Come sail away, come sail away with me! A blind San Diego sailor is set to take on a historic journey. He wants to complete the first-ever solo, non-stop voyage across the Pacific Ocean by a blind person.
It would earn him a place in the history books. Sailor Hiro Iwamoto plans to sail from San Diego to Japan next spring by himself. The sailor isn't letting his disability stop him from his dreams of the sea. Iwamoto lost his sight when he was just 16. It's not the first time he's sailed across the Pacific. He completed the journey previously in 55 days with the help of a sighted navigator.
But now he wants to do it alone.
"If you are in despair, please try to find the meaning and act on it! Your life will be much better," Iwamoto said.
Iwamoto lost his sight at 16 after beginning to go blind at 13.
"My life got very, very into darkness," Iwamoto said. "So I tried to commit suicide, jump off from the bridge to the beautiful ocean it used to be, but at the time it sounded very dark and scary."
Blind Sailor Sails
Now, the sea has become his salvation in a lot of ways. "Sailboat — can you imagine? Just go, just with wind," Iwamoto said.
He's had his setbacks along the way. In 2013, a whale struck his boat while he was sailing the Pacific. "I heard 3 big crashing sounds — Boom! Boom! Boom!" Iwamoto said.
But not even that stopped him from trying to pursue his goal.
"Why as a totally blind you had such a dumb dream? As a totally blind, the safest place is staying home. Never go out," Iwamoto said. He remembers what his uncle once told him. "There is meaning in your blindness! Through your challenges, you will give courage and hope to others."
He won't be sailing totally blind. Iwamoto will be using new tech that allows him to observe real-time sailing info. "Like wind angle, wind direction, boat speed, boat direction and where the obstacles are coming," Iwamoto said.
That should help him in his journey to Japan.
"Don't limit yourself. Let's make impossible, possible together," Iwamoto said.
