Japanese seaman crashes over Tsunami

Defiant Japanese boat captain rode out tsunami

When the tsunami came, everyone ran to the hills. But Sugawara ran to his boat and steered it into deeper waters. "I knew if I didn't save my boat, my island would be isolated and in trouble," he tells CNN.
As he passed his other boats, used for fishing abalone, he said goodbye to them, apologizing that he could not save them all.
Then the first wave came. Sugawara says he is used to seeing waves up to 5 meters high but this was four-times that size.
"My feeling at this moment is indescribable," he says with glistening eyes. "I talked to my boat and said you've been with me 42 years. If we live or die, then we'll be together, then I pushed on full throttle."
"Here was my boat and here was the wave," he says, holding one hand low and the other stretched high above his head. "I climbed the wave like a mountain. When I thought I had got to the top, the wave got even bigger."
Sugawara's arms flail wildly as he describes the top of the wave crashing down repeatedly onto his boat. "I closed my eyes and felt dizzy. When I opened them, I could see the horizon again, so I knew I'd made it."

The boat captain's story

Epic story! Courage feels good.

Come on guys! Does nobody care about the seaman?

Very good story. He's was either brave or crazy.
I couldn't imagine deciding to plunge into the tsunami to save himself.
The fact that he survived to tell his story is amazing.

I guess he got his wish, he survived so that he could later help his family and neighbors.
A life well lived.

Originally posted by Jepic
Come on guys! Does nobody care about the seaman?

.
The only seaman that no one should care about is the one that formed you.



To the OP this is a great story and well worth the read I loved how this guy is the sole lifeline to the island.

reply to post by Subjective Truth


He and the OP are one and the same! Thanks for the comment.

reply to post by shadow watcher


Yea! A nice story. Thanks for the comment.

reply to post by Jepic
Tsunamis are more survivable in deeper waters, apparently he knew that. I suspect more boats could have been saved had they headed to deeper waters.

The 2004 Tsunami that killed a quarter million people wasn't that bad in deep water, it only gets bad in shallower water.

So the biggest question this story raises was, why didn't more boats head into deeper water? Did the other boat captains not know that was a safer place to be?

reply to post by Arbitrageur


You are right. This man is wise and courageous.

Reply to post by Jepic

He must possess the triforce of courage, I suppose in a situation like that, I would have tried too, or rode the wave into town. I wish there was more stories like this coming from Nihon.


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