Day 830 [Jan.9/11 HST] -- Pictures from the party & birthday greetings

Today's Report

January 9/11 HST

Position:  21°17'N, 157°53'W (Honolulu) 

Remaining distance to Yokohama finish:  13.4%

Here are the images from the party, with a tip of our yachting cap to Ed Abbot. 

When we called an hour into the party, Dave Cooper said Saito-san had gotten a bit choked up while expressing his gratitude. Dave said a "big bottle of sake" helped bring back smiles, as did the new Henri Lloyd jacket the Saito 8 Committee sent, and Ed had gift-wrapped. "Too hot for Hawaii," he told us when we called, "but it will be just right when I'm coming back!"


We know the emotion from a man who rarely shows it was not just for the party.

The huge beach-themed cake we suspect was made by either Naomi or Kimmy, and we hope to have that clarified soon.

Our thanks again to his Hawaii friends and supporters for the surprise birthday get-together. 

And below are several birthday greetings we've passed on to him over the last few days.

***
Please forward my Happy Birthday Wishes to Saito-San, who I had the privilege of meeting last time he was here in Cape Town. I have attached a picture I took of Saito-San's yacht with Mike Perham's (single-handed around the world) - so the oldest and the youngest!

Alan Hughes

S/Y Moonshine

Royal Cape Yacht Club

Cape Town

***

Hello Minoru Saito,

The happiest of birthdays to you and may the wind be at your back all the way home to Japan.

Harvey Berger

***

Happy Birthday greetings to Minoru Saito from the Wichmanns and the Charleston Sail and Power Squadron!  Looking forward to the completion of this latest odyssey and a return visit to us in Charleston.

Joyce Wichmann

Charleston, SC

***

Dear Saito-san:

We at Nicole all wish you a very happy birthday and a speedy recovery from your accident. We hope you will recover well and look forward to continuing with you on your adventure in the spring of this year.  

We hope you spend a wonderful day on the warm islands of Hawaii, deserving a great day of rest and reflection on your wonderful achievements so far.

All of us at Nicole are looking very much forward to welcoming you back in May!

Nico Roehreke

Nicole Group

***

As it is Saito-san’s birthday today I sent a small donation to the challenge PayPal account – please check it out!

I guess he’s feeling fine but would prefer to be at sea – he’s an intrepid ocean sailor and not a “land lubber”.

Kind regards,

D.B.

***

Our very best wishes to you from the Saito 8 Committee on your 77th birthday!

It has been an amazing journey and unbelievable that you could do this much, even with a few detours.

Your many supporters throughout the world and in Japan have followed you closely and have been rooting for you the entire way.

We particularly appreciate your wonderful friends and supporters in Hawaii who have worked so hard to get you back safely on the water.

I am sure all your many admirers join us in wishing you the very best on this day and for the final three thousand miles until you finish in Yokohama.

Hunter & Eiko Brumfield

for the Saito Challenge 8 Support Committee

***

Pass on my Happy Birthday Wishes, and New Year’s Greetings to the old bugger. Saito san, with his extra 21 years on the planet than me, gives me hope that I can still do a lot in the next 21 years!!

Season’s Greetings to yourself and family also.

Best regards,

Brian Petersen

New Zealand

Note:

Brian and Saito-san competed against each other in at least one long-distance solo competition, the Auckland to Fukuoka (Japan) Race in 1989, and he is still active in long-distance crewed events including major races in New Zealand and Australia. He was also a big assist to Saito-san in Auckland during the refit of Nicole BMW Shuten-Dohji III. We were delighted to finally meet him and his family for cherry blossom viewing in Tokyo last spring.

***
Please give my best to Saito-san on his birthday. I still think about our rented motor home trip with him up to Maine when we were looking for the boat he was going to use. That was 8,000 miles right there!

Robert Brumfield
Spring City
Tennessee

Day 828 [Jan. 7/11 HST] -- Happy Amazing 77th Birthday, Saito-san!

Today's Report

January 7/11 HST

Position:  21°17'N, 157°53'W (Honolulu) 

Remaining distance to Yokohama finish:  13.4%

Minoru Saito turns 77 years old today, on Day 28,125 of his life and Day 828 of his historic eighth solo voyage around the Earth.

There's a party planned for him at the Honolulu Yacht Club, organized by his supporters in Hawaii. While he knows that's where he will be taken this evening he has not been told that there will be a gathering of friends and supporters waiting to fete this important date. His gift from supporters, paid for by donations, arrived just in time and will be handed him. Several birthday messages from the Internet and members of the Saito 8 Support Committee will be read aloud.

While many people do reach the venerable age of 77, not one person in the history of mankind has ever done so on a nearly finished solo circumnavigation.

And while there have been a few detours and interruptions along the way, he has not left his boat despite some immense hardships and punishing physical and mental toil, nor has anyone stepped aboard to assist him while under way. To that extent he has already succeeded in his amazing and seemingly impossible "wrong way" Saito 8 Challenge, as he passes this milestone in a sea-faring life filled with hazards few people ever experience.

So to Saito-san, from his many admirers in Japan, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Tasmania, South Africa, South America, both American coasts (and in between), England, France, Germany, Denmark, Thailand, Canada, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, China, the Pacific Islands, several transoceanic cruisers, and throughout the far Internet reaches of the world, together we toast:

"Congratulations, Skipper. Well done!" 

Day 819 [Dec. 30/10 JST] -- Hawaii update: His 77th birthday nears

Today's Report

December 30/10 JST

Position:  21°17'N, 157°53'W (Honolulu) 

Remaining distance to Yokohama finish:  13.4%

As Saito-san waits out the stormy North Pacific winter, repairs continue, if at a more relaxed pace. Plans are now that he will leave Hawaii probably in mid to late March, giving him 4 to 6 weeks to make the last 3,500 nm. That would put him back in Japan by approximately mid-May.

He's also getting some medical care for a knee problem that is being treated with physical therapy and may require orthoscopic surgery, depending on what the doctors finally decide.

In the meantime, an auspicious date nears: Jan. 7, his 77th birthday.

We ordered a birthday present through West Marine that should arrive just in time, an all-weather sailing jacket from Henri Lloyd, the yachting clothing maker (and one of our contributing sponsors). Saito-san was provided an enviable wardrobe of foul weather and sundry other gear from Henri Lloyd prior to leaving Japan. But after more than 800 days and 23,000 nm, he's certainly due for a few replacements.

This new item in fact was donated, but this time not by a sponsor. Instead, we thought it fitting to purchase the jacket ($90 plus shipping) in the name of his general contributors, some of whom sent donations through PayPal. We thank them again for that and will make sure Saito-san knows it.  

Meanwhile, the skipper continues to support his daily living expenses and various boat repairs through his retirement pension, personal savings, and, not least, the volunteer help (including the occasional meal and party invite) of Team Hawaii. This volunteer group of Honolulu residents has grown to include Dave Cooper, Scott Gilbert, Ed Abbot, Kimmy Apo, and more recently, Naomi Wasano (commander of the Honolulu Sail and Power Squadron, a unit of the United States Power Squadrons) and Derek Nakamura. 

On another front, we are standing by for official word that Saito-san's request for extension of his six-month U.S. visa has been granted. About two weeks before the deadline he and Dave went to Immigration to make what they thought would be a standard extension request, but such things are no longer to be in the post 9-11 security climate. 

This time it's taking a full review by Homeland Security, supported by an essay on why he couldn't leave Hawaii, other supporting documents, and a check for $295 written out to Uncle Sam. 

This never-before-encountered scrutiny has nothing to do with Saito-san himself. It is now a standard requirement. If you have any lingering doubts about how dead serious vetting "foreigners" has all become, give a look here. This 10-page pdf explains the new requirements for persons wanting to extend their stay in the U.S. 

Our deep thanks to Derek and Dave for helping with the extension request, and to Kimmy, Naomi, and Scott for assisting with Saito-san's knee treatments and clinic appointments.