Day 90 [Dec. 31, 0700 JST]

Good progress as winds ease a bit but hold from the southeast for a third day. Swells moderate. A champagne toast awaits the New Year.

Position:
31 22 S, 108 57 E

Distance completed to Yokohama finish: 28.6%

Heading: 265
Boat speed: 5.0 kt (7-day average: 4.9 kt)
Distance in last 24 hours: 119 nm
Distance made good: 7,132 nm (13,208 km)
Distance remaining to Yokohama: 18,007 nm

Yokohama ETA: 152 days (based on 7-day ave. boat speed)
Days until Yokohama 150th Anniversary Port Celebration: 151

To WP 5, Indian Ocean midpoint: 16.6 days

Weather: Overcast to partly cloudy, passing rain during the night
Barometer: 1012 hPa (holding)
Waves: 2.0 - 3.0 m from SW, at 15-sec intervals
Wind (from): 18 - 25 kt S
Current (from): 0.3 kt N
Engine: 0.0 hr / 1800 rpm, 0 hr / 2000 rpm (0 L)
Generator: 9.0 hr (9.0 L)
Sails
Main: 3 pt
Staysail: 0%
Genoa: 80%

Today's Report

Winds stay good out of the south and southeast for the third day, on large but "slower" swells that are coming at 15-sec intervals from the southwest, down from 8 sec yesterday from the south. Rolling motion is reduced and the skipper says his backache is now mostly gone.

Skies are patchy with clouds, sometimes overcast, and last night saw a few passing rain showers.

Added Comment

Saito-san has received several New Year well wishes, and thanks his supporters for their kind thoughts.

He plans to pop a small bottle of champagne tonight to celebrate. The Moet & Chandon was provided by Nico Roehreke (president of Saito Challenge 8's main sponsor Nicole BMW) at Saito-san's departure party. Several bottles of sake were also provided by Jiro Fujiwara. (Jiro headed the Saito Challenge 7 Campaign in 2004-5.)

Day 91 [Jan. 1, 0700 JST]

The New Year brings continuation of favorable winds, though easing. A Japanese compai is planned over Iridium this afternoon.

Position:
31 49 S, 106 30 E

Distance completed to Yokohama finish: 29.0%

Heading: 277
Boat speed: 5.3 kt (7-day average: 4.96 kt)
Distance in last 24 hours: 128 nm
Distance made good: 7,260 nm (13,445 km)
Distance remaining to Yokohama: 17,870 nm

Yokohama ETA: 150 days (based on 7-day ave. boat speed)
Days until Yokohama 150th Anniversary Port Celebration: 150

To WP 5, Indian Ocean midpoint: 15.5 days

Weather: Partly cloudy
Barometer: 1014 hPa (holding)
Waves: 2.5 m from SW, at 14-sec intervals
Wind (from): 10 - 13 kt SE
Current (from): 0.5 kt W
Engine: 0.0 hr / 1800 rpm, 0 hr / 2000 rpm (0 L)
Generator: 10.0 hr (10.0 L)
Sails
Main: 3 pt (later to 2 pt)
Staysail: 0%
Genoa: 80 - 90%

Today's Report

Winds reducing but holding fair as he sails deeper into the high pressure system that extends almost 800 nm to the west. He planned to celebrate the New Year the Japanese traditional way today with sake, and will share a champagne compai! (cheers!) with friends in Tokyo later this afternoon. His time zone is now 3 hours behind JST.

The 128 nm distance he made yesterday was especially good considering the 3-pt reef in the mainsail due to the heavy swells and strong winds which have continued to moderate. Earlier this morning he shook out the third reef as the winds began to slacken and the swells held at 2.5 m.

Note: The front seen in the barometric chart below will not rise north to his position, according to ClearPoint projections. (The line is actually about 650 nm SSW of his position and moving due east.)

Added Comment

Saito-san sent New Year's wishes in a fax yesterday, and we'll publish them soon. (The office is closed for the holidays.)

Day 92 [Jan. 2, 0700 JST]

An unexpected guest, a compai with sake, and a beautiful sunrise -- but, alas, no Fuji-san or even a 'blind acupressurer.'

Position:
31 39 S, 104 21 E

Distance completed to Yokohama finish: 29.5%

Heading: 280
Boat speed: 4.6 kt (7-day average: 5.06 kt)
Distance in last 24 hours: 110 nm
Distance made good: 7,370 nm (13,649 km)
Distance remaining to Yokohama: 17,760 nm

Yokohama ETA: 146 days (based on 7-day ave. boat speed)
Days until Yokohama 150th Anniversary Port Celebration: 149

To WP 5, Indian Ocean midpoint: 14.0 days

Weather: Clear and beautiful, almost flat seas
Barometer: 1015 hPa (holding)
Waves: 1.0 - 1.9 m from SW, at 12-sec intervals
Wind (from): 5 - 8 kt SSE
Current (from): 0.2 kt W
Engine: 2.5 hr / 1800 rpm, 0 hr / 2000 rpm (18.75 L)
Generator: 8.5 hr (8.5 L)
Sails
Main: 2 pt
Staysail: 0%
Genoa: 100%

Today's Report

A usually prompt Saito called in 10 minutes late this morning as we imagined hangovers or worse after a raucous New Year's party of one.

Instead, he reported just having watched and photographed a gorgeous sunrise. "It's happening right now and it is really beautiful," he said. "I wish everyone could see it!"

Asked whether he had dreamed about Fuji-san, he laughed and admitted he had not. (Japanese consider it auspicious if your first dream of the second night of the New Year is about Mt. Fuji, or a soaring hawk, or an eggplant, in that order of significance. Other good dreams to have are of a fan, tobacco, and even a blind acupressurer.)

Turning to the task at hand, the skipper said that winds had fallen to almost nothing so he was forced to motor for the first time in three days to maintain headway.

He is on the upper edge of a circulating wind pattern in the large high pressure cell he is in. We suggested he try to move north a bit to regain some of the westward winds shown on Clearpoint.

Added Comment

Saito called in at 3 pm yesterday to add his voice to the New Year compai at the Oshiage home of Chii Takahashi (Eiko Brumfield's mother), where four generations of family members had come to celebrate the New Year. Oshiage is less than 20 minutes by foot from Asakusa, where Saito-san grew up and maintained a small apartment until recently.

During his Iridium call yesterday he mentioned finding that sometime during the night a 6-inch squid had hopped on board. Asked if he'd invited his unexpected visitor to dinner (as sushi), he responded wistfully, "No, by the time I found the ika it was too late, so I had to toss it back." He said his New Year's libation was sake, and that he had saved champagne half-bottle #1 for his birthday on January 7 and half-bottle #2 for the momentous crossing of Cape Horn in 8,000 nm, or a bit over 2 months.

Correction
The time difference between Japan and Saito's current location is just 1 hour, not 3 hours as stated yesterday. We misunderstood that Saito-san was describing the time the sun rises, not time zones. Back in Hobart, at latitude 045S, it was peeking over the horizon at 3:30 am.

Day 93 [Jan. 3, 0700 JST]

Winds drop & go contrary on flat seas. Unsettled weather approaches.

Position:
31 05 S, 102 05 E

Distance completed to Yokohama finish: 30.0%

Heading: 330
Boat speed: 5.0 kt (7-day average: 5.11 kt)
Distance in last 24 hours: 121 nm
Distance made good: 7,491 nm (13,873 km)
Distance remaining to Yokohama: 17,639 nm

Yokohama ETA: 144 days (based on 7-day ave. boat speed)
Days until Yokohama 150th Anniversary Port Celebration: 148

To WP 5, Indian Ocean midpoint: 13.0 days

Weather: Overcast becoming clear
Barometer: 1019 hPa (rising)
Waves: 0.5 m from SW
Wind (from): 4 - 5 kt NE & ENE (variable in wind convergence zone)
Current (from): 0.1 kt WSW
Engine: 9.0 hr / 1800 rpm, 0 hr / 2000 rpm (67.5 L)
Generator: 8.5 hr (8.5 L)
Sails
Main: 2 pt
Staysail: 0%
Genoa: 90%

Today's Report

Steady and favorable winds of the last 5 days have been erased as Saito-san yesterday entered a convergence zone near the center of a 1,400-nm wide high pressure cell. He reports winds mixed & weak with flat seas, so has resorted to motoring to get through the area. As well, he has attempted to seek more advantageous winds along a band approx. 30 nm north of his present latitude, or at least to stay out of developing headwinds approx. 45 nm to his south.

Meanwhile, 500 nm to the WSW a cold front is gradually rising northward as it moves to the east and may bring storm conditions in a few days. Unsettled weather can be anticipated over the coming week.

Everything continues to go well apart from the Inmarsat comms, which serves now for faxing out only.

Day 94 [Jan. 4, 0700 JST]

More of the same, including 10 years ago. The 30% mark passes as his 75th birthday approaches.

Position:
31 06 S, 99 41 E

Distance completed to Yokohama finish: 30.5%

Heading: 270
Boat speed: 5.1 kt (7-day average: 4.99 kt)
Distance in last 24 hours: 123 nm
Distance made good: 7,614 nm (14,101 km)
Distance remaining to Yokohama: 17,516 nm

Yokohama ETA: 146 days (based on 7-day ave. boat speed)
Days until Yokohama 150th Anniversary Port Celebration: 147

To WP 5, Indian Ocean midpoint: 12.6 days

Weather: Clear and beautiful
Barometer: 1020 hPa (steady)
Waves: 0.5 m from SW at 12-sec. intervals
Wind (from): 5 - 7 kt E (variable in wind convergence zone)
Current (from): 0.0 kt
Engine: 20.0 hr / 1800 rpm, 1 hr / 2000 rpm (157.5 L)
Generator: 3.5 hr (3.5 L)
Sails
Main: 2 pt
Staysail: 0%
Genoa: 0%

Today's Report

A day of motoring in a "dead wind" area that Saito-san remembers from a similar voyage 10 years ago. He had followed a higher route of about 27 degrees S, he recalled, as he sailed to the start point of the 1998-1999 "Around Alone," his third solo global race. That route added 2 or 3 days to his voyage to Cape Horn, he said, due to the Earth's wider curvature at that higher latitude.

***
Meanwhile, 470 nm to the WSW a wide cold front continues to slowly rise northward as it moves east. The strong high pressure cell he is in is helping thwart the front's northerly progress. Clearpoint forecasts clear skies over the next several days, and at Saito's present latitude he may ease past it near the front's northwest trailing edge.

Added Comment

For those keeping track, Saito-san changed the engine oil in Fremantle. The fuel filters (both primary and secondary) were last replaced on Dec. 15 and Dec. 16, respectively. He said the primary filter was "pretty dirty."

His daily checks of the steering connection on the hydraulic system has shown that it continues to be holding up well after being replaced in Fremantle.

***
Saito-san turns 75 in 3 days, on Jan. 7. A celebration is planned in Tokyo, probably at the home of Eiko and Hunter Brumfield. Saito-san will call in.

***
The 30% mark was passed 2 days ago, with the average 24-hour velocity made good at 4.1 kt (for the 77 days actually on the water, less the 17 repair days since leaving Yokohama). Over the past 7 days he has averaged 4.99 kt.

***
An oddity:
For the second day in a row Saito-san and Clearpoint are at odds over the height of the sea swells. He reports them almost flat at 0.5 m, while CP indicates them running at 2.5 m. The human and satellite-assisted computer sea reports usually agree within half a meter or so.

Day 95 [Jan. 5, 0700 JST]

A typical day in the "Horse Latitudes," less the parched horses. We attach his New Year's message as an audio recording. Two days to the magic number.

Position:
31 12 S, 97 49 E

Distance completed to Yokohama finish: 30.9%

Heading: 255
Boat speed: 4.0 kt (7-day average: 4.83 kt)
Distance in last 24 hours: 96 nm
Distance made good: 7,711 nm (14,281 km)
Distance remaining to Yokohama: 17,419 nm

Yokohama ETA: 150 days (based on 7-day ave. boat speed)
Days until Yokohama 150th Anniversary Port Celebration: 146

To WP 5, Indian Ocean midpoint: 13.0 days

Weather: Clear and beautiful, nearly windless
Barometer: 1018 hPa (falling slightly)
Waves: 0.3 m from SW at 12-sec. intervals
Wind (from): 5 - 7 kt E (variable in wind convergence zone)
Current (from): 0.0 kt
Engine: 9.0 hr / 1800 rpm, 0 hr / 2000 rpm (67.5 L)
Generator: 6.0 hr (6.0 L)
Sails
Main: 2 pt
Staysail: 0%
Genoa: 0%

Today's Report

A slower and quiet day as Nicole BMW Shuten-dohji III rode a gentle wind under 8 kt since midnight out of the southwest.

The cold front we've been watching eased by during the night far enough to the south that he never saw its effects. The skies remain clear. Another cold front has appeared 1200 nm to his SW and the high pressure cell appears to be contracting with him at its approximate center.

Added Comment

Here is a New Year's Audio Message in English Saito-san sends to his friends and supporters. Parts may be difficult to make out but in it he wishes everyone a Happy New Year, summarizes the boat condition and voyage, and reaffirms his determination to return to Yokohama by the end of May. The message is an MPEG4 file.

***
The infamous "Horse Latitudes" (30 to 35 degrees) are living up to their reputation as the winds fall off to almost nothing, but at least he will not have to linger for weeks as he waits, and waits, and waits... And there are no horses on board!

***
Saito-san turns 75 in 2 days, on Jan. 7, with a celebration planned in Tokyo. The location will depend on the number of attendees. Saito-san will call in about 9 pm from a point on the Indian Ocean approximately 1,350 nm west of Fremantle, the closest point of land.

***

Yesterday I sent this out this URL as a special mailing but please forward it to others who might appreciate reading it. This writer for SAIL.com expresses really well why we need people like Minoru Saito to "set the pace" for the rest of humankind.

Day 96 [Jan. 6, 0700 JST]

Another day on quiet seas as he "northers" a bit to snag helpful winds. A birthday cake awaits.

Position:
30 44 S, 95 22 E

Distance completed to Yokohama finish: 31.4%

Heading: 310
Boat speed: 5.4 kt (7-day average: 4.91 kt)
Distance in last 24 hours: 130 nm
Distance made good: 7,841 nm (14,521 km)
Distance remaining to Yokohama: 17,289 nm

Yokohama ETA: 149 days (based on 7-day ave. boat speed)
Days until Yokohama 150th Anniversary Port Celebration: 145

To WP 5, Indian Ocean midpoint: 11.0 days

Weather: Clear and beautiful, nearly windless
Barometer: 1019 hPa (steady)
Waves: 0.3 m from WSW at 13-sec. intervals
Wind (from): 3 kt SE ("hard to tell")
Current (from): 0.1 kt WNW
Engine: 15.0 hr / 1800 rpm, 0 hr / 2000 rpm (112.5 L)
Generator: 7.0 hr (7.0 L)
Sails
-- Main: 2 pt
-- Staysail: 0%
-- Genoa: 0%

Today's Report

Winds at 3 kts as the Skipper climbs northward to catch a ride on the lower edge of a wind band at about 30 S. The choice is between somewhat more distance traveled and spending more time in the virtually windless zone of the contacting low pressure cell he is in.

He reports everything is fine but is growing impatient to get into stronger favorable winds.

An approaching cold front is now 700 nm to the SW and the high pressure cell appears to be drawing inward with him now near its western edge.

Added Comment

Saito-san turns 75 tomorrow. The party location is the Hokkaido Restaurant in Ningyocho. Saito-san will call in twice -- once at 8:15 pm and the second at 9 pm. A cake with candles has been prepared, while on board Saito-san has a half bottle of champagne chilled.

Day 97 [Jan. 7, 0700 JST]

Saito-san's 27,394th day of life dawns clear on totally flat seas. Three-quarters of a century along and for him there's just an endless horizon ahead, with no one behind.

Position:
30 07 S, 93 20 E

Distance completed to Yokohama finish: 31.9%

Heading: 305
Boat speed: 4.7 kt (7-day average: 4.87 kt)
Distance in last 24 hours: 112 nm
Distance made good: 7,953 nm (14,729 km)
Distance remaining to Yokohama: 17,177 nm

Yokohama ETA: 147 days (based on 7-day ave. boat speed)
Days until Yokohama 150th Anniversary Port Celebration: 144

To WP 5, Indian Ocean midpoint: 10.0 days

Weather: Clear and beautiful, nearly windless
Barometer: 1018 hPa (steady)
Waves: 0.0 m
Wind (from): 4 - 5 kt NNE
Current (from): 0.3 kt WSW
Engine: 15.5 hr / 1600 rpm, 0.75 hr / 2000 rpm (85.0 L)
Generator: 5.0 hr (5.0 L)
Sails
Main: 2 pt
Staysail: 0%
Genoa: 0%

Today's Report

Seas totally flat during the night and into a morning that dawned clear and cloudless on Saito-san's 75th birthday. Winds slightly picked up from the northeast and he was ghosting along at the time of his call under sails at 2 knots. Later he planned to haul out the "iron jib" but for the moment enjoyed effortless and quiet sailing on a massive, horizon-less lake.

Added Comment

At three-quarters of a century, Minoru Saito will have achieved something considered fantastic for someone just a third his age. He'll sail into Yokohama at the end of not just a single solo circumnavigation, but his eighth, and final, over more than 30 years of single-handed voyaging. There is no one even approaching his years who has successfully achieved a non-stop circumnavigation, which he famously did four years ago, and no one near 75 years old who will have sailed solo around the world even once, not to mention 8 separate times. He's competed -- never winning, but always finishing -- three times in the world's most grueling single-handed race, the BOC series.

This time, in this "race" spanning decades, he holds what may ultimately prove to be an invincible lead.

That this circumnavigation was not non-stop is a consequence of the rigors of a stormy passage through the Coral and Tasman seas, and he made port for repairs only when it became obvious that the entire effort was jeopardized and, to us on land, that Saito-san's life would be at risk without the attention the boat could receive only from land. The skipper was fine, but the vessel was not.

As he celebrates tonight with us back in Tokyo he still has more than half the voyage to go, with by far the most rigorous part, the passage of Cape Horn, still 7,600 nm ahead.

Yesterday there was the best kind of news relayed from the Horn by coordinators of the Vendee Globe Race. A skipper was rescued from his upside-down 60-foot vessel floating in 5-meter seas 200 nm west of Cape Horn. We join them in their profound relief that he survived after a harrowing and heroic rescue effort by another competitor.

For Minoru Saito, it will be his 5th time around alone Cape Horn, one of the loneliest and least forgiving places on the planet.

***
We thank the various people who have sent in their well-wishes to Saito-san on his birthday. These will be read to him when he calls in. We plan to record and email out his response and birthday message to his many supporters from around the globe.