Photo/Illutration Kenichi Horie hoists Japan’s national flag aboard his Suntory Mermaid III in San Francisco on March 26. (Daisuke Nakai)

SAN FRANCISCO--Adventurer Kenichi Horie set out from here March 26 to become the oldest person to complete a solo nonstop voyage across the Pacific Ocean to reach Japan in a yacht.

The journey is expected to take the 83-year-old two and a half months.

“I am excited because I am blessed with health and an opportunity like this one,” Horie said prior to departure.

In 1962, Horie became the youngest person to complete a solo voyage in a small yacht, Mermaid, from Nishinomiya Port in Hyogo Prefecture to San Francisco, attracting attention both in Japan and the United States.

His book on the trip, “Taiheiyo Hitoribocchi” (Alone Across the Pacific), became a best-seller.

He also completed a nonstop westbound solo voyage around the world between 1973 and 1974.

Horie, who is from Ashiya in Hyogo Prefecture, decided to head to Japan from the United States for his latest project as this year marks the 60th anniversary of his first solo voyage across the Pacific.

“I am hoping to become the oldest person to set a record matching the one I did as the youngest,” he said.

In his spare hours when he is not maneuvering the yacht, Horie said he plans to read books and listen to the radio.

“The greatest pleasure of sailing is you can feel a sense that your yacht is traveling to your destination at its fastest pace,” he said.

His vessel for this voyage is a new yacht, Suntory Mermaid III, which measures 19 feet (about 5.8 meters) from bow to stern and is the same size as Mermaid.

“I am comfortable and I feel reassured as it has the highest level of completeness of all the yachts I have ever been aboard,” he said of the craft.

The exact location of his yacht during this trip can be tracked at (https://www.furuno.com/special/jp/horie-challenge/).

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