Hiro Iwamoto was 13 when he first started going blind. He grew up on a small island in southern Japan close to Kyushu. Finally, at 16, total blindness closed out the world, and he was determined to commit suicide. He walked onto a bridge contemplating life, paused indecisively and walked off the bridge. After something changed in his mind and he started living more positively. Hiro went to specialists in Japan and the US to try and find out what caused his blindness and to see if anything could be done to help it. However the conclusion was always the same, and no one could help him or figure out the reason for his blindness.
He carried on with his life and began studying medicine, learning English and made his way to California to study at San Francisco State. While his time in California he met his wife, Karen, in 2006, and now has a daughter who is 13 and resides in Linda Vista
He went back to Japan for an extended trip a few years later and rediscovered his love for the Sea. After his wife, a sailor, encourages him, he joined the Japan Blind Sailing Association, where he grew his sailing skills. He knew he wanted to sail across the Pacific, Japan to San Diego, 5626 miles. Hiro needed another mate who could see what was coming and to tell him where he was going. Hiro made a deal with Japanese TV to film his adventure. His crewman and “eyes” were a TV newsman named Jiro Shinbo, 57, who was fighting his own demon, cancer. They had four cameras on their vessel to record their trip.
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They departed and shortly after 6 days the men were jarred by three large boom sounds. They later found the SIM card from a camera that confirmed the 3 large booms were, in fact, a 50ft blue whale. They thought it was just big waves but shortly found out that it wasn’t. they started taking in water. Water was above the knee and they quickly made a distress call. Their accident happened just as a typhoon was chasing them and drawing in on them. They got into their covered rubber raft overboard into waves as large as 15 feet and winds of 30 knots. They were 700 nautical miles out, beyond the range of a helicopter and the Japanese coast guard couldn’t get there in time to save them from the storm. The Japanese navy sent them a four-prop rescue plane that had the capability of taking off and landing in 10ft waves.
They were stranded for hours bobbing around in the ocean. They were all frightened and discouraged throughout the night. Then they heard the rescue planes circling above, then lost hope when the dwindled off in the distance. The next day they heard an outboard motor and an inflatable boat, then saw the hands of rescuers reaching for them. They were rescued.
Hiro’s dream voyage across the ocean to his San Diego home ended with being fished out of a raging sea on the edge of darkness after 11 hours on a small raft. But he made his peace with it.
Hiro Iwamoto wants another shot. He is going to be setting sail from San Diego to Japan on the Dream Weaver, a 40 ft sailing yacht for 60 days soon! Stay tuned
Sources:
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/sd-me-dickey-1128-story.html