CNN posted a beautiful story today about a Japanese fisherman who decided to ride out the tsumani that hit Japan. When the tsumani came, Susumu Sugawara took his boat "Sunflower" to ride out the wave.
"I knew if I didn't save my boat, my island would be isolated and in trouble," he tells CNN.
He said that he rode out four or five huge waves before the sea became calm and he knew he had passed the tsumani. He then pumped the water out of his boat and returned to his island to search for his family.
The article reports:
"For twenty days, he has been making hourly trips to the mainland. For the first two weeks at least he provided almost the only connection with it. Without Sugawara and the Sunflower, the island would have been completely cut off.
"He doesn't ask passengers for money if they have none. Those that can, pay just 300 yen (US$3.5) towards fuel.
"Oshima is an island of just 3,500 people. Locals say 35 of them are confirmed dead and some are still missing, though they don't know how many. Others are believed to have taken their boats out to sea and tried to ride the tsunami like Sugawara but didn't make it."
The people on the island have worked together to get food and to help each other recover from the tsumani. Mr. Sugawara not only risked his life to save his island, he continues to help the recovery effort every day.
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