14-Year-Old Sailor Arrives From Japan

A 14-year-old Japanese boy who was feared lost at sea on a solo voyage across the Pacific Ocean sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge Friday to finish a 49-day, 6,000-mile trip.

Subaru Takahashi had not been heard from since Aug. 16 and was all but given up for dead by the media in Japan.

Just outside San Francisco Bay, he waved his hands and got the attention of a Canadian man on a small sailboat, who radioed the U.S. Coast Guard. They escorted him to a yacht club, where he was greeted by his parents, a swarm of Japanese reporters and enough champagne for everybody.

He had last been heard from when he gave his location 2,790 miles west of San Francisco. His parents had not given up hope, though, because he was not due to arrive until today, 50 days after his departure.