SHIOGAMA, Miyagi Prefecture--A man, who lost his wife and second daughter in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami and went on to become Japan’s first sailor to win in the Transpac Honolulu Yacht Race last month, was reunited with his crew on Aug. 22 here.
SHIOGAMA, Miyagi Prefecture--A man, who lost his wife and second daughter in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami and went on to become Japan’s first sailor to win in the Transpac Honolulu Yacht Race last month, was reunited with his crew on Aug. 22 here.
Yuichi Takahashi, 43, an executive officer of an advertising company who lives in Sendai’s Wakabayashi Ward, used to enjoy going sailing with his family almost every week until the disaster.
He entered the transpacific yacht race with friends in the devastated areas to help overcome his grief.
On March 11, 2011, Takahashi’s 40-year-old wife and 3-year-old second daughter had gone to the wife’s hometown when they went missing in the disaster.
After the tsunami, he searched desperately for his family members and found their bodies in a car 10 days later. Wanting to somehow comfort them, he said all he could do was ask the police to wash them in hot water.
He later found his yacht with a hole in it and a broken engine, but filled with memories of his beloved family.
Although Takahashi survived the huge magnitude of the earthquake and tsunami, he was hospitalized after he injured his shoulders while removing rubble. Feeling miserable and helpless for not being able to do anything in his condition, he cried endlessly, he said.
In the hospital, however, he saw encouraging messages of support from Hawaii, along with goods necessary for daily life sent from all over the country. It made him realize he couldn’t cry anymore, Takahashi said, and he felt he needed to show his gratitude to people around the world.
Accustomed to being aboard a yacht since he was a child, Takahashi set a goal to enter the Transpacific Yacht Race in 2013, a biennial international yacht race from Los Angeles to Hawaii that has a long history over a century. He recalled, “I am a sailor. I could find nothing other than a yacht as a way to express my gratitude.”
When he started repairing his yacht and preparing for the race, experienced sailors and local people who lost their homes in the tsunami joined him.
His team started the race from Los Angeles on July 8. The yacht was swallowed up by stormy weather, and strong winds broke a sail.
According to Takahashi, a crew member attached a streamer to his body, and said in a humorous vein, “Feel the wind in your body.” Takahashi said it made him realize he should laugh at any trouble and go forward.
Twelve days after departure, he finished first in his division.
Now back with his crew inside the yacht, named Ten Quarter, several weeks later, Takahashi found himself looking at a picture of his family, which he kept with him at all times during the race.
“They are always with me,” he said, crying.
Wiping away tears, he added, “I feel that God is telling me to stop being sad anymore as I did my best.”