Tokyo (CNN) – Crossing the world’s largest ocean once alone is enough for an achievement. But Kenichi Hori, an 83-year-old Japanese ocean adventurer, has done so many times.
On Saturday, June 4, He set a record by becoming the world’s oldest solo yachtman traveling non-stop in the Pacific Ocean.
After spending more than two months crossing the world’s largest reservoir, Hori arrived in the waters of the Key Peninsula in western Japan at 2:39 a.m. local time.
“Don’t let your dreams be just dreams. Set a goal and work to achieve it and a beautiful life awaits,” Hori told CNN by satellite phone as he was leaving Shikoku Island for Wakayama, in its final stages. The trip
He said some parts of the journey were challenging but he checks in with his family by calling on his satellite phone every day. “They would be worried if I didn’t call at least once a day,” he added.
Hori did not make any port calls during his voyage and was spotted on April 16 off the island of Ohio, Hawaii. It will reach Cape Hinomisaki in western Japan on June 4.
Sailors will attend the arrival ceremony in the city of Nishinomia in Hyogo Prefecture while the Santori Mermaid III will be taken to its home port, Shin Nishinomia Yacht Harbor.
‘Japan’s most famous yachtman’
“I was confident I would do it – I just wanted to face the challenge,” Hori said, adding that he sometimes felt restless during storms at sea because he only had a radio onboard and no GPS at the time.
Kenichi Hori rode Mermaid II in 1963.
Mitsunori Chigita / AP
Hori remembers happily offering compost and beer to the Americans who came with him to the Pacific Ocean.
Hori, 23 at the time, was welcomed by her parents and sister when she returned to Japan in 1963.
Hideyuki Mihashi / Associated Press
Low-fi, eco-seller
Hori has spent decades sharing the idea that the ocean is “an irreplaceable source of life for the earth” but said he does not recognize it as an environmental activist. “I’m just doing my job as a member of society,” he said.
Hori, who previously said he wanted to continue the journey until he was 100, never expected to travel alone, non-stop in the Pacific six decades after his first voyage.
“I did not think I would travel at the age of 83 but I am still healthy and I do not want to miss this opportunity,” he said. “The challenges are exciting so I want to keep trying.”
The plate, donated by Hori, immortalizes his request: “Remember for a moment, if you will, the work of a young Japanese man who loved yachts and the United States of America.”
