POINT LOMA – In 2013, blind Japanese sailor Mitsuhiro “Hiro” Iwamoto’s first trans-Pacific sailing attempt failed when a whale struck his boat, sinking it and forcing his rescue.
He returned with even greater resolve in 2019, this time completing a non-stop Pacific Ocean crossing from San Diego to Fukushima, Japan, with the aid of a sighted navigator.
Now in 2026, Iwamoto announced at a Jan. 28 press conference at Point Loma Marina that he’s preparing to attempt a second such crossing, leaving in early 2027. Only this time, he’ll be doing it alone, aided only by technical assistance from a specially designed smartphone.
If successful, Iwamoto, who began to lose his sight at age 13, will become the first visually impaired person in the world to complete a solo nonstop trans-Pacific crossing, finishing in his hometown in Japan.
Why is he doing it? Iwamoto offered this simple explanation of his outsized goal.
“I wanted to make future success 100 times bigger,” he said in the aftermath of his blindness, adding he realized that success “will not come by itself. I decided I wanted to sail the Pacific again. Let the dream live again. And I need people to support me and be my collective eyes.”
Bob Babbitt, co-founder of the Challenged Athletes Foundation, a nonprofit empowering athletes with physical disabilities by providing funding for adaptive equipment, training and community events, introduced Iwamoto.
His nickname sounds like hero. But his given name, in Japanese, means light or shine, and in abundance. His parents named him Mitsuhiro in hopes that he would bring light to others. Babbitt sees the connection between Iwamoto’s name and his dream.
“We’re here because we have a young man who has the best name for somebody who does what he does,” Babbitt said. “He’s a hero because this is a guy who lost his vision totally by the age of 16 and somehow (still) found sailing. In 2019, he went 8,700 miles on a sailboat from San Diego to Japan. Now, he plans to do this, on his own, totally solo, 8,700 miles.”
The foundation’s 32-year-old mission is to help people with physical disabilities pursue active lives through sport. The organization facilitates this by providing grants for adaptive equipment, training and coaching.
“We believe that sports change lives for the better,” said Babbitt before presenting Iwamoto with an oversized $5,000 check to help him with his 2027 venture.
“[Challenged Athletes Foundation] raised $191 million and sent out over 52,000 grants to keep challenged athletes in the game of life,” Babbitt added.
The first person to help guide Iwamoto was a loved one.
“When I lost my sight, it was very dark and despairing,” Iwamoto said. “But I got a message from my late uncle who said, ‘There is meaning in your blindness, challenge things so that you will give courage to others.’ That message turned me around 180 degrees.”
Iwamoto tried to do many difficult things, such as climbing Mt. Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain. But he then found sailing, which he noted has since inspired him to “have a dream to sail across the Pacific, the biggest ocean in the world.”
Iwamoto gave a brief demonstration explaining how his voice-activated smartphone has been outfitted to allow him to navigate without the advantage of sight.
Malin Burnham, the 98-year-old San Diegan who, at age 17, became the youngest skipper to win a world championship in the International Star Class, spoke at the press conference. He also won nine sailing international championships and played a leading role in bringing the America’s Cup back to San Diego from Australia in 1987.
“What this young man has done is almost unbelievable,” he said. The challenge Iwamoto has taken upon himself is something “very few people in the world can do. This man here has a lot of gumption, which you have to have. You have to get up again – and go do it. What he’s doing, this really is an inspiration to a lot of people.”
From left, Bob Babbitt, co-founder of Challenged Athletes Foundation, Malin Burnham, renowned San Diego sailor, and blind sailor Mitsuhiro ‘Hiro’ Iwamoto. The foundation presented Iwamoto with a $5,000 check to support his planned trans-Pacific solo voyage from San Diego to Japan in early 2027. (Photo by Dave Schwab/Times of San Diego)
