Japanese Sailor Sets Course for Round-the-World Yacht Race

Tokyo, June 9 (Jiji Press)--Masatomo Suzuki, a 40-year-old Japanese offshore sailor, is aiming to compete in the 2028 Vendee Globe, a solo, nonstop, unassisted round-the-world yacht race.

If Suzuki completes the quadrennial event, he would become the second Japanese to achieve the feat.

He will take part in a solo transatlantic race in November, which will serve as a qualifier for the Vendee Globe.

A native of Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, Suzuki was fascinated by yachts as a child and dreamed of sailing across the oceans. He was attracted by the idea that only a skipper and wind power were needed to move a yacht.

After completing a solo transatlantic race in 2019, Suzuki took part in the Globe40 double-handed around-the-world race in 2022-23, making seven port stops. Suzuki and his partner completed the Globe40 in approximately nine and a half months, overcoming problems with their sailboat, which was damaged along the way.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]