TOKYO — An 83-year-old Japanese adventurer has returned home after successfully completing a solo, nonstop voyage across the Pacific Ocean, becoming the oldest person to reach the milestone.
Kenichi Horie arrived in the Kii Strait off Japan’s western coast, completing his trans-Pacific voyage in 69 days after leaving a yacht harbor in San Francisco in March.
“I just crossed the finish line. I’m tired,” he wrote in his blog after reaching Japan.
His achievement came after three days of struggle with pushback from a strong tide.
Horie also has achieved a number of other long-distance solo voyages, including sailing around the world in 1974. His latest expedition was the first since his 2008 solo non-stop voyage on a wave-powered boat from Hawaii to the Kii Strait.
