I had been searching for a yacht for several years to take on the challenge of ocean races overseas. However, yachts are expensive to begin with, and in recent years the yen has been historically weak, so even if I found a yacht that met my requirements, it was becoming increasingly difficult for me as an office worker to afford it. Furthermore, it was not easy to raise funds to purchase a yacht overseas.

After a long and persistent search, I met Jazz Player by chance and fell in love at first sight. From that moment on, all possibilities were opened up to me, and I was able to enter my dream race with her.

However, in order to meet the requirements to participate in this race, we expect to need an additional budget. Since we cannot borrow any more money, we have launched this website in the hope of finding sponsors who can support us.

Yachts sailing only with the power of the wind are also in line with global environmental themes. This race is planned to include a survey of "microplastics," which are problematic due to their leakage and spread into the ocean, and the participating yachts are expected to collect them during the approximately 10,000 km voyage.

This will also be the first time that a Japanese female owner and skipper has participated in the race.

My team seems to have many elements that overlap with themes that many companies are working on these days.

As a company employee, I have mainly worked in public relations and human resource development.

Currently, I work in the social contribution department, working on extending healthy life expectancy in preparation for the World Expo. In my private life, I work as a model, actor, and presenter, and also teach business education for athletes.

I intend to use my experience in public relations and the communication skills I have developed as a talent to come up with ways to be of use to the companies that support me.

Kayoko Nakano