WHO IS MITSUHIRO IWAMOTO?

Many people have very interesting lives and Mitsuhiro Iwamoto is one of them. But what makes him more interesting than other people? He is the first blind person to sail across the Pacific Ocean. He lost his sight at the age of 16. After that he fell into a deep depression. Mitsuhiro was a very strong boy and with his parents’ help he overcame his depression. Iwamoto believed that he had become blind for a purpose. He believed that he had to encourage and inspire others who had lost their way in life. He worked hard, became an athlete, studied medicine, moved to the U.S., got married, and fell in love with sailing.

He first tried to sail across the Pacific in 2013. He set sail from Fukushima, Japan to San Diego, California. There was only him and a journalist who wanted to document this trip on the boat. On the sixth day of his trip his boat collided with a 15-meter blue whale during a typhoon. In just a few minutes, water flooded the boat and the boat sank. Mitsuhiro and the journalist hung onto the life raft and spent eleven hours like that in about 5 meters high waves. After eleven hours they got help and they were rescued.

After this trip they were criticised for risking their lives. But he didn’t give up. He had his second trip on February 2019. This time he set off from San Diego to Fukushima. This time an American man, Doug Smith, was on the boat with him. The journey took 55 days on open seas. The two men had to overcome many difficulties like rough waters, bad weather conditions and storms. They also had equipment failures and electrical problems but none of these problems stopped them. On 20 April 2019 they stepped on the land.

Mitsuhiro reached his goal! He realised his dream. He later told the press that he was the happiest guy on Earth, because he mastered one of life's most valuable lessons. "We undertake this voyage not only for personal accomplishment, but to send a message that anything is possible when people come together," Mitsuhiro wrote on his website.