Japanese Voyager Defies Age With Tremendous Journey Across Ocean
Kenichi Horie, 83, finished his journey across the Pacific Ocean on Saturday. (Photo: Associated Press)
Age wasn’t an obstacle for an 83-year-old Japanese oceangoer. In fact, he wants to keep sailing until he’s 100.
Kenichi Horie, a yachtsman and the first man to sail solo across the Pacific Ocean, completed a two-month-plus trek across Pacific again on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
Horie, who sailed nonstop across the Pacific Ocean about 60 years ago, started his journey in San Francisco on March 27 and ended it in Japan.
His most recent journey makes him the oldest person ever to complete a solo, nonstop trek across the world’s largest ocean, according to The Associated Press.
Horie, in an interview with CNN, encouraged people to not let their dreams “stay as dreams.”
“Have a goal and work towards achieving this, and a beautiful life awaits,” he said.
Kenichi Horie waves from his boat in Osaka Bay, Japan. (Photo: Associated Press)
His journey across the sea was met with challenges, including a storm soon after the start of his voyage and a “pushback from a strong tide,” AP reported.
He packed medicine but used only eye drops and bandages.
“I’m still in the middle of my youth,” he said.
Kenichi Horie returned to his home country of Japan and was honored during a celebration in Nishinomiya on Sunday. (Photo: Associated Press)
Horie’s 1962 journey inspired the Japanese adventure movie “Alone Across the Pacific” in 1963.
He has also circumnavigated the globe from north to south as well as from east to west, used a solar-powered vessel to cross the Pacific Ocean in 1996 and traveled from Hawaii to Japan with a wave-powered boat in 2008.
“I want to be a challenger as long as I live,” Horie said.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
