly disappointment was not being able to complete the call with Dave Cooper,who headed Team Hawaii and was instrumental in solving major problems overhundreds of volunteer man-hours, allowing Saito-san to safely depart Honolulu.

We'd once more like to express our deep appreciation to Nico Roehreke and our Supporting Sponsors and contributors for making Saito Challenge 8 possible. And to the members of the Saito 8 Support Committee, started here in Japan and eventually spread to the far corners of the world.

Main Sponsor

Nicole BMW

SupportingSponsors

Albion

American Chamberof Commerce in Japan

Barilla Japan

ClearPointWeather

Dave Cooper andTeam Hawaii

Fujiki Group

GPlusMedia

Japan RadioCorp.

Harken

Henri Lloyd

Iridium

Nicole Group

RogersInvestment Advisors

Sunsail

Tokyo AmericanClub

TycoonRestaurant

U.S. Dairy Export Council

Wolver HillAsset Management

Yasuda GakuenAlumni Association

Several otherparties are planned, including one being thrown in Saito's honor by his highschool alumni association this evening. Yasuda Gakuen Alumni Associationcontributed funds and regularly updated its members on Saito-san's progress inits newsletter.

The Boat

Nicole BMWShuten-dohji III will spenda final week on the floating dock at Tycoon Restaurant in Yokohama, which hasalso been Saito-san's home most days since he arrived. (He's also been residingin Tokyo as the guest of an old friend, a Buddhist priest.) The generosity ofKota Fujiki and his staff during the now more than two months that NBSDIII hasbeen there has been extraordinary, including not just the berth but also freefood, and the use of the restaurant's amenities, including electrical power,security – and not least – a hot shower.

As attested toby the arrival pictures, NBSDIII was severely damaged during the voyage, bothat Cape Horn and Punta Arenas in Chile, and through wear & tear on thearduous "wrong-way" east-west circumnavigation.

So this weekend,assisted by Saito 8 Safety Officer Mike Seymour, Simon Gougis, and Hisato Mori,Saito-san will move the vessel about 90 nm to Arari Shipbuilders, a marinefacility owned and operated by Mori-san in a harbor on west Izu Peninsula.There she will be hauled out for bottom cleaning and inspection, and a decisionwill be made on whether to attempt a long list of repairs.

There's alsohope to sell her, but that's a decision to be faced probably next spring.

Oct. 17/11 -- A Pair of Stars

2011-10-17T21:22:00.000+09:00

Today'sReport

Oct.17/11 JST

It was a very good week for Saito-san and NBSDIII, as both stars shined in their own ways.

On Friday, he was filmed as part of an upcoming NHK musicspecial to raise money for the earthquake- and tsunami-stricken area of Japan.During a break in the 90-minute charity concert, he was interviewed on stage bytwo TV personalities in front of a 3,000-person audience filling a large hallin Gunma Prefecture, forty minutes by bullet train east of Tokyo.

Saito-san was the only non-singer in the star-studded night ofentertainment that was recorded for airing on Nov. 29. Nonetheless he was aperfect fit, as his "Never give up!" mantra was the theme of theevening while nationally known TV stars and singers voiced their own encouragementfor the recovery of the area and its populace, still reeling more than sevenmonths after the March 11 disaster.

Saito-san was impressive. He expresses no fear of the very worstthe sea can throw at him, and he was equally relaxed on stage as he described hisharrowing circumnavigation to an obviously captivated audience. He handled thequestions and comments of his interviewers with cheerful modesty, reciting the highlights of his 3-year adventure that were met by exclamations of amazement throughout the packed hall.

We couldn't have been prouder. We look forward ourselves toseeing him on the country's public television network, when millions of viewersacross Japan can be expected to tune in.

Back at home on Sunday, at her temporary quay-side berth atTycoon Restaurant in Yokohama, Nicole BMW Shuten-Dohji III got some sprucing up from a group of volunteers fromthe Tokyo Sail & Power Squadron.

Theintent at the moment is to keep her appearance basically "as-is" toreflect the punishing rigors of the 28,000-nm, 3-year, wrong-way circumnavigation.But at least the clutter on the deck is now history, thanks to the valiantefforts by Saito 8 Safety Officer Mike Seymour, Saito-san, five TSPS members(Tony Whitman, Chris Pitts, Mike Snyder, Simon Gougis, and David Young),Saito-san's always ready-to-help sailing buddies Kogane-san and Igawa-san, andArai-san, a welcome new face.

We invite you to drop by Tycoon (map here) and, as you savor somedelightful Thai and Asian cuisine, you can see for yourself the much-tidier "otherstar" of Saito Challenge 8.

The skipper may be there as well...

Oct. 3/11 JST – A Busy Day on Television

2011-10-03T17:45:00.000+09:00

Today'sReport

Oct.3/11 JST

Saito-sanwas the guest interviewee in the noontime TV Asahi news program "LunchNews Access," shown across Japan on digital satellite. They did a greatjob interspersing commentary with dramatic images of the trip. It was the sortof "gee-whiz!" interviews he's getting used to now, but it wasparticularly telling how it hit home, judging by the rapt attention of the15 or so young TV staff as they watched on the studio monitors.

Arrivinghome in late afternoon we learned that NHK Television had today aired a 7-minute clip – in English – that Saito-sanenjoyed watching, including a personalized and well researched presentationfeaturing his sailing background, a dramatic report of his voyage, and a cleveranimation of the circumnavigation.

Severalother TV programs are in the works, including a major NHK special in Novemberto help raise money for survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake. He's toappear first on the program, as the only non-singer among a dozen or so topvocalists in Japan.

He won't sing, but the truth is his voice isn'thalf bad… and he favors Italian opera (not to mention Japan's absolute favorite-- Frank Sinatra singing "My Way").

Day 1080 + 7 [Sep. 24/11 JST] – Accolades for Saito-san

2011-09-24T19:50:00.000+09:00

Today'sReport

Sep.24/11 JST

The emails and calls have been pouring in and so we'll devotetoday's update to those. They're in no particular order, but this first onecomes from the most famous of all living sailors – Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, thefirst person to complete a non-stop solo circumnavigation.

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Please givemy congratulations to Saito-san on yet another determined circumnavigation. Hissuccess will bring great pleasure to his many friends.

SirRobin Knox-Johnston

***

In his message below, Hitoshi Hanaoka mentions his role in passing,but he did much, much more than merely interpret for Saito-san. He wasinstrumental in Saito-san's survival both on water and land during the 9 monthshe was in the Cape Horn area.

Iknow Saito-san has arrived in Japan through my partners in business. A lot ofpeople will be so impressed by his achievement. I want to say some words toSaito-san.

Ireceived a call from the Chilean Navy in April of 2 years ago. They asked me tocome act as interpreter for a Japanese sailor after he had a problem near Diegode Almagro Island.

Ihave been working in the fishing business in here for many years and I knowover a thousand island names, but I never heard of Diego de Almagro island,because this isolated island is 60 NM south of Cape Horn and smaller fishingboats cannot reach there.

Afew months later, he had repaired his boat and tried to go back to Cape Hornand successfully pass it, but 48 hours after he passed the Cape, the mainengine stopped, then a few hours later the generator stopped. He could use onlythe sails but then they were damaged by strong wind. Finally it was impossibleto sail, but still he could control the boat near the entrance of the Strait ofMagellan.

Hefixed the boat and went out again -- two days later he hit a strong storm in the southern part of Chile, the Golfo de Pena. This time he could get through thisstorm. A lot of sailors died in that area and they could not go smoothly, Iwondered.

A longtime ago people thought that if you go more south from Cape Horn, it was theedge of this world and the entrance of nethermost Hell. That time the Diego deRamirez island area where Saito passed was just the entrance of Hell.

However,the Cape Horn area is the hard part that could not stop Saito with hisobsession and sailing technique.

Thisis the story I wanted to mention as I know it of Saito-san's most hard timestarting from Diego de Alamagro as he went through the southernmost part of Chile.

Saito-san:

Youreally made it by west round-the-world sailing. Congratulations!

HitoshiHanaoka

PuntaArenas, Chile

Saito and Hanaoka

We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Hanaoka-san during thistime when so many difficulties occurred. His company supplied free ormuch-discounted services as well as helped prepare NBSDIII for the several, andultimately successful, attempts to transit Cape Horn.

Saito-san and we also owe a great deal to British and Spanishexpats Rose Bliss and her husband, Pablo, for their affection, support, andfrequent home-cooked meals (not to mention the occasional hot showers) providedto Saito-san over the frigid Chilean winter.

Rose, thank you for being Saito-san's "guardian angel"during this time!

Rose and Saito-san

***

Iknow you will ecstatic when he finally arrives. Quite an achievement, not justfor him, but for you and all the folks you managed, coaxed, and urged to stickwith the adventure until the end.

Congratulationsto all!

BoydGatlin

Starkville,Miss. USA

***
After all this time Saito-san’s return seems quite ananticlimax – only those following the full epic story day-to-day from start tofinish know what this 77 (almost 78) year old intrepid sailor achievedfollowing the never-give-up spirit.

Havingfollowed Saito-san’s progress from start to finish and suffered at leastmentally with him the many setbacks it would be a privilege indeed to shake thegreat man’s hand and congratulate him personally on this stellar achievement.

Derek
Japan

***
You and The Team cannot be congratulated highly enough on your fantasticefforts (and results!).

I amexperiencing emotions that are difficult to describe knowing that this epicjourney of immense courage, colossal internal strength, and masses ofdistinction are coming to a graceful end.

Ifyou recall, I had the privilege of meeting Saito-San here in Cape Town (at thesame time as Mike Perham and the subsequent signed picture that I forwarded toyou), and following his voyages is something that words cannot attempt to describe.

Pleaseforward my massive congratulations to this historic sailor.

FairWinds To All!

AlanHughes

CapeTown, South Africa

Autographed picture by Minoru Saito and Mike Perham (click to enlarge)

***
I read in the newspaper that Saito-san had arrived at Yokohama safe.

Congratulations!

Heis 77 years old! It is a remarkable thing! I thought that it took much courageto sail around the world. He showed me that one is never too old to fulfillone's dreams.

I'mvery pleased that Saito-san and Hunter-san's dream came true.

Goodfor you!

YukiYoshioka

Tokyo

***

Saito-sanis to be congratulated both for a voyage very well completed and for hisperseverance in doing so. He facedeach problem and challenge as it arrived and with patience and experience,resolved it and moved on. It wasboth challenging and educational to follow his daily progress and reports andsee what new lesson it would bring. Congratulations Saito for a job well done,even down to eking the last ounce of strength out of his tired sails as hecompleted the final miles (or kilometers!) through potentially stormyconditions.

Itwas a joy to see how many people had been following his progress after thesuccessful end of the journey was announced by Chief Commander Frank Dvorak atthe United States Power Squadrons Governing Board meeting first thing lastSaturday (Sat 17 Sept) morning in Greensboro, North Carolina.

KennethGriffing

PastCommander

District13
United States Power Squadrons

Hacienda Heights, CA

***

CaptainSaito, Hunter san:

Congratulations!!!!!He stayed alive and never gave up!

Thankyou so much such a wonderful record each time sending me and so we could watchhis activities over such a long period. All gave us full of hope andhappiness. I am so glad to share this moment with many people and friendssupported.

Muchfriendship with Fair Winds,

MenaSato

(From a catamaran in Palau)

***

I amthrilled for Saito-san and for all of you who have stuck with

himthrough the years! Johnny and Abbiwere captivated by his journey, and

hisexample of quiet, steady perserverance. Please know how very much this

journeyhas meant for all of us, and please tell Saito-san that he was, and

is,an inspiration to many across the globe.

JohnPlewes, M.D. and family

USA

***

We'reall so thrilled that Saito-san has made it back safely after all this time. Pleasegive him our best and tell him "Omedeto!" for us. What a wonderfulaccomplishment!

Susanand Aaron Farris

SanAntonio, Texas

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Pleasetell Saito-san we are so happy he succeeded once again. It is so wonderful forpeople like us of our generation (you know, I am over 80 myself) to be able tosee someone like him do such an amazing thing.

Lukeand I were happy to see that that the goodluck rattlesnake charm Luke gave himworked again!

Tokioand Luke Rogers

(Byphone from their ranch near Austin, Texas)

The crumbled remains of a rattlesnake charm carried on two circumnavigations

***

So happy toread you are safe in Japan. We are all so proud of you here in Newport!!

God blessand keep you,

BarbaraBrugman

NewportRhode Island

***

Terrificnews!

Hope tohave more time later to go through all the news. Please pass on our regards toSaito-san for this historic accomplishment!!

Nona andPooch Pucciariello

Washington,DC

***

Congratulationsto Mr. Saito on another amazing accomplishment!

MarySouth

DeputyEditor, YACHTING magazine

***

Pleaseforward my congratulations to Mr. Saito for a very impressive and inspiringadventure. We have written this piece about it:http://thesailblog.com/?p=460.

Iwould also like to be kept informed about Mr. Saito's coming adventures.

JonAmtrup

EditorTheSailBlog.com

***

HiHunter,

Irecall Saito's getting by Cape Horn with an easterly only to have it turn intoa long winter's "sleep" in Punta Arenas. Or before, in Cape Town,with the youngsters [solo circumnavigators Zack Sunderland and Mike Perham],each going his own way. And the earthquake etc., etc.

Homeis the sailor, home from the sea

Andthe hunter home from the hill.

Andyou are off-watch! And a longer watch than expected....

Congratulationsto all,

RobertM. Lux, M.D.

Concord,NH 03301

***

Hi,Hunter san,

I amso happy to receive your message directly. In fact, my group SSCA (USA)searched for Kifu at that time, eventually found Mr. Saito in near PortWilliams, thought he was the missing person, when a friend sent me a localnewspaper article of about Mr. Saito's activities. They also congratulate himand it reminds all of missing Kifu at that time.

Thefamily of Mr. Chinami now has accepted his accident. Thank you again foryour support indeed.

FairWinds, Mena

At the time Saito-san cleared Cape Horn, Keiichi Chinami was in hisketch Kifu on his own circumnavigation and sadly disappeared within a fewhundred miles of Saito-san's position during a severe storm. Several weekslater we were able to help clear up confusion that occurred when it was thoughtthat Chinami-san might have been the Japanese sailor reported at PuertoWilliams, Chile, rather than Saito-san. We commented on this at the time. Morecan be read here. Our deepest condolences, again, to the family of Chinami-sanwho himself was an amazingly brave sailor from Japan on his own personal dreamto sail the world.

***
Hi Hunter….

Whatan amazing story for Minoru…you…and your team…I have never seen anything likeit before!!...personally you deserve a medal!!...really…you held the wholething together, so well done…Minoru will be swamped for sure with attentionover the next few weeks…but some time when it is quiet please give him our bestfrom Margie and me…we followed it in amazement…what a hero…we still have alaugh about that…but only Minoru will understand that…

Ican imagine your life will change now…it has been a long three years hey!!!

Allthe best …warm regards and admiration for you both.

Don& Margie McIntyre

Hobart,Tasmania

Note:

This message, received from an island in the South Pacific, is froma dear friend of Saito-san's, going back to when they competed in the 1990 BOC Challenge. Don & Margie own and operate amarine service assisting nature studies in the frigid Southern Ocean andAntartic. (Maybe we're easily impressed, but Don is the only person we knowwith his own icebreaker!)

This is an article he wrote for Sailing World magazine.

Saito-san called him by Iridium the day after we got this message, to their mutual delight.

***
Congratulations to Saito and your team!

DerekNakamura

Honolulu,Hawaii

***

Wowwhat a trip. What an ordeal. How is Saito San? Tell him we are proud andpleased to see he made it. He will always have a fond place in our hearts. As you do also.

Ric& Ardell

SanDiego, CA

(Formerlyof Keehi Marina, Honolulu, living aboard several berths over from NBSDIII.)

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I'd really like to hear some of his stories; I’ll bet he has quite a fewincredible tales.

DennisGans

USA

***

Thishas been an amazing odyssey. We should be most thankful for folks like Hunter.Well done to all.

Thankyou for including me in the journey.

Allthe best,

DickKyle

PastNational Education Officer

UnitedStates Power Squadrons

This was forwarded to us by Ken Griffing, PastCommander of District 13 of the USPS. Saito-san is a member of Tokyo Sail &Power Squadron, a unit of D13.

***

Congratulationsdue now...?

HopeSaito-san safely in port and finished now...!

Cheers,

Jeanneon 'Nereida'

Southampton,England

www.svnereida.com

Jeanne Socrates is the word record holder as the oldest woman tocomplete a solo circumnavigation at age 64, and was avidly following Saito-saneven during her voyage. She endured her own hardships and her blog makes forsome amazing reading on her own courageous accomplishments, including savingher vessel after it was rolled near the Falklands.

***

We are verypleased to have been able to provide this service to Saito in his travels. Congratulations on a successfulvoyage.

Thanks,

Matt

SeaStar (Adivision of Geoeye, Inc.)

Aplug for the company that provided the GPS beacon position reports, a paidservice but one we valued four times a day for 3 years – and took tremendouscomfort in as we tracked Saito-san during some very tense moments on thevoyage. What a great assist to blue water cruisers (and their families)!

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This hasall been so amazing. I cannot believe that so much has happened since we wentup to Maine with him.

Please tellhim "Congratulations!" for me. I look forward to the next time I cansee him either here or in Japan.

RobertBrumfield

SpringCity, Tennessee

(From hislive-aboard houseboat in a lake in Middle Tennessee. Brother Bob was one of thedrivers with Ken and Reyna Henry of Los Angeles, CA, Saito-san, Eiko and me, in our RV "expedition" to Maine to inspect prospective boats.)

***

Congratulationsto Saito-san, of course, but also to you and your team for a marathon effortover the past thousand-plus days.

ChrisPitts

Tokyo

***
Aloha, here is a photo posted 6 minutes ago fromYokohama of his arrival.

Happyday for him and all that supported him

CongratulationsSaito-san!

Cheers

DaveCooper

TeamHawaii

Honolulu

Picture sent by Dave from the web

Saito-san and Dave Cooper

***

Thanks sovery much! All I can say is... YIIIPPPPEEE!!!!!

ScottGilbert

Honolulu,Hawaii

Scott,Ed Abott, and Dave Cooper were the key people who gathered Team Hawaii together and relentlessly campaigned to get NBSDIII repaired (and Saito-san!) to make the final leg of the circumnavigation.

Wereprint here the thank you email from Nico Roehreke, president of Nicole BMW, the main sponsor of Saito Challenge 8, expressing his appreciationto our volunteers in Hawaii:

HelloDave and Team Hawaii:

Althoughwe haven't had the opportunity of meeting in person, we certainly have a commonfriend. My great thanks to you and everyone in your team back in Hawaii.Without your selfless dedication, it simply wouldn't have been possible toensure Saito-san's safe return during the last leg of his epic journey.

It hastruly been a great adventure for everyone involved and I'm sure it willcontinue to live on in our hearts and minds as one of those rare and specialmoments in life when regular time stood still and allowed us to takepart, for a fleeting moment, in one of the greatest adventures of our times.

Ourgratitude and well wishes go out to you and every single one of your team.

NicoRoehreke

NicoleGroup of Companies

Japan

***

Thelist of people who assisted Saito-san -- in Japan, the United States, NewZealand, Australia, Tasmania, South Africa, Punta Arenas, Chile, Valdivia,Chile, the Galapagos, Hawaii, Ogasawara Japan, and now again in Yokohama, aswell as through encouragement and donations from all over the world -- issimply too long to post here.

Butwe're working on it!

Day 1080+2 [Sep. 19/11 JST] – Saito-san's Moment

2011-09-19T12:35:00.002+09:00

Today's Report

Sep. 19/11JST

Position: 35°27'N, 139°39'E

Remaining toYokohama: 0 nm / 100% finished

Flying the Japanese and U.S. flags, Nicole BMWShuten-dohji III and her beaming skipper eased into Yokohama Harbor in 20-ktwinds at 10:25 am Saturday, Sep. 17, to be greeted by athrong of supporters, well wishers, and media. It was one of those moments that arerecorded digitally and forever in memory. And this was definitely MinoruSaito's moment.

Saito-san in his moment of triumph

Thanks in good partto today's "Respect for the Elderly" national holiday, but also ofcourse to the remarkable feat itself, various newspapers carried brief articlesthe next day but as a visual it was hard to beat the sight of the rusted andbattered NBSDIII slowly moving toward the pier. On Fuji TV, Japan's top TVnetwork, the morning news show carried a surprisingly long telephone interviewwith him. You heard his voice, with no video of him talking, and that gave themplenty of time to show a number of amazing photographs from the trip, and notleast, "before" and "after" photographs of the boatherself.

The visual imageprojected: How could anyone, not to mention an old guy of 77 years, manage tosurvive a 3-year journey that subjected a 25-ton steel yacht to so much punishment?

Nicole BMW Shuten-dohji III on arrival

Even before today's6:30 am newscast, and another scheduled later today by TBS, another nationalnetwork, Saito-san has apparently become something of a national hero.Yesterday afternoon we were with him at "Elephant Nose Park" aquayside area that has a double-level pedestrian walkway that looks down ontothe boat and is close enough for many hundreds – thousands -- of passersby totake photographs, and many of whom call out "Omedeto(Congratulations)!" Their faces erupt in big smiles when Saito-san wavesback and cheerily responds back, "Domo arigato!"

This IS of course,one of the big reasons for the circumnavigation, and for his oft-stated admonition to "Never give up!" which he immediately launched into in hiswelcome-home press interviews. It is just what Japan needs to hear in theaftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, the tsunamidevastation, and the nuclear-reactor(s) disaster that followed and is stillvery much a national crisis.

Japan has neverneeded a hero as it does now, someone to admire and see as an embodiment of thenation's ability to cope. Someone just a bit bigger than life who can say something to theeffect that "See, I could do it, and it wasn't easy, but so can YOU…"as the country gets back on its feet again, bowed, shaken, but still unbroken.

Coming soon: Photos from the homecoming.

***

For the next severalweeks the Saito 8 Support Committee will have its hands full, working on atleast these immediate goals:

1. Figuring out whatmight be done with NBSDIII, which honors her as well. At least initially shewill be tied up at locations where she will be easily seen and remarked over. Later is the bigger question mark.

2. Arranging acelebratory party for Saito-san that, as one committee leader expressed it,"reflects the feeling that people have – not many people are in acelebratory mood right now."

3. Inviting themedia, companies, community groups, and event organizers to enlist Saito-san as a person of great public interest, for special interest stories, speaking engagements, and personalappearances.

4. Expressappreciation to the many people and communities who assisted him throughout thecircumnavigation.

5. And perhaps helpSaito-san, who gave up his apartment of 30-plus years to go to sea, to recoversome semblance of off-the-water life. (For the moment he will live aboard,given special – actually extraordinary … it just ain't done – permission to do so by the Yokohama PortAuthority.)

Of course the onething he keeps being asked is, "So what's next, Saito-san?" at whichpoint he grins and launches into an idea (he always returns from the sea withthese grand plans) to next do a north-south circumnavigation.

Why? Same reason as his"wrong way" voyage:

"I've never doneit that way before!"

***
We apologize for the several-days break in the Daily Log. We were away frombroadband and caught up in the many media requests and several appearances ofSaito-san, finally regaining some semblance of normalcy, thus this entry.

Day 1079 [Sep. 16/11 JST] – The Final Day

2011-09-16T19:51:00.000+09:00

Today's Report

Sep. 16/11 1300JST

Position: 35°08'N, 139°36'E

Remaining toYokohama: 20 nm / 99.9% finished, (ETA: Sep. 17)

The weather gods havesmiled kindly on the last day of Saito Challenge 8, for which we thank them and forgive the fiverecent typhoons, the one possibly coming early next week, and even thethree-day gale that stopped Saito-san dead in his wake at Cape Horn and delayedtomorrow's return by more than 2 years.

It may or may notrain a bit in the morning but that will seem like fair skies after 3 years ofdealing with weather as if it was a life-or-death matter. That's because it was.

Nicole BMW Shuten-dohji III is still on schedule to reachYokohama tomorrow morning between 10:00 and 10:30. Saito-san is expected tocome in with the sails raised (as much as the Hawaii repairs allow), do a fewvictory laps, dowse the sails one last time, then settle NBSDIII at thefloating dock like a big, tired seabird finally coming to rest.

He left Japan 1,080 days previously, facing huge risks, knowingthe chances of failure, even death, were substantial, but never wavering with abroad smile that could probably have been seen from the top of Mt. Fuji.

Hereis the last time we saw him with his chase boat, Magellan Major, from a lookoutpoint near the Kenzaki Lighthouse Start Line 20 nm south of Yokohama.

Photoevidence that he was STILL smiling...!

Oct. 2, 2008

Arrival Time &Place:

10:00a.m. – 11:15 a.m., Saturday, Sept 17, at Minato Mirai Pukari Pier, Yokohama

http://www.welcome.city.yokohama.jp/eng/tourism/spot/spot1050.html#05

Following thewelcome, NBSDIIII will move to the jetty at nearby Elephant Nose Park where shewill remain for the rest of the three-day weekend.

Day 1078 [Sep. 15/11 JST] – Saito-san Leaves Just in Time!

2011-09-15T19:17:00.001+09:00

Today's Report

Sep. 15/11 1300JST

Position: 33°30'N, 139°47'E

Remaining toYokohama: 90 nm / 99.9% finished, (ETA: Sep. 17)

Nicole BMWShuten-dohji III is on schedule to reach Yokohama Saturday, with weather andwinds cooperating -- but just barely. Saito-san has never sounded as upbeat as he has the pastseveral days as the anticipation builds.

In Tokyo andYokohama, media arrangements are being made, with two of the six main TV channelssending camera crews, and several major newspapers, and at least one foreignone, planning to send news teams.

Saito-san will meetup with Magellan Major, the spotting boat that saw him off on October 2, 2008,at the official start line at Kenzaki Lighthouse.

The weather continuesto look quite favorable over the next 48 hours, expected to be cloudy and fairon Saturday.

There IS an areatyphoon, in fact TWO but the first and bigger one (Roke) has moved sharply westand does not present a problem.

The second smallerone, No. 19, is closely following Saito's path but he will be in Yokohamabefore it nears Japan according to projections. It has only appeared on theweather screen in the past 8 hours.

Two typhoons shown in 36-hour projection

Next week's forecast calls for rain & thunderstorms forYokohama from Monday or Tuesday straight through to next weekend. Typhoon No.19 is projected to veer to the east before it reaches Japan, but Hachijojimalooks like it has at least some chance of getting clobbered as early asTuesday.

So a day or two later departure date might have caused stillanother drawn-out delay.

Whew. We would NOT have wanted to break thatbit of news to Saito-san!

Please note thatthe arrival time Saturday has been moved up 30 minutes.

Arrival Date &Place:

10:00a.m. – 11:15 a.m., Saturday, Sept 17, at Minato Mirai Pukari Pier, Yokohama

Following thewelcome, NBSDIIII will move to the jetty at nearby Elephant Nose Park where shewill remain for the rest of the three-day weekend.

Day 1076 [Sep. 13/11 JST] – Arrival Set for a Befitting National Holiday Weekend

2011-09-13T18:39:00.003+09:00

Today's Report

Sep. 13/11 JST

Position: 33°08'N, 139°48'E

Remaining toHachijojima: In port

Remaining toYokohama: 140 nm / 99.8% finished, (ETA: Sat., Sep 17) days)

We set the date for hisarrival, which may be wet, but at least – right now – there is no typhoon inthe forecast. If you are in Japan, come welcome him this Saturday at 10:00 --11:15 amin Yokohama. [Please note the slightly earlier time change.]

Strictly by coincidence –honest! – Saito-san returns to Japan at the start of a three-day nationalholiday weekend. Monday is the nation's annual "Respect for the ElderlyDay."

If we'd had the pull, we'dhave asked the powers-that-be to set it aside especially for him, but this is thenext best thing: He will be 77 years, 8months, and 10 days old on arrival.

Read here for the newsstory we prepared and Mike Seymour arranged to be published today in JapanToday.

You'll find there arealready a lot of comments, including from one person who has proposed Saito-sanas the next Prime Minister of Japan.

Hmmmm…!

Arrival Date &Place:

10:30 a.m. –11:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept 17, at Minato Mirai Pukari Pier, Yokohama

Day 1075 [Sep. 12/11 JST] – In Port at Hachijojima

2011-09-12T11:55:00.003+09:00

Today's Report

Sep. 12/11 JST

Position: 33°08'N, 139°48'E

Remaining toHachijojima: In port

Remaining toYokohama: 140 nm / 99.8% finished, (ETA: 5 days)

An easy arrival just intime for lunch yesterday closed the 380 nm move from Chichijima Island to Hachijojima Island,with all onboard systems working well, and the weather also cooperating. Assisted by improved winds he was able to sail up to the last hour and then motor the restof the way into the fishing harbor at the northeast corner of the main island,arriving a bit after 1100. He was given assistance at the pier by Mr. Takeuchi,the owner/operator of a Yanmar-certified marine services company there.

Fishing harbor on Hachijojima

As we mentioned yesterday,Hachijojima has an interesting history as the outermost of the Seven IzuIslands, going back thousands of years to the Jomon Period. We've always been fascinated by thestories of the criminals and political exiles banished to the islands back in the 16^th to 18^th centuries. Elaborately long expositionscan be seen written into walls of volcanic rock deeply etched, apparently by prisoners, butin Kanji almost indecipherable tomodern Japanese eyes.

Hachijo – its popularnickname – is both the furthest out of the Seven Izu Islands, and among the most beautiful of the volcanic islands that stretch like a gorgeous string of pearls beginning near Tokyo Bay allthe way out to the two Hachijo islands 140 nm distant (Hachijojima and the muchsmaller HachijoKO – "child" – jima). One can hardly fault Saito-sanfor his impatience to get there, nor for his obvious joy that came from his easyarrival at a place renown for its bountiful seafood and a wide choice of relaxing hotsprings.

Details are still beingworked out for how long he will stay there before the 30-hour sail he expectsit will take to go the remainder of the way to Yokohama.

Day 1074 [Sep. 11/11 JST] – Hachijojima Arrival by Mid Morning

2011-09-11T09:36:00.001+09:00

Today's Report

Sep. 11/11 0700JST

Position: 32°58'N, 139°59'E

Remaining toHachijojima: 10 nm (ETA: 2 hrs)

Remaining toYokohama: 140 nm / 99.8% finished, (ETA: 6 days – TBA)

Saito-san called an hourearlier than normal this morning to report he had the islands of Hachijojima insight, their majestic 701- and 854-meter dormant double volcanoes easily visibleabout 7 nm off his port bow.

Hachijojima and Hachijokojima Islands, Wikipedia

Saito-san was planning tofurl sails and turn on the engine in about two hours to motor the rest of theway in to a fishing harbor on the northeast corner of Hachijojima.

He sailed 102 nm in theperiod, reporting no particular problems as he moved to within a bit over a dayof sailing time to reach the official ending point of his nearly 3-yearcircumnavigation. He will stay in Hachijo until mid-week, then depart –typhoons allowing – in order to make a scheduled Saturday morning, September17, arrival in Yokohama.

Final word on the Yokohamaarrival location and time will be issued later in the week as weatherconditions are assessed for next weekend. Japan is currently at the height ofthe typhoon season, with 14 North Pacific storms already officially recorded.That number already matches the total number of storms in 2010, despite still another 2 months still remaining in this year's storm season which ends in November.

It is expected that thefinal 140 nm into Yokohama will take under 2 days to complete, which is the"weather window" he will require. Winds are notoriously weak in theTokyo Bay area in August (showing this morning as being less than 4 kts).

Winds were good during thenight mostly from the east at 11-14 kts. He called again at 0800 and said theyhad fallen to under 8 kts with boat speed dropping to 3 kts. "That meansanother 2 or 2½ hours before I can get there," he judged.

Weather continued to beunthreatening on ClearPoint projections – at least for the next several days.

A developing tropicaldepression is presently 700 nm SW of his position but looks to be staying on asafe track to Saito-san's northwest. (On ClearPoint it is shown to be roughlyfollowing the earlier path of Typhoon Kulap.) Meanwhile, a new and growingtropical storm can be seen 600 nm to his SE in the 4-day projection (image).

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 102 nm DOG / 102 nm DMG

DMG overlast 5 days of sailing: 379 nm

Totaldistance completed: 28,355 nm

To Yokohama:147 nm (measured)

ToHachijojima: 10 nm (measured)

ETA,Hachijojima: 3 hrs

ETA,Yokohama: 6 days (TBA)

Heading: 358°

Reportedboat speed: 3.0 - 4.0 kt

Average boatspeed: 4.4 kt

Weather:clear, scattered clouds

Temperature:28.0° C

Barometer:1018 hPa

Wind (from):11-14 kts ESE & E

Waves: 2.0 m

Sails: Genoa90%, staysail 0%, mainsail 2pt reef

Engine: 0hrs

Generator: 9hrs

[Weather and wind forecasts are from ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 SupportingSponsor.]

Day 1073 [Sep. 10/11 JST] – Closing in on Hachijojima

2011-09-10T10:42:00.004+09:00

Today's Report

Sep. 10/11 0800JST

Position: 31°19'N, 140°14'E

Remaining toHachijojima: 107 nm (ETA: 1 day)

Remaining toYokohama: 247 nm / 99.7% finished, (ETA: 7 days – TBA)

Saito-san knocked off 109nm DMG under sail to close within a day of his last stop-over point ofHachijojima. He'll rest up, tend to some boat maintenance and – weatherpermitting – will depart later in the week for Yokohama.

We've been delaying anannouncement of his Yokohama ETA, depending on how NBSDIII did in these pastfew hundred miles. The verdict is "very well" and so it is likelySaito-san will be able to complete his circumnavigation next Saturday,September 17.

An official announcementof his ETA will be made probably on Wednesday, assuming that no new typhoonsappear in the meantime. It is expected that the final 140 nm into Yokohama willtake about 2 days to complete, which is the "weather window" he willrequire.

Winds were changeableduring the night veering between E and ESE from light to moderately strongwinds between 9 and 16 kts, Saito-san reported. He also noted a quite strongleeward drift that he's had to compensate for by correcting almost 15 degreeseast. The winds were expected to continue at 13-14 kts out of the ESE and Etoday and into tomorrow.

He achieved a quite good109 nm under sail, with no engine use for nearly three days. He ran thegenerator 9 hours in three 3-hour sessions and said the battery reserve nowseems to be adequate, compared to running the generator twice a day in longersessions. (He had commented yesterday that the draw-down on the batteriesseemed to be increasing for some reason.)

Weather appeared unthreatening this morning on ClearPoint projections. Saito-san reported that several squalls carrying "cold rain" had passed through during the night.

***
Distance in last 24 hours: 109 nm DOG / 109 nm DMG

DMG overlast 3 days of sailing: 281 nm

Totaldistance completed: 28,355 nm

To Yokohama:247 nm (measured)

To Hachijojima:107 nm (measured)

ETA,Hachijojima: 1 day

ETA,Yokohama: 7 days (TBA)

Heading: 0°

Reportedboat speed: 4.0 - 4.5 kt

Average boatspeed: 4.5 kt

Weather:overcast, occasional rain squalls

Temperature:28.0° C

Barometer:1019 hPa

Wind (from):9-16 kts ESE & E

Waves: 1.5 -2.0 m

Sails: Genoa90%, staysail 0%, mainsail 2pt reef

Engine: 0hrs

Generator: 9hrs

[Weather and wind forecasts are from ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 SupportingSponsor.]

Day 1072 [Sep. 9/11 JST] – Another Good Day Under Sail

2011-09-09T13:54:00.000+09:00

Today's Report

Sep. 9/11 0800 JST

Position: 29°41'N, 141°09'E

Remaining toHachijojima: 210 nm (ETA: 2 days)

Remaining toYokohama: 341 nm / 99.6% finished, (ETA: ?)

Winds were light duringthe night but returned this morning to put 5 kts occasionally on the knot log,with winds steady from the east. They were expected to continue that waybetween 11 – 13 kts for a near-perfect broad reach the rest of today and intotomorrow.

He achieved 95 nm undersail during the period as he kept the engine off. The generator ran 11 hours tokeep batteries topped off.

He again reported thateverything was fine aboard ship and was pleased with his progress. He hasadjusted his ETA for "some time Sunday, probably in the morning."

He called Mike Seymourlater in the morning and in that call indicated he was having to charge thebatteries longer than normal (usually about 9 or 10 hours in two sessions) andasked for advice. The batteries were replaced in Chile and are actuallyheavy-duty truck batteries, rather than the original deep-cycle marinebatteries added in Hawaii during the initial refit. This may or may not be adeveloping problem and will looked into after he arrives at Hachijojima in afew days.

Typhoon Kulap, No. 14, hasbeen relegated to a tropical lowappears to present no threat to Saito-san as itheads 11 kts NNW obliquely away from his position. As of 0800 today it was 525nm west and should be 545 nm further away by tomorrow.

Update: Bythe noontime locator beacon position today he was 199 nm from Hachijojima,averaging 4.8 kts since 0600.

***
Distance in last 24 hours: 95 nm DOG / 95 nm DMG

Totaldistance completed: 28,114 nm

To Yokohama:341 nm (measured)

ToHachijojima: 210 nm (measured)

DMG overlast 2 days of sailing: 168 nm (measured)

ETA,Yokohama: ? days

Heading: 345°

Reportedboat speed: 4.5 - 5.0 kt

Average boatspeed: 4.0 kt

Weather:clear w/ scattered clouds; mild

Temperature:28.0° C

Barometer:1012 hPa

Wind (from):8-12 kts E

Waves: 1.5 -2.0 m

Sails: Genoa90%, staysail 0%, mainsail 2pt reef

Engine: 0hrs

Generator:11 hrs

[Weather and wind forecasts are from ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 SupportingSponsor.]

Day 1071 [Sep. 8/11 JST] – All's Well Under Ideal Sailing Conditions

2011-09-08T09:35:00.000+09:00

Today's Report

Sep. 8/11 JST

Position: 28°11'N, 141°42'E

Remaining toHachijojima: 294 nm (ETA: 3.25 days)

Remaining toYokohama: 428 nm / 99.5% finished, (ETA: ?)

A rested and clearlypleased Saito-san enjoyed a quiet daybreak under clear skies and slightly coolertemperatures, the engine off and coasting over moderate seas at about 4 ktsunder sail – just the way he likes it.

He reported thateverything was fine aboard ship, but that progress was "slow."

The sudden appearance ofTyphoon Kulap, No. 14 of the season under the Japanese Meteorological Agency'ssystem, appears to present no threat to Saito-san as it moves at 11 kts NNWobliquely away from his position. As of 0800 today it was 525 nm west and shouldbe at least545 nm further away by tomorrow.

Sudden appearance of Typhoon Kanap 525 nm west at 0800 and moving away

***
Distance in last 20 hours: 77 nm DOG / 74 nm DMG

Totaldistance completed: 28,114 nm

To Yokohama:428 nm (measured)

ToHachijojima: 294 nm (measured)

Ave DMG overlast 2 days of sailing: - nm (measured)

ETA,Yokohama: ? days

Heading: 345°

Reportedboat speed: 4.0 - 4.5 kt

Average boatspeed: 3.7 kt

Weather:clear w/ scattered clouds; mild

Temperature:28.0° C

Barometer:1013 hPa

Wind (from):8-10 kts SE

Waves: 1.0 -1.5 m

Sails: Genoa90%, staysail 0%, mainsail 2pt reef

Engine: 3hrs

Generator: 4hrs

[Weather and wind forecasts are from ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 SupportingSponsor.]

Day 1070 [Sep. 7/11 JST] – Ready to Depart Chichijima

2011-09-07T10:14:00.001+09:00

Today's Report

Sep. 7/11 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island,Japan)

Remaining toHachijojima: 360 nm (ETA: 3.5 days)

Remaining toYokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ?)

Saito-san was in greatspirits as he readied the boat for departure in late morning today. Heconfirmed he had cleared his departure through the Coast Guard at the station in OgasawaraVillage, and has been given the OK to proceed to Hachijojima, an islandnormally closed to foreign-registered vessels. He received special permission.

It is not expected that hewill require further repairs there, but Saito-san said he is worried about thecondition of the mainsail, since the sail material is "very weak."

As of thismorning the waves outside the harbor were about 1.5- 2.0 meters as shown onClearPoint, with winds under 10 kts. They are expected to remain 7-14 kts outof the SE and E over the next several days.

He expectsthe 360 nm portion up to Hachijojima to take "about 3 days, plus 6hours" which would have him arriving in late afternoon on Saturday.

Seaconditions are moderate with no severe weather forecast for at least the next 4days. In the weather map, the front approx 250 nm to his north is expected to be gone within 2 days. A large high will predominate up to Japan for most of the week.

Day 1065 [Sep. 2/11 JST] – Typhoon Talas Update – Day 7 and Gone

2011-09-02T15:59:00.003+09:00

Today's Report

Sep. 2/11 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island,Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ?)

NBSDIII was back at the jetty by 1500 today, motored there by Saito-san and assisted at thetie-up by several people from the Ogasawara Fishing Association. The skipper said he was ready for a good meal and ahot bath, not necessarily in that order, after a full week doing typhoon dutyaboard his yacht.

Other than alittle damage to the top of the mainsail, which he expected to fix tomorrow, hesaid NBSDIII appears to have come through Typhoon Talas virtually unscathed. Infact, the earlier motor repairs were given a bit of a test both going to, andreturning from, the big ship mooring several hundred meters out into theharbor.

He said thatother than a bit of smoke -- "it was not so much" -- the motor andnewly installed replacement gearbox worked with no problems.

He said thatfollowing more trials after the waves reduce he will begin preparations fordeparture from Ogasawara, which he expected to occur either Monday or Tuesday. He expects toproceed to Hachijojima, an island 360 nm closer to Yokohama.

As of thismorning the waves outside the harbor were 5 meters as shown on ClearPoint,reducing to 3.7-4.0 meters tomorrow as the effects of Talas begin to dissipate.By Monday sea conditions should return to normal where he is, and after a few more days ease as well along his route to Hachijojima.

No other threatening weather is shown forat least the next 5 to 7 days on ClearPoint.

Day 1064 [Sep. 1/11 JST] – Typhoon Talas Update – Day 6

2011-09-01T14:52:00.001+09:00

Today's Report

Sep. 1/11 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ?)

It's 8 pm. Then 8:04.

At 8:30, a half-hour later than his usual evening check-in time during Talas, we called the Coast Guard station at Ogasawara to find out whether they had any news on Saito-san. "He's never this late, rarely misses his call time more than a minute or two, so we're a bit concerned," we explained to the duty officer.

He seems OK, we were told. Anyway, they could just barely see the boat far out in the roiling darkness of the harbor. She looked unchanged as best they could tell, still at the big ship mooring at the close of the 5^th day riding out Typhoon Talas.

11:30 pm came and bed called, but still not Saito-san.

We knew he was OK, despite the typhoon that was supposed to become a Category 3 but instead had meekly morphed back into a tropical storm, playing for a while as a mildly dangerous Category 1 with winds predicted to climb over 60 knots and gusts into the 70s. Instead, Talas was easing by Chichijima at a very slow 6 knots, with sustained winds rarely hitting 40 knots. And while wind-waves were 1½ to 2 meters in the harbor, they were nothing the size they might have been had Talas reached her full potential.

Saito-san had made a judgment call, that the typhoon might potentially destroy NBSDIII, but not if he were on board tending her lines and fittings, tightening the running rigging, pumping out the bilge, and making sure that a human would be ready to come to her aid if the threat ever came close to being overwhelming.

Yet this wasn't just a typhoon and a very tired boat that's done a "wrong-way" circumnavigation these past three long years. This was also about a fearless man in a 77-year-old body with a heart condition, a newly surgically repaired knee, a scar from emergency abdominal surgery, and both wrists and an arm sprained and bloodied, in far less exhausting conditions. All on this one trip alone.

Meanwhile, the northern edge of Talas had already reached Tokyo and we could see the gray beginnings of what Saito-san had so far weathered on his boat alone, while on shore, as we heard yesterday from the Coast Guard, a good many island people have been anxiously watching to see if the battered yacht and her captain would be able to last still another day of what's become a very, very long storm. Talas is expected to be gone in 2 more days which is 3 more than had been expected.

We slept fitfully, waking at dawn and again calling the Coast Guard.

No, they said, still no word, "but we can see his boat and it looks fine." A few minutes the officer called back and informed us that a watchman on the big inter-island cruise ship that is also waiting out the storm reported seeing Saito-san puttering about the deck of NBSDIII. "He looks ginky," we were told. In good health and happy.

Sigh.

It's exactly 8 am, and our phone's ringtone announces he's on the other end.

"Good morning, Saito-san! Is everything OK? What happened? Why didn't you call last night?"

A moment's pause, and his voice comes through, uncharacteristically sheepish.

"Oh, uh, sorry … I forgot."

Typhoon-cum-tropical-storm Talas at 0800 this morning

Day 1063 [Aug. 31/11 JST] – Typhoon Talas Update – Day 5

2011-08-31T17:21:00.002+09:00

Today's Report

Aug. 31/11 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ?)

Other than the passage of another tiring, bouncy day, nothing of much note to report onboard NBSDIII as Saito-san entered Day 5 of his solo Typhoon Talas soujourne. That's the good news. Happily, there continues to be no bad.

The second bit of welcome news is that Talas continues to moderate and by 1700 this afternoon had still not passed Chichijima, while maintaining sustained winds at under 36 kts.

At mid-afternoon ClearPoint showed the center of the eye to be 275 nm due west of the harbor and continuing to move sharply away to the west. Moreover, from the trend of the last 48 hours it looks like Talas may even lose her official status as a typhoon and become a tropical storm. It will still be immense, just not as powerful as originally forecast.

Talas as of 1700 today

If projections hold, Saito-san will be enjoying clear skies in 2 days. By then much of central and northern Japan will be suffering through what is forecast to be a solid week of heavy rain. Tokyo is already muggily overcast.

Since Talas will still be directly in his path he will have to delay departure a few days until the heavy weather has largely cleared to the north up to at least the island of Hachijojima.

Saito-san reported that his morning close visual inspection showed no cracks in the standing rigging, but that several stanchion post bolts of the aft liferail had failed due, he said, to corrosion and movement. He confirmed he was able to replace the damaged bolts and does not consider it a problem. He said the mooring lines were all ok.

Projected course of Talas from the US Navy (click to enlarge)

Day 1062 [Aug. 30/11 JST] – Typhoon Talas Update – Day 4

2011-08-30T09:43:00.002+09:00

Today's Report

Aug. 30/11 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ?)

Last night was the hardest yet in terms of sustained wind yet Saito-san sounded surprisingly upbeat this morning as he entered the 4^th day of his solitary storm watch. The 80nm-wide eye of Talas had moved to within 119 nm SSW of his position as of 0800, and, while slowing, should pass during the next 48 hours. The storm will begin to gradually taper off at his location after tomorrow and should be completely north in 3 or 4 days.

He reported sustained winds in the high 30s with occasional gusts hitting 45 knots on NBSDIII's wind gauge.

The rain band that was strongly pummeling NBSDIII yesterday morning has passed, leaving Saito-san decidedly more cheery this morning, especially after he learned that winds were expected to be less than had been previously forecast for today. Where before we were seeing winds in the low 50s forecast for his position, our ClearPoint weather program is now showing 10 to 15 knots less sustained winds over the next 24 hours.

Saito-san reported that his regular early-morning close visual inspection of the standing rigging showed no sign of wear or cracks along the lower attachment points. He said he cannot know what's happening overhead at the mast connections, but believes them to be ok. He said the mooring lines all looked fine as well.

Talas's eye 119 nm SSW of Chichijima at 0800 today

***
To understand the sheer immensity of Talas in length and breadth, consider this:

The eye, when it passes west of Saito-san's position beginning tomorrow, will be 500 nm south of Yokohama. At the same time, the first winds along its northern-most edge will start to be felt in Yokohama and Tokyo.

Our own measurements show Talas to be 1,200 nm from top to bottom and about 1,100 nm from west to east, giving it roughly the shape of an upside-down egg. That's 1.2 million sq. nm (up from the 800,000 sq. nm we measured on Sunday).

That means Talas is three times the size of Texas, give or take Delaware.

Hand points at Tokyo 500 nm to the north in this 37-hour projection

Day 1061 [Aug. 29/11 JST] – Typhoon Talas Update – Day 3

2011-08-29T12:03:00.018+09:00

Today's Report

Aug. 29/11 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ?)

Saito-san, now into his third day as he awaits the snail-slow approach of Talas, is so used to complaining about the wind that he started yesterday evening's call this way:

"It's no good."

"What?" we asked, suddenly all ears. "What?!"

"The wind. The wind. It's only 9 knots."

Whew!

What he was feeling was something we had noticed on ClearPoint earlier -- a sharp contraction in the otherwise nearly spherical shape of Talas, showing the green and yellow of relatively lighter breezes where before had been the coppers and purples of storm-force winds. Meanwhile Talas, while excruciatingly slow-moving, had altered course slightly westward and put him closer to the eastern edge of the vortex. Thus he was feeling a slow-down in the wind. But just temporarily.

Center of Talas was 202 nm distant as of 0800 this morning, and edging westward. Green patch near upper right quadrant is reduced-wind area. Arrow points at Chichijima.

In fact, the wind dropped off so much that he had to cut the call short when the boat and mooring buoy briefly touched – a consequence of the heavy lines and the lack of sufficient wind to keep the two apart.

This morning, he was still complaining a bit, this time about the rain that had turned heavy during the night. "There's no problem [about the mooring] -- but it's really raining right now," he said, adding that the wind had indeed picked back up again. At the time of the call it was back up to about 30 knots.

The Coast Guard acknowledged he had called them this morning, at our request, and had told them everything was fine with NBSDIII, now 3 days into a storm that's expected to last 5.

So the wait continues. In the last 2 days the center of Talas had moved only about 20 miles closer. It should pass Saito-san's position, and at about the same time peak for him, in another 37-48 hours when sustained winds are expected to hit 55 knots.

***

As we have watched the approach of Talas we couldn't help but wonder how it compared to Hurricane Irene, the lady who has been scaring the bejesus out of the residents of the East Coast.

When Irene finally hit the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Friday, the storm had dropped from a Category 3 to a 2, then by Saturday to a 1. This morning New Yorkers were relieved to find just a tropical depression, rather than the "monster" storm that was widely predicted, leading to what has been called the greatest evacuation in American history.

So we became curious about the differences between the two storms.

The rating scales used for Atlantic hurricanes and northwest Pacific typhoons are rather different. Still, it is possible to make certain comparisons of magnitude as seen on ClearPoint Weather.

As of Sunday 1600 JST:	Hurricane Irene	Typhoon Talas
Category	1 on U.S. scale	1 on Japan scale
Max est. sustained wind	73 kts	65 kts
Size horizontally	543 nm	1051 nm
Size vertically	835 nm	765 nm
Total area (approx.)	450,000 sq. nm	800,000 sq. nm

If anything, they are roughly the same, with Talas covering a wider area. So you can't help but ask:

What is it about the two countries in which the way the Japanese prepare for a Category 1 or 2 typhoon is to bring in the laundry from the balcony and take an umbrella to work, while in the U.S. they order mandatory evacuations, deploy the police to patrol neighborhoods, and advise 65 million people to stock up on food for "three days but five would be even better." Oh, and don't forget to board up ALL your windows so your roof doesn't blow off.

The short answer, of course, is Katrina.

The longer answer, going back decades, is the massive Japanese investment in infrastructure; more compact urban areas; greater experience with typhoons and other natural calamities; a sophisticated public address warning system tested loudly and daily; less crime when disaster strikes; massive seawalls and a networked canal system with drop-down barriers to block the rise of seawater; and a cooperative populace well-schooled about what to do. The list of what Japan has done right goes on. Even the trees are made to cooperate through regular pruning and removal by municipal workers.

In other words, prevention rather than panicked response.

To get back to Saito-san as he awaits Typhoon Talas on a storm mooring in a harbor on the tiny island of Chichijima, he can be seen to symbolize a certain aspect of the Japanese attitude toward nature. Love it, respect it, but be ready for the worst.

In his case, it means putting on a couple of extra mooring lines and constant vigilance. And for us landlubbers to his north, it will mean carrying an umbrella to work in roughly 10 days.

Day 1060 [Aug. 28/11 JST] – Typhoon Talas Update – Day 2

2011-08-28T09:54:00.007+09:00

Today's Report

Aug. 28/11 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ?)

NBSDIII, tied to a mooring buoy by 4 lines (not the 3 we mentioned yesterday), spent an uneventful night as Typhoon Talas slowed to near-stationary speed and was expected to remain a Category 1 typhoon as it slowly passes Chichijima in 2 or 3 days.

Yesterday's projections indicated it would grow to the next category in the scale of 1-5 about the time it reaches Saito-san's position. That it will not is of course welcome news as we wait out the next few days.

Saito-san sounded rested and at ease during the call this morning, confirming that his boat was doing very well in the current conditions. He said that he thought the winds had reduced (which we could confirm, at a lower 27-30 kts) and that the waves are about "1½ to 2 meters, so not so bad," he reported. He said there were no swells coming in from the ocean.

We relayed the boat's status to the Coast Guard, where the officer on duty said his own visual inspection from shore showed her to be resting easily at the mooring. He thanked us for calling, since "it's best if we can hear from on-board as well" and asked that we continue to relay the information as we receive it from Saito-san.

We got some clarification on his mooring lines. Saito-san said he has three 2-inch lines and a fourth 1-inch line that so far show no signs of wear after more than a day of 30 kt-plus winds.

"I'm on a big ship mooring buoy and on the next one over is the Hahajima Maru," which he identified as a large inter-island cruise ship. He said there are three large mooring buoys in a line, outside the fishing harbor but inside the port, with both the leeward and the windward shores about 200 meters away. That gives plenty of room for NBSDIII to turn as the wind direction changes.

Even though Talas appears to have moderated somewhat, the Japan Meteorological Agency warns that winds near the center of the typhoon still have a 70% probability of reaching 65 knots (down from the 75 knots in the projection given yesterday). We told Saito-san that he can expect winds to slow a bit today, then strengthen in 2 days to 55 or 60 knots as the eye passes through. The center is currently 220 nm to his south-southwest.

Talas at 0800 this morning, 220 nm from Chichijima

At least at the moment he has no complaints and, if anything, seems to be rather enjoying this newest in a long and continuing list of reminders from Mother Nature that even when you're near finished, the circumnavigation really isn't over until you're back tied to the dock in your home port.

Day 1059 [Aug. 27/11 JST] – Typhoon Talas Update – Day 1

2011-08-27T10:55:00.007+09:00

Today's Report

Aug. 27/11 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ?)

Slate-gray skies opened up with torrential rain and booming lightning across Tokyo yesterday, not part of the weather system Saito-san is facing, but giving a sense of foreboding as Talas, still this morning a Category 1 typhoon, closes in on his position.

When he called at 0900 today, he was at a big-ship mooring out into the harbor at Ogasawara. Yesterday afternoon the Coast Guard and several men from the Ogasawara Fishing Association assisted his move from a concrete pier out into a relatively safer area of the harbor where NBSDIII will be free in a bow-mooring to turn and face the wind while it intensifies and changes direction with the typhoon's passage. Sails, he said, have been well lashed down and all lines secured.

Approximate location where NBSDIII is moored.

He confirmed he is securely tied with three different heavy mooring lines, and feels confident that he will be able to safely ride out the storm over the next several days. Winds are expected to be from the east from 35 to as much as 70 knots. This wind direction appears favorable, with land blocking the worst of it, as well as providing a barrier to sea surge, with the harbor entrance in the opposite direction.

As of this morning, ClearPoint was projecting the eye to pass directly over his position in about 50-55 hours. If that holds true it may spare him from being in the typhoon's upper right quadrant, where the winds, as they move counter-clockwise, are normally the strongest. ClearPoint projects them to be 55-60 knots sustained with the Japan Meteorological Agency indicating max winds of 75 knots at 70% probability.

Location of Typhoon Talas at 0900 this morning

Projected passage of eye in approx. 55 hours; cross is NBSDIII

It certainly could be worse, and IS just 1,000 nm to his southwest. There, a second, compact and slow-moving typhoon named Nanmadol has been officially declared a "super-typhoon." It is the season's 14^th typhoon and has been in the area a few days longer than Talas.

Fortunately for Saito-san, Nanmadol is moving NNW away from Chichijima in the general direction of Korea. It carries sustained winds of 70 knots, and may hit 105 knots – in other words, about the same ferocity as Hurricane Irene that this weekend is causing major evacuations along low-lying areas of the US eastern seaboard.

Typhoon Talas (right) and super-typhoon Nanmadol (left) at 0900 this morning

Saito-san will call twice daily during the typhoon, which is expected to take about 5 days to clear the area. He will remain alone on board until then.

Day 1058 [Aug. 26/11 JST] – With the Yin Comes the Yang

2011-08-26T15:53:00.008+09:00

Today's Report

Aug. 26/11 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ?)

As Typhoon 15 looms over the horizon, now a Category 1 storm and gradually building, the great news is that some repair miracles occurred earlier this week.

First the repairs.

Obon, a week-long period in which much of Japan closes down along with local delivery service, delayed the arrival of the 100-kilo air cargo shipment containing the replacement gearbox. It took just 3 days to arrive from Auckland via Hong Kong, then another 10 days or so between Tokyo and Chichijima, thanks to the ferry's twice-weekly schedule, several area typhoons, and Obon.

And then we were faced with sending out a mechanic to the island to do the install. It was looking like that would take at least a week, plus the cost of ferry passage, travel time, and several nights in a local lodging facility along with the mechanic's actual labor charges. It was not going to be cheap.

But after emailed schematics and some welcome reassurances from Scott, the chief engineer at Whiting Power in Auckland, doubts cleared so Saito-san and Tamura-san, the island's own marine mechanic (one of two there), decided to tackle the install themselves. Back here, we already knew that Tamura-san was a retired fisherman and rather up in age, a fact Saito-san described this way: "I think he's a few years older than I am."

Okaaay…

We were therefore delighted and relieved to be told 2 days later that they had winched the heavy load down into the boat ("We used a block and tackle," Saito said, with obvious satisfaction), where they had already dismantled and cleared away the old gearbox. Wrestling it into position, the new gearbox lined up well and the connection was made to the engine coupling and to the propeller shaft. Gearbox oil was added, the engine was started, and tests at the pier were successful as the propeller responded to fore and aft movements of the shift lever.

In the meantime, the replacement engine exhaust hose arrived on the next ferry, and that went on without a hitch. On Wednesday they took the vessel out in the harbor for a brief trial run. Other than some black smoke, everything performed well.

Of course, everything that goes well with sailing yin seems to have a counter-balancing yang, which is now approaching from the south in the form of Typhoon 15 (No. 12 by the Japanese count) that's been named "Talas." Yesterday a tropical depression, Talas is now a Category 1 that had been on a straight path to you-know-where. Later this afternoon it was projected to veer a bit west, and will turn into a Category 2 about the time it reaches Ogasawara, bringing 30-55 knot winds.

Talas in a 48-hour projection by ClearPoint Weather.
The arrow marks Chichijima.

No one is treating this lightly. Tamura-san visited the Coast Guard station yesterday afternoon to enlist the Coast Guard's help in getting NBSDIII off the concrete pier that would offer little safety with its exposed face to the approaching storm. Winds are known to reach 100 knots inside the harbor, Tamura-san told Saito-san, and if that happens the boat would be battered against the pier. As it now appears, Talas is bringing sustained winds of about half that or less.

This morning we were called by the Coast Guard station's chief officer who said they would help move the boat this afternoon to a big ship mooring buoy out in the harbor. Saito-san would remain on the boat to watch the lines. "He'll be there 5 days or so," we were told, with the peak of the typhoon expected to be in 3 days, on August 29. (The US Navy is saying Aug. 30.) Saito-san has heavy mooring lines and plenty of experience, but virtually anything can happen.

Including, we can hope, the typhoon taking an even greater turn away from its present course to the island.

Told by us what they have planned, Saito-san said he already knew and was ready. "I have plenty of food and water, so I'll be ok," he reassured us.

Day 1045 [Aug. 13/11 JST] – Repair Progress Report

2011-08-13T13:01:00.006+09:00

Today's Report

Aug. 13/11 1300 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ?)

Repairing a disabled sailboat on the open ocean can be a near-impossibility. We are finding that repairing one on a tantalizingly close yet difficult-to-access Japanese island is doable, but it definitely takes time!

There are four critical repairs that must be done before NBSDIII is able to depart for Yokohama, along a stretch of water Saito-san knows like the back of his hand yet ironically is among the most difficult he has yet faced.

The first repair is completed: the hand-sewing of the 1-meter tear in the mainsail. Saito-san did it himself with a $29 West Marine sewing kit we put onboard four years ago in Hawaii, and which has proved itself as invaluable multiple times during the circumnavigation, now in its 1045^th day.

The main can now probably stand up for the rest of the trip. Its usable area was reduced to about half-size in Hawaii last summer as the sun- and wear-damaged parts were cut away and the seams restitched at a sail loft.

The next repair involves the aux. generator's alternator, the component that produces electrical current to keep the boat batteries charged and run key equipment. It was replaced on Thursday, sent by Mike Seymour on a twice-weekly ferry, and Saito-san reports that the batteries are now finally at full charge not seen since the day they died and he had to resort to constant hand-steering two weeks before reaching Chichijima. (As a side note, he's also gleeful over the boat's refrigerator being back in service, especially in August temperatures on a sun-baked tropical island.)

Those are our two repair successes thus far.

A replacement for the engine exhaust hose, a heavy-duty piece of heat-resistant tubing that has blown out twice in recent months, was sent along with the alternator. Unfortunately, there are TWO different sections of exhaust hose, each with different diameters, and the wrong one was sent. So we'll be scrambling this week to dispatch the right one.

And the fourth and final repair, expected to be the most difficult, is the replacement of the gearbox. This crucial bit of machinery contains the clutch and gears that control the shaft that turns the prop. This is what failed as Saito-san attempted to leave Chichijima on July 23. Later inspection found that even though the gearbox had sufficient lubricating oil, friction was hot enough to melt plastic filler caps and fittings and scorch paint. It was diagnosed from afar as having simply failed.

After a number of international and local calls by Mike, a replacement gearbox was found in Australia. Our thanks to Brett Millikin of Whiting Power, the original installer of NBSDIII's engine in Auckland, NZ, for his help in locating and sending the new gearbox. As of noon today it had already reached Tokyo. Once it passes customs here, it too will have to await the ferry. (If we're lucky, it goes out on Monday. If not, it will be another 4 days.)

All this may seem like a lot of effort to send a wind-propelled vessel back on its way, except for the simple fact that in August there is little to no wind. More crucially is that these final miles are along one of the world's busiest shipping channels, and NBSDIII must have all radar, auto-steering, engine, radio, and other equipment in safe and reliable working order as Saito-san wends through heavy ship traffic. A windless, engineless sailboat "dead in the water" is likely to be just that.

We recall the awful disappointment of another sailor who was triumphantly finishing her own single-handed circumnavigation when her boat's auto-steering system failed and put the hapless skipper onto a beach in Mexico just one night before her final port in California. Her vessel was destroyed. That amazingly resilient sailor, Jeanne Socrates, later restarted and completed what became her third ultimately successful effort as the oldest woman to complete a solo circumnavigation, at age 68.

So please forgive any apparent over-protectiveness with our own efforts. We just want to make sure Saito-san makes it the rest of the way intact, safe, and under NBSDIII's own power, sail or otherwise!

Day 1030 [July 29/11 JST] – Typhoon 3, 4 …and 5?

2011-07-29T11:13:00.010+09:00

Today's Report

July 29/11 0800 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ?)

As Saito-san awaits further repairs in Ogasawara, Mother Nature is reminding him of why he should stay right where he is until he has a working engine, and as it is becoming apparent, a reliable propulsion system.

We've been watching the advance of a tropical depression that formed soon after he returned to port. As of two days ago it had turned into a Category 1 typhoon ("Category 5" being the worst) and was projected to hit Chichijima squarely in 4 or 5 days carrying 60-kt winds.

Hand marks Chichijima in this earlier projection of typhoon No. 10's route

This morning, though, ClearPoint indicated it was likely to largely miss the island to the west. That's the good news.

The bad news is that it has now been joined by the season's 11^th typhoon, and to their east, still another typhoon is apparently brewing.

New projection shows 3 storms 4 days from today. Cross marks Chichijima.

So that's four (or five) typhoons Saito-san will have dodged in the short three weeks he's been in port on Chichijima. (That does not include several other typhoons that formed well to the west toward the Philippines and never became a risk to him.) All told there have been 11 typhoons this season plus that newly forming one.

Since the current typhoon season is less than half over, this may be shaping up to be a record year for the North Pacific. In comparison, in 2009 there were 13 official typhoons (and 2 unofficial), while in 2010 there were just 7 official typhoons (and 1 unofficial).

Fortunately, if the projections are correct for these three storms they will all narrowly miss Chichijima.

Meanwhile, the mechanic, Mr. Tamura, has been back on board and reports that there is evidence of the possibility that the clutch in NBSDIII's propulsion system may have burned out, citing melted and scorched parts.

If so, either a rebuilt or new gearbox may need to be shipped in. Saito 8 safety officer Mike Seymour is assisting, along with Dave Cooper of Team Hawaii, in long-range troubleshooting and parts logistics. Mike has been in touch with Whiting Power, the Auckland NZ company that installed the engine and gearbox. Mike reports that Whiting's engineers have been cooperative, for which we thank them.

All of this – serial typhoons, ailing engine, and now a questionable propulsion system – suggest it will be several more weeks before Saito-san will be able to get under way again.

[Weather and wind forecasts are from ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 Supporting Sponsor.]

Day 1025 [July 24/11 JST] – The Reason for Sea Trials

2011-07-24T10:44:00.017+09:00

Today's Report

July 24/11 0800 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ?)

Whatever was ailing the engine two weeks out of Hawaii returned yesterday as Saito-san turned into the wind while motoring from the harbor in Ogasawara. Facing moderately strong headwinds he suddenly found he had no engine power and was forced to abandon his attempt to leave.

Back at the pier with the quick assistance of the locally based Coast Guard, a mechanic assessed the problem as involving the "clutch" that becomes engaged as engine rpms are increased. This is something not easily determined at the dock, so what seemed to be a working engine – one that had been tested at various times over the past week – turned out not to be.

Lesson learned (again) that the only true test of a boat's operability is a sea trial, and that will certainly be done before he leaves again.

NBSDIII as Saito-san was leaving Ogasawara yesterday about noon.

(Photo supplied by Nobutoshi Kasai, a friend of David Devlin, Saito 8 committee member)

Meanwhile, the weather prospects are not good for 500 nm with no engine backup.

Here's how it looks on ClearPoint.

This morning:
Lots of dead air, resembling the doldrums he encountered not far from Hawaii as Typhoon Ma-On leaves a swath of white area in her path as shown in the CP image.

Pale areas indicate wind strengths from 0 to 4 kts. Tropical storm Ma-On is in upper right.

In 16 hours:

A warm front will cross north of Chichijima, bringing with it severe local turbulence and a squall line of thunderstorms.

Warm front crossing tomorrow

In 3-4 days:
The possibility of another typhoon, as shown on the 4-day projection as 2 tight cyclonic lows moving to the NNW. (The one most likely to catch Saito-san out is the one on the right, as it grows in size and intensity.) Winds currently are expected to be near 50 kts at their centers, which respectively show atmospheric pressures of 984 and 992 mb. This was how Ma-On started out 11 days ago, as 2 cyclonic lows, and from the same general vicinity.

Not yet typhoons, as shown in this 4-day projection, these
2 tropical lows could spell trouble [click to enlarge]

Last night Saito-san was decidedly not happy with the prospect of staying in Ogasawara even a day longer, but prudence calls for him to wait until he has a reliably working engine before he sets out in the middle of the North Pacific typhoon season. A lot can happen in 500 nm of ship traffic and potentially severe weather.

Sailboat or not, there are times when a timely assist by the "iron jib" could mean the difference between a close call and disaster.

Day 1024 [July 23/11 JST] – All Set to Depart Before Noon

2011-07-23T08:48:00.009+09:00

Today's Report

July 23/11 0800 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: 5-6 days)

After a final assessment of the weather, both current and projected, Saito-san confirmed this morning he will leave Chichijima before noon.

Winds were expected to reduce within 7 hrs to 8 kts W, down from 14 WNW at 0800 this morning. Seas were 3 m, expected to reduce to about 2.5 m by later today. Area thunderstorms will be followed by several days of clear to partly cloudy skies, weakish winds, and eventually a return of the East Trades.

We've been watching two developing lows to the SSW about 600-700 nm away. Both cyclonic lows will grow according to ClearPoint but as they do they will move WNW, in the direction of Taiwan. That should spare Saito-san any grief as he heads obliquely away to the north even should one develop into the season's next typhoon.

There have been plans for him to make another repair stop in Hachijojima 385 nm north, but this morning he said he now expects to continue straight through to Yokohama. This will be decided 100% later – if the engine trouble returns, and if winds are not favorable, Hachijojima with its certified Yanmar mechanic will still remain an option.

***

Total distance completed: 28,046 nm

To Hachijojima (if needed): 385 nm (measured)

To Yokohama: 502 nm (measured)

Day 1023 [July 22/11 JST] – Saito 8 News Release: The Final Countdown Begins

2011-07-22T12:24:00.005+09:00

Today's Report

July 22/11 0800 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ? days)

In this morning's call Saito-san announced his intent to depart Chichijima tomorrow before noon as the remnants of Typhoon Ma-On, now a tropical storm, move northeast away from Japan and out into the North Pacific.

Cross marks Chichijima in this 24-hour projection of Ma-On's path out to sea.

Today's report takes the form of the official news release as we count down the final miles to the end of his epic circumnavigation.

***

News Release

July 22, 2011

Saito Challenge 8 (Tokyo)

Contact: Hunter Brumfield

Phone: (+81 3) 3626-3539

Mobile: (+81) 90 52 13 49 67

Japanese yachtsman, 77, nears end of his 34-month record 8^th solo circumnavigation

OGASAWARA, JAPAN – Typhoon Ma-On has moved on, so that means Minoru Saito can, too.

Guinness Book world record holder Minoru Saito, 77, is within a week of his return to Yokohama to finish his epic 3-year solo circumnavigation in his 56-foot sailboat, Nicole BMW Shuten-dohji III.

Ma-On further delayed that homecoming, as Saito waited out the Category 4 typhoon's passage for 9 days on an outlying Japanese island, but he just sees it as par for the course of his arduous "wrong-way" solo circumnavigation that is now 1,023 days along.

"I guess I just have to wait a little bit more, but can probably leave tomorrow," he said today by satellite phone from Ogasawara Village on Chichijima Island 500 miles south of Yokohama. The typhoon is expected to be gone within 3 days, according to projections by the U.S. Navy weather service.

Saito has sailed more than 28,000 nautical miles (52,000 kilometers) since leaving Yokohama in October, 2008. His steel-hulled sailboat was disabled twice in attempts to round stormy Cape Horn at the bottom of South America. He succeeded on the third try nine months later.

The solo yachtsman departed Chile in February, 2010, after repairs and waiting out the frigid, stormy winter in a small fishing harbor in Punta Arenas, the world’s southern-most city.

Twenty-three days after he left Cape Horn the fourth-most powerful earthquake in history, measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale, struck barely 200 miles from the small coastal port where Saito had stopped to fix the boat’s ailing battery charging system.

Later in the circumnavigation his weary vessel literally started falling apart and he was forced to stop in Hawaii. Rigging, mast, engine, sail, and electrical troubles were corrected in Honolulu through the volunteer labor of fellow boaters and the support of voyage sponsors and private donors.

The 9.0 magnitude Great Tohoku Earthquake on March 11 sent tsunami waves washing into marinas in Honolulu, including Saito's. Extensive damage was reported in neighboring marinas as a number of vessels, in some cases still attached to floating finger piers, were sucked out to sea. No fatalities occurred, although damages were estimated to be in the millions of dollars. There was no damage to Saito's vessel.

The physical toll of the voyage has been hard as well on the septuagenarian skipper.

He underwent emergency abdominal surgery in Punta Arenas, suffered a 6-inch gash on his right forearm from a falling hatch, and toughed out a frigid Chilean winter living aboard with no internal heating and no running water, and subject to bashing by larger vessels in a crowded fishing harbor on the Strait of Magellan. Most personally vexing, he lost a dental bridge to a hard crust of bread early in the voyage.

He discovered that even dry land is not safe. In October, he was struck by an errant motorist in Honolulu as he used a pedestrian crosswalk, causing an injury that required knee surgery and the use of an orthopedic brace. Police judged the motorist at fault.

Saito’s shore crew reports that he is in good spirits and pleased at the impending success of his record-making voyage as he has moved westward against the spin of the Earth, thus against the prevailing winds, currents and weather patterns. Few solo sailors have completed a highly punishing "wrong-way" circumnavigation, and none near Saito's age.

Saito will be 77 and 7 months old when he returns later this month, completing a voyage that promises to secure his standing as the world’s oldest and most-accomplished single-handed circumnavigator. He’ll be able to claim circumnavigation records for most (8), oldest (77), and oldest to complete a westward “contrary” route. He already holds the Guinness Book world record as the oldest sailor at age 71 to complete a non-stop, unassisted solo rounding of the globe.

Many hail the sailor's "Never Give Up!" mantra as especially fitting in the aftermath of the Great Tohoku Earthquake and resulting tsunami.

Daily updates at http://saito8.blogspot.com/

Day 1022 [July 21/11 JST] – Typhoon Ma-On Finds the Door

2011-07-21T16:28:00.006+09:00

Today's Report

July 21/11 0800 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ? days)

Finally, Typhoon Ma-On looks ready to move on.

Winds were expected to be in the low 30s both today and tomorrow, with seas topping 5 meters. Fortunately, absent any change of behavior of this malingering typhoon we've been watching for, waiting on, and frustrated by for more than 8 days, the chances look good Saito-san will be able to leave on Saturday morning when winds will be 8 kts and seas at 3 m. By that time Ma-On is expected to be several hundred miles out to sea, downgraded to a tropical storm. This morning she was just 100 nm north of Hachijojima, Saito-san's next planned stop.

By an amazing coincidence, actually the second involving these same sailors, Saito-san was delighted to see entering the harbor yesterday the sailboat Magellan Major, skippered by Hirose-san, who was at the starting line at Kenzaki Lighthouse to see Saito-san off on his circumnavigation nearly 3 years ago.

By another odd coincidence, Kenzaki is not the last time on this trip the two skippers saw each other.

They also briefly crossed paths on May 24 at U.S. Customs in Honolulu while Saito-san was just leaving, and Hirose-san and his one-man crew were just arriving. Saito-san even acted as an interpreter for his fellow Japanese captain over a visa matter.

If their schedules align they will probably sail together – in their respective vessels, of course – the rest of the way to Yokohama.

It would certainly be fitting… as well as add a little margin of safety for them both as Ma-On continues to make her presence felt even as she fades out to the northeast.

View from Magellan Major of Saito-san's October, 2008 departure.

Day 1018 [July 17/11 JST] – No Early Reprieve from Typhoon Ma-On

2011-07-17T11:20:00.009+09:00

Today's Report

July 17/11 0800 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ? days)

Winds were 30 kts or "maybe more," Saito-san estimated during our call this morning.

Typhoon Ma-On is continuing to make her presence felt, stretching out her lingering visit along Saito-san's planned route in devious ways, including circling around to the east so that she will be centered on his next destination – Hachijojima – in 3 days. A day or two after that, she should be well out to sea and no longer a threat.

Here's how it looks on the U.S. Navy's projection.

And on ClearPoint.

White arrow marks Chichijima's location

At the moment as Ma-On passes west of Chichijima (Ogasawara Village), she is ranked a Category 4 on a scale of 5. Winds at the center are sustained at 60-70 kts, gusting to at least 90, with seas at a massive 12-14 m.

So NBSDIII will remain in port until at least Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a second tropical storm, named "Tokage," is still threatening Chichijima. This storm was about 280 nm south at 0800 and moving NNW.

When he leaves he is expected to sail the 385 nm to Hachijojima, where a replacement engine exhaust hose is already waiting for him. It will take the place of the hose that was patched with layers of tape in Ogasawara, where there is no airport and only twice-weekly ferry service under normal weather conditions, thus no quick parts delivery could be arranged.

Once in Hachijo, hose replacement and a quick engine check should take just a few hours by the island's certified Yanmar mechanic. It can then be decided whether Saito-san can leave under the sea conditions expected for the rest of the voyage.

It is 136 nm from Hachijojima to Yokohama, or a bit over 1 day if motor-assisted at a cruising speed that won't stress the engine.

Day 1015 [July 14/11 JST] – 78-kt Winds, 14-m Seas as a Seething King Neptune Passes By

2011-07-14T22:05:00.020+09:00

Today's Report

July 14/11 1800 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: July ??)

He's in port. Thank whichever stars or deity you wish. Just don't thank Neptune.

The typhoon we reported 3 days ago was first a smallish one -- then shockingly a second typhoon formed only a few hours behind. They later combined a few hundred miles ESE of Ogasawara and together got big and mean.

Winds hitting high 70s above; waves at 14 meters, below
(shown projected to 2 days from today).

The resulting 1,700 nm-wide cyclonic monster, bearing the South Asian name "Ma-On," is now following a lazy curve to the west and up north to Honshu, the largest island of the Japanese archipelago that includes Yokohama and Tokyo.

Looking at its expanse on ClearPoint, the affected area easily could encompass the entire breadth of Japan, where it is expected to land in 4 or 5 days.

Meanwhile, the location where Saito-san might have been if he'd been a knot or two slower last week is now seeing 78 kt winds and 14 m seas. That's close to double what he experienced during the worst at Cape Horn. Even absent the frigid Antarctic air, this is a speed of wind you cannot both face and breathe. Waves that high can disable and overturn much larger merchant ships not to mention relatively puny 56-foot, single-handed sailboats.

Pardon us for the hyperbole, but it's as if King Neptune, unforgiving and furious, has followed NBSDIII's wake in hope of inflicting one final, lethal blow before Saito-san can make it sound and safe into Yokohama.

Happily for Minoru Saito, and for everyone who has monitored from afar as he has survived one near-disastrous scrape after another, he can sit this one out in Ogasawara as a thoroughly enraged Neptune passes by.

***
Thanks to the assistance of one of the two (and only) very busy boat mechanics on Chichijima island, NBSDIII now has a working engine – after a fashion. The exhaust hose that disintegrated a week out from Hawaii has been tightly bound, wrapped by layer upon layer of thermally resistant tape. It's enough, it is thought, to maybe get him out the door and up 385 nm to Hachijojima where a new exhaust hose is being flown in by Saito 8 safety officer Mike Seymour. If he babies the throttle and relies on the sails he should be OK.

There as well is a hope to repair the genset, where the breakdown has been sourced to a cracked pulley that won't adequately grip the alternator drive belt. Fortunately, if the engine holds up, the genset is not essential to the last few days and miles of the voyage. The engine instead can charge the batteries and with that juice he'll have radar and running lights to help him dodge the last hazards of the circumnavigation: the massive ships running in and out of Tokyo Bay.

Thanks to Ma-On backing them up, there promises to be more than the usual ship traffic, plus one phenomenally determined captain and his stalwart vessel.

***
Our Newest Sponsors
We are delighted to announce that two new supporting sponsors have joined the Saito Challenge 8 Campaign as of yesterday.

We greatly welcome the decision by Ed Rogers, owner and CEO of Rogers Investment Advisors, a Tokyo-based firm, along with a second U.S. financial firm he supports in Japan, Wolver Hill Asset Management, LLC. Both firms are respected players in the investment market in Japan.

In an email to us, Ed wrote the following:

… at its core this is about supporting an amazing human being and an amazing example of human spirit. Given recent events in Japan I think it is also about trying to help Japanese people connect with the strong inner spirit they must have to face all of their recent (over the past 2 decades all the way through to the Tohoku earthquake!) challenges.

We could not agree more. And we feel we can speak for all our sponsors and volunteers that never before has there been a need for someone like Minoru Saito to help reinforce the determination of the Japanese people to "Never Give Up!"

Day 1013 [July 12/11 JST] – Next, A Typhoon

2011-07-12T17:59:00.009+09:00

Today's Report

July 12/11 1800 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ? days)

We're not superstitious. We're not. But no sooner than NBSDIII made an easy arrival in Ogasawara, a little surprise began brewing down south.

When we told Saito-san this morning, he laughed momentarily, but it didn't sound entirely convincing. "What? A typhoon? No!"

"Yes," we said. "It’s passing Ogasawara in two days, and there may be a second one a few days after that."

In the image you can see that the upper right quadrant of the spiraling storm will probably move through Saito-san's position, if ClearPoint's projection holds true. Sustained winds of about 27-30 kts are predicted, with gusts at least another 10 kts over that. Closer to the center ClearPoint is predicting 42-kt winds.

Typhoon No. 8 of the season. Cross marks the port in Ogasawara.

This appears to be a relatively small typhoon, but the upper-right quadrant is where typhoons usually have their strongest punch. This is why sailors – when out to sea – try to move to the lower left quarter of a typhoon in order to escape the worst. We could see a 10-kt difference in this one between the quadrants.

So we are thanking Saito-san's lucky stars (he is superstitious) that he is safely in port as he waits out this blow, rather than out on the ocean with no engine and a badly weathered mainsail.

***

When Saito-san arrived in Ogasawara, a friend of our friend Ralf Meiranke, of the Japan Blind Sailing Association, happened to be there with a camera. He snapped away.

Ralf forwarded his pictures, below, and wrote the following:

"Kiyotaka Iizuka is currently on holiday in Ogasawara and took some pictures when Saito-san arrived. I am sure you received already plenty of pictures, but just in case...."

Well, we didn't and we do very much appreciate his and Ralf's kind efforts to get them to us. It also answered a question for us, as discussed below.

***

And about that sail…

The main sail was reduced in size in Hawaii because in its badly weathered condition the first good blow was expected to turn it to shreds. So on the advice of the sail loft it was cut down in such a way that he could put it "all the way up" in the No. 2 reef position – a bit over one-half normal sail size, or eased to the No. 3 reef position, making it about a third normal size.

Despite those major efforts to reduce sail stress, about 3 weeks out from Hawaii on Day 988, a main sail seam did in fact give way. Saito-san announced: "I have a rip in the main sail … not bad – it stopped, I think." So from then on the sail stayed at the third reef point.

Thanks to Iizuka-san, we finally could have a look at the sail. Dave Cooper in Hawaii, on seeing the image, noted dryly that the tear "lets the sky show through."

Here's a blow-up. That tear runs vertically a good 4 feet from one panel seam to the next.

He's got a patch kit, sail thread and needles, and a nicely steady boat to work on it. Then there's that other rip in the genoa...

Day 1011 [July 10/11 JST] – A Cold Beer, A Hot Bath, and a Good Sleep (We Think…!)

2011-07-10T20:06:00.024+09:00

Today's Report

July 10/11 1800 JST

Position: 27°03'N, 142°11'E (Ogasawara, Chichijima Island, Japan)

Remaining to Yokohama: 502 nm (ETA: ? days)

Apologies for the suspense, but we've been waiting as well to get details from Saito-san. And waiting. Anyway, here it goes.

He called at 1630 yesterday to say that he had just arrived, towed in through arrangement with the Fishermen's Association, who recruited a very helpful fishing boat captain by the name of Takakura-san.

Takakura-san also had called us several times to report on progress before the two boats met near or at the rendezvous coordinates we supplied to him. "Are you sure?" we were asked at one point. Well, yes -- as best you can be estimating two converging (and different) boat speeds, and winds that might change during the next several hours.

There was never any safety concern as the weather was about as perfect as you can get – moderate winds and a flat sea – but the schedule called for them to be in port by 1600.

So just 30 minutes later for a 1630 arrival in Ogasawara is quite excellent on clocks set by "sailboat time" where minutes can become hours; hours can become days; and days … well, fortunately it never got to that!

Estimated positions throughout the day.

[Click to enlarge]

Then it was time for the Customs clearance for a vessel that has been through 10 different ports in the past 3 years.

Last week while Hide Katada was busily gathering the information for this, our phone chimed. "Can you provide the names of the last 10 ports he was in, including both the entry and exit dates?" Hide-san blithely asked us. Fortunately, every mile and day is plotted on Google Earth, so coming up with that information was relatively easy.

But then Saito-san called from the Customs office to ask about the "registration certificate" for the boat.

Uh-oh...

While the boat IS registered in Hawaii, where we purchased it, there's no official certificate as such, just the silver registration decals Saito-san dutifully affixed. So unless the Japanese Coast Guard -- who have been quite helpful so far -- can accept that, then we have one more bureaucratic hoop to jump through.

Interestingly, the registration issue never came up when Saito-san single-handed NBSDIII from New Zealand, arriving in Yokohama the summer of 2008.

No calls have come from Saito-san since, so will surmise the following, if we may:

1730 hrs – He clears Customs and Quarantine, hastened along by the detailed paperwork already submitted by Hide-san.

1745 hrs – He locates a beer machine and has his first cold beer in 2 weeks.

1750 hrs – He finds the nearest sashimi restaurant.

1900 hrs – He makes his way to the nearest ofuro hot springs bath.

2100 hrs – He is back on NBSDIII, dead to the world.

And snoring blissfully!

***

Yesterday so much was going on that we passed over another amazing milestone -- the last of the thousand-milers when he cleared 28. To be exact, 28,074 nm as of yesterday's arrival in Ogasawara.

To be even more exact, this calculation begs at least three refinements:

No. 1. These are nautical miles. In terms of street miles (statute), it's actually 32,306 miles or 51,933 kilometers.

No. 2. These are the miles traveled we actually KNOW.

Between the satellite beacon report (every 6 hours) and Saito-san's called-in positions (every 12 hours) there can be frequent tacking and jibing that we can never know about in our Tokyo-based armchair nav station. (Believe us, though, Saito-san knows!)

Those wind-decided jig-jags in a sailboat are where a considerable difference can sneak in between DMG (distance made good) and DOG (distance over ground). Out of curiosity, we measured the DOG again (covering roughly 5,000 individual plots) and found it to be:

DMG: 28,074 nm DOG: 31,543 nm

Either way you figure it, that's definitely no walk in the park!

No. 3. We STILL have to add up the three separate attempts to round Cape Horn. We'll save that for another time.

***

Distance in last 12 hours: 37 nm DOG / 37 nm DMG

Total distance completed: 28,074 nm

To Yokohama: 502 nm (measured)

To Ogasawara: 0 nm (measured)

Average daily DMG over last 4 days of sailing: 34.0 nm (measured)

ETA, Ogasawara: in port

ETA, Yokohama: ? days

Heading: 330° changing to 040°

Reported boat speed: 3.5 kt

Average boat speed: 3.0 kt

Weather: Broken clouds, warm

Temperature: 28.0° C

Barometer: 1011 hPa

Wind (from): 7-9 kts E & ESE

Waves: 0.5 m

Sails: Genoa 90%, staysail 0%, mainsail 3pt reef

Engine: 0 hrs

Generator: 0 hrs

[Weather and wind forecasts are from ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 Supporting Sponsor.]

Day 1010 [July 9/11 JST] – Wicked Winds Turn Helpful in Final Miles to Ogasawara

2011-07-09T10:29:00.015+09:00

Today's Report

July 9/11 0845 JST

Position: 26°41'N, 141°40'E

Remaining to Yokohama: 536 nm (ETA: ? days)

Remaining to Ogasawara: 35 nm (ETA: 7-9 hrs)

At sunrise it appeared Saito-san was facing a hard and long upwind slog as the winds were blowing out of the NE, directly from where Ogasawara was waiting over the horizon about 40 nm away.

The seas were virtually flat at just 0.4 m, but the all-important winds were not cooperating. He called at 0600 to say he was on an oblique tack nearly 70 degrees off where he needed to go, making about 3.5 kts, but basically in the "wrong" direction. It had been like that for several hours and he was already exhausted.

The dismal prospect was for multiple tacking maneuvers throughout the day as he struggled to beat upwind...

...and then the wicked winds of the north changed to nearly perfect.

Judging from ClearPoint, the winds shifted to out of the E & ESE and will remain highly favorable at 8-10 kts for the rest of the day. They will blow off his starboard quarter, or even abeam, which are both very good points of sail while on, or near, the heading he needs – 045° – to Ogasawara.

Favorable winds arrive out of the ESE;
Ogasawara (Chichijima) shown at upper right corner.

At 0845 he called the fishing boat captain, a member of the Ogasawara Fishermen's Association, who has been arranged to do the final tow into port of the engineless NBSDIII. The captain then called us to report their conversation.

Saito-san gave his updated position as 34 nm away. They agreed to rendezvous at a convergent point in-between, and then Saito-san will either pick up the tow, or if the winds remain favorable, they will proceed on to port together.

The estimated time of arrival: between 1400 and 1600 hours, give or take a bit of continued good luck.

UPDATE
They arrived at the fishing harbor in Ogasawara at 1630.

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 61 nm DOG / 61 nm DMG

Total distance completed: 28,010 nm

To Yokohama: 536 nm (measured)

To Ogasawara: 36 nm (measured)

Average daily DMG over last 4 days of sailing: 32.0 nm (measured)

ETA, Ogasawara: 7-9 hrs

ETA, Yokohama: ? days

Heading: 330° changing to 040°

Reported boat speed: 3.5 kt

Average boat speed: 2.6 kt

Weather: Broken clouds, warm

Temperature: 28.0° C

Barometer: 1012 hPa

Wind (from): 7-9 kts E & ESE
Waves: 0.5 m

Sails: Genoa 90%, staysail 0%, mainsail 3pt reef

Engine: 0 hrs

Generator: 0 hrs

[Weather and wind forecasts are from ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 Supporting Sponsor.]

Day 1009 [July 8/11 JST] – Looks Good for Ogasawara by Mid-day Saturday

2011-07-08T11:52:00.002+09:00

Today's Report

July 8/11 0800 JST

Position: 26°02'N, 142°32'E

Remaining to Yokohama: 573 nm (ETA: ? days)

Remaining to Ogasawara: 73 nm (ETA: 1.5 days)

Yesterday's winds held, giving Saito-san a respectable 41 nm DMG as he approaches a likely arrival in Ogasawara by mid-day tomorrow (Saturday JST). Winds were to continue out of the ENE and NE today at 6-10 kts, for close to a beam reach.

No adverse weather is seen within the next 3 days on ClearPoint, although a pair of cyclonic lows appear to be forming. One is toward his west, east of the Philippines, 400 nm away. The other is weaker but closer at 250 nm to his southeast. Both are characterized by revolving counter-clockwise winds centered on barometric lows of 996 and 1006 mb. ClearPoint shows them developing in their respective locations over the next 2-4 days, moving northward.

Two lows shown in ClearPoint projection 4 days from today

If nasty weather does come from those two lows, by then he will be in harbor and enjoying a well-deserved break after almost constant hand-steering during the two weeks since the aux generator quit -- and with it, the hydraulic steering.

During the past 24-hr period Saito-san made 41 nm DMG toward his Ogasawara destination. At 0800, he was just 35 nm southeast of the bottom of Hahajima (Island) which he plans to pass a comfortably safe 3 - 5 nm away on the leeward side of the island.

He reported a boat speed of 2.5 kts on a heading of 310-320° at the time of his morning call.

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 41 nm DOG / 41 nm DMG

Total distance completed: 27,975 nm

To Yokohama: 573 nm (measured)

To Ogasawara: 73 nm (measured)

Average daily DMG over last 4 days of sailing: 27.0 nm (measured)

ETA, Ogasawara: 1.5 days

ETA, Yokohama: ? days

Heading: 310-320°

Reported boat speed: 2.5 kt

Average boat speed: 1.7 kt

Weather: Broken clouds, warm, squalls in the area

Temperature: 28.0° C

Barometer: 1012 hPa

Wind (from): 6-8 kts ENE & NE

Waves: 0.5 m

Sails: Genoa 90%, staysail 0%, mainsail 3pt reef

Engine: 0 hrs

Generator: 0 hrs

[Weather and wind forecasts are from ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 Supporting Sponsor.]

Day 1008 [July 7/11 JST] – Improved Winds for Possible Ogasawara ETA in 2 Days

2011-07-07T09:28:00.005+09:00

Today's Report

July 7/11 0800 JST

Position: 26°00'N, 143°16'E

Remaining to Yokohama: 607 nm (ETA: ? days)

Remaining to Ogasawara: 111 nm (ETA: 2-2.5 days)

This day brought a promise of fresher winds, as they shift to out of the northeast and gradually increase throughout the period to as much as 9 kts.

This promises to break an almost windless 4 days in which he has struggled to make just 102 nm.

If the improved winds hold, NBSDIII may be arriving in Ogasawara as early as Saturday morning or mid-day.

During the past 24-hr period Saito-san made 27 nm, 25 nm of those toward his destination on a route that takes him under the island of Hahajima, then up 40 nm to Chichijima and the village of Ogasawara.

At 0800, he reported a boat speed of 2 kts on a heading of 230-250°.

No adverse weather is seen on ClearPoint, other than occasional passing squalls.

A few hours ago, this cluster of lightning bolts was just 80 nm away. All had struck within a 1-hr time period.

Squall with several dozen lightning strikes in 1 hour 80 nm away

***
Distance in last 24 hours: 26 nm DOG / 25 nm DMG

Total distance completed: 27,934 nm

To Yokohama: 607 nm (measured)

To Ogasawara: 111 nm (measured)

Average daily DMG over last 4 days of sailing: 26.0 nm (measured)

ETA, Ogasawara: 2-2.5 days

ETA, Yokohama: ? days

Heading: 230-250°

Reported boat speed: 2.0 kt

Average boat speed: 1.1 kt

Weather: Broken clouds, warm, squalls in the area

Temperature: 28.0° C

Barometer: 1011 hPa

Wind (from): 4-5 kts ESE

Waves: 0.5 m

Sails: Genoa 90%, staysail 0%, mainsail 3pt reef

Engine: 0 hrs

Generator: 0 hrs

[Weather and wind forecasts are from ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 Supporting Sponsor.]

Day 1007 [July 6/11 JST] – 1 nm DMG Since Last Night

2011-07-06T09:22:00.001+09:00

Today's Report

July 6/11 0800 JST

Position: 25°58'N, 143°44'E

Remaining to Yokohama: 630 nm (ETA: ? days)

Remaining to Ogasawara: 136 nm (ETA: 3-4 days)

Still another day of weak winds that saw him eke out barely 7 nm made good for the 24-hr period and, of that, just 1 nm since last night.

He described the seas as flat and virtually windless. "I think the wind is either zero, or maybe sometimes 3 kts," he guessed. The Kurosio Current, his one source of reprieve from a dead stop, is edging him closer to Ogasawara, now 136 nm away.

He did see 19 nm of DOG (distance overground) that took him up northward about 9 nm, then back south again the same amount as he jibed yesterday. At 0800, he reported a boat speed of about 1 kt on a heading of 220-240°.

No adverse weather is seen on ClearPoint, other than occasional passing squalls.

***
Distance in last 24 hours: 19 nm DOG / 7 nm DMG

Total distance completed: 27,907 nm

To Yokohama: 630 nm (measured)

To Ogasawara: 136 nm (measured)

Average daily DMG over last 4 days of sailing: 38.5 nm (measured)

ETA, Ogasawara: 3-4 days

ETA, Yokohama: ? days

Heading: 220-240°

Reported boat speed: 1.0 kt

Average boat speed: 0.8 kt

Weather: Broken clouds, warm, squalls in the area

Temperature: 29.0° C

Barometer: 1011 hPa

Wind (from): 0-3 kts WSW

Waves: 1.0 m

Sails: Genoa 90%, staysail 0%, mainsail 3pt reef

Engine: 0 hrs

Generator: 0 hrs

[Weather and wind forecasts are from ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 Supporting Sponsor.]