The amazing tale of Summer Sailstice particpant Yoh Aoki's 1972 circumnavigation!
The ketch AHODORI 2 is a 21-foot plywood boat built by her skipper Yoh Aoki in his back yard taking 2 years.
When Yoh was 22 years old, he left Osaka in Japan for the circumnavigation the globe by himself.
And he luckily sailed home on 1974 after 3 years and 2 months lonesome journey on the sea, calling at San Francisco, Acapulco, Galapagos islands, Easter island, Buenos Aires, Cape town and Sydney.
No such a small boats like a 21-foot has attempted to sail around the world via Cape Horn.
His 1972 Cape Horn passage miraculous Yoh says.
A wave he recalls as being about 100 feet high turned his vessel upside down before another wave somehow righted the craft. “The upside-down boat had started sinking because a lot of water came into the cabin” .
His boat is registered on the Guiness book of record as the smallest boat ever circumnavigated the world via Cape Horn. The record is also introduced to Captain Joshua Slocum Society’s book.
His boat AHODORI 2 has been now displayed at the Banpaku Museum Park in Osaka.
Yoh’s books “Ahoudori and myself” is well known as an around the world story. His recent books ”Inner sailing 1“,”Inner sailing 2” and “Inner sailing 3” are best selling in Japan and Korea as sailing text books.
Ahoudori’s story in Japanese is here.