Kenichi Horie
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese solo yachtsman
. Horie first rose to prominence when he became the first person to sail solo across the Pacific Ocean in 1962. He has made other significant solo voyages, usually involving boats exhibiting some sort of environmentally friendly theme, including his 2008 voyage across the Western Pacific Ocean
in a wave-powered boat.
. Leaving Nishinomiya Japan
on May 12, in 94 days (on August 11) he arrived in San Francisco, California
, U.S.A. aboard a 19 feet (5.8 m) sailboat
called the Mermaid. He arrived with no passport or money and was promptly arrested. Despite Horie’s best effort to legally depart from Japan, because of lack of precedent for an international travel on a small sailboat, he was not able to obtain a passport, and adequate amount of foreign currency. After learning of his voyage the mayor freed him and gave him a 30 day visa and was awarded the key to the city.
(Kodoku), which was made into a movie Alone Across the Pacific (also titled My Enemy, The Sea) in 1963 by Kon Ichikawa
. The movie was nominated for a Golden Globe award. The Mermaid is on display at the San Francisco Maritime Museum since her historic voyage.
In 1974, he circumnavigated
from east to west, and in 1978 he circumnavigated from north to south.
In 1985, he sailed a solar boat
from Hawaii
to Chichijima.
In 1992, to 1993 he sailed from Hawaii to Okinawa in a pedal powered boat.
In 1996, Horie sailed from Salinas, Ecuador
to Tokyo
in a solar boat made of recycled aluminum. This crossing covered 10000 miles (16,093.4 km) in 148 days which earned the Guinness World Record for the fastest ever crossing of the Pacific in a solar-powered boat.
In 1999, he sailed from San Francisco to Japan aboard a boat made primarily from recycled materials. The boat, Malt's Mermaid II, designed by Kennosuke Hayashi, was a 32.8 feet (10 m) long, 17.4 feet (5.3 m) wide, catamaran
constructed from 528 beer kegs
welded end-to-end in 5 rows (Horie joked that 500 of them were empty) The rigging consisted of two side-by-side masts with junk rig
sails made from recycled plastic bottles. This boat is on display in Okura Beach, Akashi
.
In 2002, Horie sailed from Nishinomiya to San Francisco aboard the Mermaid III, which was a replica of the original Mermaid constructed from a variety of recycled materials, including whiskey barrels for the hull, aluminum cans for the mast and plastic soda bottles for the sails.
in western Japan aboad the 9.5 meter, 3 tonne catamaran Suntory Mermaid II
, built at Tsuneishi Shipyard (常石造船)
. The voyage was the first in a vessel propelled on ocean wave power
alone http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Japanese_eco_adventurer_out_to_ride_12042007.html.
Horie took more than three months to sail from Hawaii to Japan in his wave powered boat, arriving in Japan on July 4, 2008, but said he was blessed with good weather and tasty fish. YachtPal and venerable sailing adventurer Horie ate mostly rice and curry, squid and flying fish he caught.
Kenichi left Honolulu March 16, 2008, and completed the 110-day solo voyage
at the port of Wakayama in the channel between Honshu
and Shikoku
islands before midnight (1500 GMT) Friday, July 4, 2008. He covered the 7,000 kilometres (3,780 nautical miles) from Hawaii
without a port
call. His yacht
used wave energy to move 2 fins at its bow and propel it forward, and sailed at an average speed of 1.5 knots. His final home harbour is in the port of Nishinomiya. As an environmentalist
, he promotes the use of environmentally friendly boats including those powered by solar battery
, are made from recycled materials, etc. He is quoted as saying: "Throughout history, mankind has used wind for power, but no one has appeared to be serious about wave power. I think I'm a lucky boy as this wave power system has remained virtually untouched."
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese solo yachtsman
Yachting
Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...
. Horie first rose to prominence when he became the first person to sail solo across the Pacific Ocean in 1962. He has made other significant solo voyages, usually involving boats exhibiting some sort of environmentally friendly theme, including his 2008 voyage across the Western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
in a wave-powered boat.
First Solo Voyage Across the Pacific
In 1962, at the age of 23, Horie became the first person to make a solo crossing of the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. Leaving Nishinomiya Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on May 12, in 94 days (on August 11) he arrived in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, U.S.A. aboard a 19 feet (5.8 m) sailboat
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
called the Mermaid. He arrived with no passport or money and was promptly arrested. Despite Horie’s best effort to legally depart from Japan, because of lack of precedent for an international travel on a small sailboat, he was not able to obtain a passport, and adequate amount of foreign currency. After learning of his voyage the mayor freed him and gave him a 30 day visa and was awarded the key to the city.
Book and article
Horie wrote a book about his voyage, titled Alone on the PacificAlone on the Pacific
is a 1963 color Japanese adventure film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival.The film is based on the book and 1962 first solo voyage across the Pacific by Kenichi Horie.-Cast:* Yujiro Ishihara - The Youth...
(Kodoku), which was made into a movie Alone Across the Pacific (also titled My Enemy, The Sea) in 1963 by Kon Ichikawa
Kon Ichikawa
was a Japanese film director.-Early life and career:Ichikawa was born in Ise, Mie Prefecture. In the 1930s Ichikawa attended a technical school in Osaka. Upon graduation, in 1933, he found a job with a local rental film studio, J.O. Studio, in their animation department...
. The movie was nominated for a Golden Globe award. The Mermaid is on display at the San Francisco Maritime Museum since her historic voyage.
Voyages
Horie has made numerous solo voyages:In 1974, he circumnavigated
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
from east to west, and in 1978 he circumnavigated from north to south.
In 1985, he sailed a solar boat
Electric boat
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion...
from Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
to Chichijima.
In 1992, to 1993 he sailed from Hawaii to Okinawa in a pedal powered boat.
In 1996, Horie sailed from Salinas, Ecuador
Salinas, Ecuador
Salinas is a coastal city located in the Province of Santa Elena, Ecuador. It is the seat of the canton that bears its name. The westernmost city on mainland Ecuador, Salinas is an important tourist center. Recently, Salinas was the center of controversy during the contentious "more fun, less sun,"...
to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in a solar boat made of recycled aluminum. This crossing covered 10000 miles (16,093.4 km) in 148 days which earned the Guinness World Record for the fastest ever crossing of the Pacific in a solar-powered boat.
In 1999, he sailed from San Francisco to Japan aboard a boat made primarily from recycled materials. The boat, Malt's Mermaid II, designed by Kennosuke Hayashi, was a 32.8 feet (10 m) long, 17.4 feet (5.3 m) wide, catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
constructed from 528 beer kegs
Keg
A keg is a small barrel.Traditionally, a wooden keg is made by a cooper used to transport items such as nails, gunpowder., and a variety of liquids....
welded end-to-end in 5 rows (Horie joked that 500 of them were empty) The rigging consisted of two side-by-side masts with junk rig
Junk Rig
The Junk rig, also known as the Chinese lugsail and Sampan rig, is a type of sail rig in which rigid members, called battens, span the full width of the sail and extend the sail forward of the mast....
sails made from recycled plastic bottles. This boat is on display in Okura Beach, Akashi
Akashi
-People:*Akashi Ken*Akashi Momoka*Akashi Morishige*Akashi Motojiro*Akashi Shiganosuke*Akashi Yasushi-Places:*Akashi, Hyōgo*Akashi Station - Japanese railroad station on the Sanyō Main Line*Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge*Akashi Castle*Akashi Domain-Other:...
.
In 2002, Horie sailed from Nishinomiya to San Francisco aboard the Mermaid III, which was a replica of the original Mermaid constructed from a variety of recycled materials, including whiskey barrels for the hull, aluminum cans for the mast and plastic soda bottles for the sails.
First Ocean Wave Powered Voyage
In 2008, Horie travelled solo from Hawaii to the Kii PeninsulaKii Peninsula
The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. The area south of the “Central Tectonic Line” is called Nankii , and includes the most poleward living coral reefs in the world due to the presence of the warm Kuroshio Current, though these are threatened by global warming and human...
in western Japan aboad the 9.5 meter, 3 tonne catamaran Suntory Mermaid II
Suntory Mermaid II
The Suntory Mermaid II is a 9.5-metre, 3-tonne catamaran driven by wave power. It features two fin tails which absorb wave energy and generate thrust by moving up and down with the motion of the boat...
, built at Tsuneishi Shipyard (常石造船)
. The voyage was the first in a vessel propelled on ocean wave power
Wave power
Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the capture of that energy to do useful work — for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water...
alone http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Japanese_eco_adventurer_out_to_ride_12042007.html.
Horie took more than three months to sail from Hawaii to Japan in his wave powered boat, arriving in Japan on July 4, 2008, but said he was blessed with good weather and tasty fish. YachtPal and venerable sailing adventurer Horie ate mostly rice and curry, squid and flying fish he caught.
Kenichi left Honolulu March 16, 2008, and completed the 110-day solo voyage
Voyage
- In music: :* Voyage * Voyage * Voyage , by In Fear and Faith* Voyage , by Ayumi Hamasaki* Voyage , a disco music group** Voyage, an album by the eponymous band...
at the port of Wakayama in the channel between Honshu
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
and Shikoku
Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
islands before midnight (1500 GMT) Friday, July 4, 2008. He covered the 7,000 kilometres (3,780 nautical miles) from Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
without a port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
call. His yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
used wave energy to move 2 fins at its bow and propel it forward, and sailed at an average speed of 1.5 knots. His final home harbour is in the port of Nishinomiya. As an environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
, he promotes the use of environmentally friendly boats including those powered by solar battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
, are made from recycled materials, etc. He is quoted as saying: "Throughout history, mankind has used wind for power, but no one has appeared to be serious about wave power. I think I'm a lucky boy as this wave power system has remained virtually untouched."