‘Japan’s most famous yachtsman’: 83-year-old attempts solo Pacific crossing

Kenichi Horie became the first person to make a non-stop solo crossing of the Pacific in 1962 and has made multiple crossings

An 83-year old man is set to sail from San Francisco on Saturday and voyage alone across the Pacific Ocean to his home country, Japan.

Kenichi Horie, also known as Japan's most famous yachtsman", became the first person to make a non-stop solo crossing of the Pacific in 1962. On that trip, he was still a 23-year old amateur seaman. Horie set off from Osaka and sailed across the ocean for 94 days, surviving on canned food and rice before arriving in San Francisco.