Tokyo Institute of Technology: Sailing team alumni fourth at 2021 Tasar Japan championships

Ryuichi Kitajima, a 1st-year master’s student in Information and Communications Engineering, and Tatsuhiko Ido, an alumnus of the Department of Mathematics, have placed fourth in the 2021 Tasar Japan championships, held on October 23 and 24 at Lake Hamanako in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The wind conditions ranged from light to strong throughout the weekend, putting the 22 boats participating in the event to the ultimate test. The light wind conditions on the second day did not favor the relatively heavy Kitajima-Ido pair, who dropped one position towards the end of the race but managed to finish in fourth place overall.

Both Kitajima and Ido are alumni of the Tokyo Tech Sailing Team, and were key members of the group that earned Tokyo Tech fourth place in the Snipe category of the All Japan Intercollegiate Sailing Championships just over one year ago. This remains the best result achieved by the Tokyo Tech Sailing Team since its founding. This year, after retiring from the team, Kitajima and Ido worked hard on their research activities in their respective fields, but they still tried to make time to go sailing and prepare for the 2021 Tasar competition.

The Tasar-class boat used in this race is approximately one third the weight of the Snipe-class boat, which Kitajima and Ido sailed during their time in the Tokyo Tech team. The former may be faster, but it is also more difficult to control. Many of the competitors in the Tasar class are experienced sailors and professionals, so a single mistake in technique or strategy can result in a significant loss of position. The Tasar World Championships, held each year, are testament to the popularity of the boat among all ages around the globe.

Comments from Kitajima-Ido pair
Despite retiring from the Sailing Team last academic year, we are very pleased that we have been able to continue competing, and that we won this prize, which was one of our goals. We didn’t have very much time to practice due to time spent on research activities, but we still did it. While many people leave the team after four years of university, we will continue our activities in the hopes that this will inspire as many people as possible to continue sailing even after they leave the team.

We believe that we have acquired an ability to persevere through sailing, and this will surely be useful in our research activities. We will do our best to make the remainder of our student life productive and meaningful.