World Auto Tour Starts In Yokohama, Japan

Marine Tower

On May 10th in Yokohama, Japan the List Sotheby’s International Realty office along with the management team at the Yokohama Marine Tower will host the 2014 World Auto Tour kick off on the tower plaza from 9:00 to 10:00am JST.

A special thanks to Jim Meader and Buddy Saupe from Today’s Sotheby’s International Realty in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Mid-Peninsula, a sponsor of the world tour, who is supplying the video and web capabilities that will keep the world informed on every step of the adventure. In addition I would like to thank Madoka Ito from the List Sotheby’s International Realty office in Yokohama for hosting this special kick off for our World Team.

We will of course be posting pics and video of the kickoff so check back on May 10th.

For more details please click on the Press Release tab on the web Home page

…Spirit of the “Flyer”

As a follow up to Eileen’s post on the Thomas Flyer’s shipping from Seattle I’ve attached a photo below showing the actual loading of the Flyer onto the ship……not exactly how it’s done today!

Another interesting point, unknown to me till recently, is that the Flyer arrived in Japan on May 10th. That happens to be the date we depart from Yokohama to begin our trip across Japan,

Loading the Flyer in Seattle  for shipping to Japan...1908

Loading the Flyer in Seattle for shipping to Japan…1908

following the original 1908 Great Race route to Paris. Pretty cool coincidence since this was completely unplanned on our part. This is a great beginning omen ….maybe the spirit of the Flyer is with us!!

Thomas Flyer Sails from Seattle in 1908

Hello everyone! I’m Eileen Bjorkman, the fourth World Team member. Today, April 21, is the anniversary of the day that the Thomas Flyer and its American crew set sail from Seattle to Japan on a steamer named Shawmut.

Here’s an aerial view of what Seattle looked like in 1908:

 

Birdseye_view_of_Seattle_1908

Seattle in 1908 (Courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

The American team had to sail to Japan because they weren’t able to get their Russian visas due to the lack of a Russian Consul in Seattle. They made the decision to sail on to Japan and sort things out when they got there. Fortunately, our modern team members have all the visas we should need already!

For the full New York Times article on the Flyer sailing, click here.

I’m leaving Seattle May 7th on an airliner to Tokyo, so my trip across the Pacific will be a lot faster. Once in Tokyo, I’ll make my way about 30 miles south to the port in Yokohama, where I’ll connect with my teammates who will be flying in from San Francisco.

I’m looking forward to blogging  my way across the race route! Please feel free to respond to my posts with comments or requests for more information.

For more information about me, you can visit my website at http://www.eileenbjorkman.com