Crossed the Pacific Ocean Alone: ​​The Amazing Story of an 83-Year-Old Sailor

An 83-year-old sailor has become the oldest person to cross the Pacific Ocean alone, arriving in Japan 69 days after leaving the San Francisco yacht harbor. S.F.Chronicle.

Photo: Shutterstock

According to media reports, Kenichi Horie entered the Kii Strait on June 4 on his 19-foot aluminum sailboat Suntory Mermaid III.

This was not Horie's first crossing on his own.

He crossed the Pacific alone several times, the first time in 1962 at the age of 23. He was then an amateur sailor, piloting a small plywood sloop from Osaka to San Francisco, eating canned food and rice for 94 days. This made Horie a national hero in Japan and cemented his status as one of the most famous sailors in the world.

“Even in the States, boaters are inspired by his story,” Morgan Smith, manager of interpretation, education and volunteers at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, said before his departure in March. “He took a lot of risks as a young man alone in the ocean.”

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As the story goes, Horie traveled without a passport or currency and was immediately arrested upon his arrival in San Francisco and later released by Mayor George Christopher, who later rewarded him with the key to the city for his bravery.

Before leaving the Bay Area in March, Horie met with fans, signed books and posed for photographs near the boat he sailed on in 1962, the Mermaid, in the museum's foyer.

“When I first came here 60 years ago, I never imagined that I would return here 60 years later,” Horie told a gathering of about 100 people through an interpreter.

As to why he travels around San Francisco so often, he said: "Of course there are other ports - Seattle, Los Angeles - but you guys have the most beautiful bridge in the whole world, so I would like to start From this".

Over the past six decades, Horie has made several voyages across the Pacific in a variety of unusual eco-friendly boats, including one with pedals and another made from recycled aluminum cans and powered by dozens of solar panels. In 1999, Hori sailed from San Francisco to Japan on a catamaran built from beer kegs welded together. During a trip across the ocean in 2002, he replaced beer kegs with whiskey barrel casings.

He made the trip on a light aluminum sailboat tailored to his height - 1,52 m. The thin man with silver-white hair said he was not physically prepared for long solo trips.

“I’m always fine, always in shape,” he said through a translator in March. “No overeating, no overdrinking.”

According to media reports, in recent days, Horie said that he fought against rebellious currents to get into the port. According to him, he arrived exhausted.

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Before leaving, he said that he had no particular concerns about the rafting.

“Nothing,” he said. “Maybe it’s just old age.”

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