Going the ‘Wrong Way Around’
Sailing west-to-east to circle the globe in a wind-driven craft is no small feat. Rarely is the plan to go westward instead – the “wrong way around” – against the prevailing winds, currents and waves, but Captain Minoru Saito intends to do just that.
A westward circumnavigation of the Earth is the open-ocean equivalent of attempting an oxygen-less ascent of Mount Everest. Add frequent gale-force winds to make it interesting, and don’t stop to rest, reprovision or repair ... even once.
Few single-handers have attempted such a feat and certainly none near Saito’s age — when he finishes this voyage he will be well into his 75th year.
The tentative plan is a October 2008 departure from Yokohama, a westwardly circumnavigation of 26,500 nautical miles, and arrival back in Yokohama at the end of May 2009.
Saito’s return is meant to coincide with the 150th Anniversary of the establishment of Yokohama Port, which opened up the Japanese nation to Western trade. It is also the birthplace of small craft pleasure sailing in Japan.
Saito’s upcoming non-stop, single-handed, eight-month voyage promises to set one of the most unchallengeable records of all sports. His next record might well be written this way when he returns to Yokohama in May, 2009:
“...today crossed the finish line on his record 8th single-handed circumnavigation, making him the oldest sailor to complete a solo circumnavigation at age 75, the most number of times (8), the second time he has finished a non-stop circumnavigation, and the oldest solo sailor to complete a westward circumnavigation, going the "wrong way around.”
Commentators have described the single-handed races, in which Saito has competed three times, as the “most grueling and dangerous continuous sporting competition in the history of mankind.” But even those organized races had several stopping points, with days or even weeks to restore the skippers and their boats before the next leg.
Challenge 8 will not be a race, per se. But for Saito it WILL be a race against the calendar, as he seeks to break his own personal circumnavigation record of 187 days - and somewhere along the way he'll celebrate his 75th birthday on Jan. 7, 2009.
Sailing Plan at a Glance
| Departure date | September 28, 2008, Yokohama Port |
| Return date | End of May, 2009, Yokohama Port |
| Sailing direction | East to west, contrary route |
| Rhumbline distance | 25,000 nautical miles |
| Wind-driven distance | Approx. 40,000 NM due to frequent tacking against wind |
| Oceans to cross | North and South Pacific, Indian, South Atlantic, South Pacific, North Pacific (on return) |
| Key navigation points | Japan, New Guinea, Tasmania, Australia, Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), Falklands Isl., Cape Horn (Argentina), west coast of Chile, south of Galapagos Isl., Marquesas Isl., west of Marshall Isl., Japan. |
| Most difficult areas | Treacherous Cape Horn (and Indian Ocean due to opposing winds & heavy seas) |
| Saito’s age at start | 74 years and 10 months |
| Saito’s age at finish | 75 years and 5 months |