The story of Kojiro Shiraishi, the only Asian sailor competing in the Vendée Globe, has its place among the great legends of ancestral Japan.
In the history of the Vendée Globe, there is only one Japanese sailor. Aged 57, Kojiro Shiraishi is even participating in the round-the-world race for the third time. The youngest sailor to complete a solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world, at the age of 26 (a journey of 176 days), Kojiro Shiraishi is a true exception in a country which does not have the culture of offshore sailing. .
Yukoh Tada, such a Je'daii maitre
From his earliest childhood, Kojiro Shiraishi had a thirst for adventure and dreamed of setting sail. Trained in the trades of the merchant navy and fishing, his life will change when he meets the man who will become his spiritual master: a taxi driver named Yukoh Tada, winner of the first BOC Challenge (solo trip around the world). in stages for monohulls) at the beginning of the 1980s. For 6 years, Kojiro Shiraishi worked for free for the legendary sailor, in exchange for a roof, food, and above all, an apprenticeship in sport sailing.
Unfortunately, on March 8, 1991, Yukoh Tada committed suicide while in Sydney, depressed. Shiraishi then brings his master's boat back to Tokyo, renames it Spirit fo Yukoh and sails around the world in homage to the one who taught him everything.
After several major races as teammates or alone (aboard Spirit of Yukoh 2, then Spirit of Yukoh 3), with convincing results (in 2008, he was a trimmer aboard Lionel Lemonchois' Gitane 13 catamaran, which broke the record crossing the North Pacific), is getting closer to one of his ultimate dreams: participating in the Vendée Globe.
“It’s the only race that makes me stronger, that makes me want to surpass myself.”
A race from which Yukoh Tada had to give up in 1989, due to lack of resources. On November 6, 2016, he became the first Asian sailor to start the legendary race, aboard Spirit of Yukho IV. Unfortunately, less than a month later (December 4), it broke its mast off the Cape of Good Hope and was forced to abandon it.
It takes a lot more to discourage him. “I want to finish what I started, now I want to be the first to finish it,” explains the Japanese sailor. “It’s the only race that makes me stronger, that makes me want to surpass myself”.
This time, he found a major sponsor and his boat will no longer be called Spirit of Yukon, but DMG Mori Global One, after the name of his sponsor. Despite significant damage (which he managed to repair this time), he finished 16th. And very quickly, announced that he would be at the start of the next edition. Still on the same boat, but optimized, for more ambitions.
At the same time, Kojiro Shiraishi and his sponsor work for the development of offshore racing and the training of Japanese sailors, through the DMG Mori Sailing Academy. A few days before the departure, Kojiro Shiraishi spoke about his inspirations on the official Vendée Globe website. “My master, Yukoh Tada is the sailor who inspires me the most. A was a simple taxi driver who competed in sailing races, who also won a race around the world, without speaking English, he's a bit like me. He was an artist, a person with a lot of crazy ideas. He had incredible energy and that’s what inspires me the most.”
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