Day 50, Saturday March 27, 1999

Minoru Saito © Photo Billy Black

Shuten-dohji II looked in bad shape by the time it was approaching the coast. Her mainsail was damaged before Cape Horn and only one third of it was of any use. Only the full genoa kept the boat on the move. At 12:48 p.m. local time (15:48:42 GMT), Saito crossed the finish line. Minoru Saito was the oldest competitor in the race and after finishing Leg 3 he was well on track to be the oldest person to finish the BOC Challenge/Around Alone race.

Minoru Saito © Photo Marek Slodownik

Saito looked relieved to be ashore. It was a lengthy 49 days, 16 hours, 48 minutes and 14 seconds at sea for the 65-year old. Saito explained that his mainsail had not blown out, it just had lots of small holes. His navigator's chair also broke, landing him flat on his back and giving him a bump on his head. Despite a few small problems, there were no major ones.

He had set himself two goals. He had planned to visit the position 57 S and 112 W, where his friend Harry Mitchell disappeared during the last race. Despite trying twice, he could not get to the exact location. In the close vicinity he ended up struggling with over 90 knots strong winds.

Minoru Saito © Photo Marek Slodownik

Saito also revealed that he had promised his girlfriend that she would see Cape Horn. Unfortunately she was killed in a sailing accident in Hawaii. Saito performed two ceremonies for both his lost friends at Cape Horn. For Mitchell he committed a gold earring to the deep, and then he toasted them both with sake.

© Photo Richard Konkolski

Positions:

Class 1

Class 2

Copyright © Richard Konkolski
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