Kenichi Horie, an 83-year-old Japanese adventurer, has set a new record as the oldest person to sail solo nonstop across the Pacific. The journey concluded in the early hours of a recent Saturday when the Suntory Mermaid III reached the Kii Strait, the waterway between Wakayama and Tokushima on Japan’s western coast. The tiny six-meter vessel, weighing about a ton, crossed the ocean from San Francisco in 69 days and 7 hours, covering around 8,500 kilometers. The passage relied on traditional navigation and seamanship, with no engine, no GPS plotting, and no radar, guided instead by classic charts, a mobile app, and careful skill at sea.
The Suntory Mermaid III carries two 20-square-foot sails and solar panels that keep the onboard electronics running. Horie designed the boat to minimize wind resistance, maximize maneuverability, and maintain a light, efficient profile. Communication with supporters on shore happened via satellite phone, and the vessel’s position was broadcast in real time through satellite, with a dedicated website allowing followers to track the voyage as it unfolded.
Plans for a press briefing followed the crossing, with a session set for a Sunday in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo prefecture. Horie lives nearby in Ashiya and has long been a trailblazer in long-distance solo sailing. Decades earlier, he became the first person to complete a Pacific crossing solo and without resupply, a milestone he pursued again with this attempt to become the oldest to do so. The route chosen for this voyage mirrored that historic path, though in the opposite direction. Sixty years ago, a 23-year-old Horie started from Nishinomiya’s west coast, dedicating nearly three months to reach the opposite shore.
Beyond the crossing itself, Horie has authored a successful book recounting the journey and continued chasing distant travel in following years. His first solo circumnavigation occurred in the early 1970s, and between 2004 and 2005 he attempted another nonstop solo circumnavigation. In 2008, he even sailed on a wave-powered vessel for almost 7,000 kilometers, from Hawaii to the Kii Strait.
Throughout the voyage, Horie expressed a strong wish to push his limits toward the age of 100, driven by a love of testing endurance and exploring human capacity at sea. This latest crossing stands as a testament to a life spent challenging conventional wisdom and embracing the risks that come with extreme solo sailing, a feat that resonates with sailors and explorers across North America who follow daring maritime achievements with admiration and a shared sense of awe.