World's Oldest Circumnavigator is 'At it again'
by Nancy Knudsen on 27 Sep 2008
Minoru Saito in triumph SW
He's 74 years of age, he's sailed 265,000 nautical miles, he's circumnavigated the globe solo seven times, he's completed three BOC Challenges. He's been awarded the Blue Water Medal and inducted into the Newport Rhode Island Single Handed Hall of Fame. He's already in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest sailor to circumnavigate the world. Starting life afflicted with TB, he has overcome amazing challenges in his long life. You'd think he could rest on his glory now.
No.
Japan's Minoru Saito is going to circumnavigate again, solo again, for the eighth time, and this time it'll be the 'wrong way' round.
Japan's most famous veteran ocean sailboat racer will start his journey tomorrow, 28th September 2008, departing from Pukari Pier in Minato Mirai, Yokohama, near to Tokyo's most populous city, Tokyo.
Saito will be sailing a new boat for Saito Challenge 8, specially acquired and refitted with the knowledge that he will be sailing into the wind, against the world's currents. It is a 1989 56-foot steel-hulled cutter-rigged sloop designed and built in Hawaii and given a total refit in Auckland, New Zealand.
Of course, he already knows the boat well, because he's already sailed it solo from New Zealand back to Japan, a journey of more than 4,000 miles.
...and that was after he sailed it from Hawaii, where he purchased it, on a shake-down sail, to New Zealand. This sounds like the journey from hell. It was also a passage of 4000 miles, and during the journey, the generator, the mainsail, the radar, the autopilot and finally the engine all failed. The passage took 52 days instead of the expected 26 days, and he had to be towed into Auckland by the Coastguard.
The 20 year-old yacht is now named Nicole BMW Shuten-Dohji III. (Nicole BMW is his sponsor in Japan, and Shuten-Dohji means 'Drunkard's Child'.
His new venture will be a non-stop passage of over 26,000 miles, and is estimated to take around eight months. However, apparently he has a private ambition to break his own journey record of 187 days, and during the circumnavigation he will celebrate his 75th birthday, on January 7, 2009.
Good luck Minoru Saito! Sailors of the world salute you, as you depart on what must be a grueling and hazardous of journeys.
Sail-World Cruising will be following the progress of this inspiring sailor. See below for his planned route, but to learn more about Minoru Saito's incredible life and exploits, go to his WEBSITE
If you want to link to this article then please use this URL: www.sail-world.com/49248
