Kenichi Horie, Sails The Pacific Ocean Solo, And He's 83!

Hi, I’m Rick Barron, your host, and welcome to That’s Life, I Swear

A few episodes back I spoke about Jose Andres.  Many of my followers liked the story about Jose, a Spanish chef, and founder of the World Central Kitchen, a non-profit organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. 

My followers were intrigued how he and his team faced the horrors of the Ukraine war to bring food to the hungry. I was asked if I could share other stories about people who have met similar hurdles, challenges, and in the end, proved what the human spirit can do. Challenge excepted.

Let’s jumped in this.

While conducting my research to find another inspiring individual, much to my surprise, the answer came to me in the morning paper. Upon seeing the persons picture it jogged my memory that I had heard of them before. His name is Kenichi Horie If there was an individual that demonstrates inspiration and an iron will to look at a challenge without blinking, he was it.  

On June 4, 2022, Kenichi Horie, became the oldest person to cross the Pacific Ocean solo. He sailed his vessel, named the Mermaid III, arriving in Japan 69 days after leaving a San Francisco yacht harbor. The vessel is a 2,182 pounds and 19 feet long made out of pale aluminum, customized to fit his build. He had to deal with a storm, but the weather gradually improved, and he reached Hawaii in mid-April ahead of schedule. This was a trip that was approximately 5200 miles one way.

Before he set off, Kenichi said his only fear about sailing solo non-stop across the Pacific Ocean was his age. That was his only fear?

At night, Kenichi would often pass the time by looking up at the sky thick, see millions of stars, which may have looked like someone had spilled sugar across a black canvas. What else would one do when you in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?

During his voyage, he maintained daily communications via a satellite phone with support staff, sharing weather conditions, update on his food supplies, and other.

Did I mention he’s 83 and that his trip across the Pacific wasn’t his first rodeo?

To look at Kenichi, he looks unassuming, but beneath that exterior is an individual with a determine drive, high ambition, and an unwavering attitude to take his dreams and turn them into reality.  

Apparently, Kenichi had sailed the Pacific Ocean before, again solo, back in 1962 when he was a young 23-year-old. Only this time he sailed from Japan to San Francisco.

The name of his 19-foot black plywood sloop boat was the Mermaid. During his journey his food substance consisted of rice and canned food. Kenichi had the confidence that he would make it. For him he just wanted to take on the challenge. Well, if you were going to pick a challenge, it might as well be the Pacific Ocean.  He sometimes felt anxious during the storms at sea as he only had a radio onboard and there was no GPS back then.

Kenichi sailed through San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge unannounced in 1962, which took 94 days. Unfortunately, his journey didn’t end too well but would have a happy ending. 

Kenichi entered the United States without money and more importantly, no passport. Even worse, he had left Japan not having any form of official clearance before setting sail. 

Guess when you young and full of ambition, why worry about technicalities.

No sooner did he land that he immediately was arrested. Fortunately, he was released by the then mayor of San Francisco, George Christopher, who later awarded him a key to the city for his bravery and a 30-day visa.

Perhaps the mayor gave Kenichi some slack due to his rebellious youth, and the guts to have made such a trip by himself.

Now, I’ve sailed a few times, with a crew and enjoyed being out in water. I remember having the opportunity to sail in Sydney Harbor, Australia, with other boats. While my nautical experience is very limited, I respect what it takes to master the skills of guiding a sail boat, in a harbor at least. Sailing a boat in the Pacific Ocean, well, that’s a whole other story.

From the age of 23 to 83, Kenichi accomplished two challenges that many, including me, could never fathom doing. In both trips he took a huge chance. Many expert yachtsmen have attempted similar feats, only to not finish or lose their life as a result. The ocean is not kind and leaves very little room for error.

In between Kenichi’s first Pacific Ocean trip in 1962 and his second in 2022, he’s kept busy polishing his nautical skills, with very challenging trips.

During the past sixty years, he’s completed several Pacific voyages, albeit in many unusual eco-minded vessels, including one powered by foot pedals and another made from recycled aluminum cans and propelled by dozens of solar panels. 

In 1999, he sailed from San Francisco to Japan in a catamaran built from welded-together beer kegs; for a 2002 trip back across the ocean, he swapped out the beer kegs for a hull made of whiskey barrels. Perhaps he thought changing from beer kegs to whisky barrels would provide him better mileage.

As if that wasn’t enough to prove his skills as a yachtsman, he also completed three circumnavigations of the Earth, including a nonstop westbound solo voyage between 1973 and 1974. I would think doing all that, a trip across the Pacific Ocean must’ve looked like a piece of cake.

There is no ‘do it the easy way’ in Kenichi’s demeanor. 

He wrote a book titled, Koduko: Sailing across the Pacific, published in 1964.

There is a paragraph in the book that defines, why at the young age of 23, Kenichi, defined why his visions weren’t pipe dreams. Let me provide that paragraph for you, and I quote:

If you make up your mind to do something--if you are determined to do it--there is only one way to go about it. Work out your own ideas on the general course you are going to follow and stick to them; stand on those basic ideas and assume responsibility for your actions. You yourself have to work out what you think is the best plan and carry it out to the end. You may make mistakes, there may be details in your plan that could have been improved upon by relying on someone else's advice but basically it has to be your personal responsibility to conceive and carry out the project.

End quote

What can we learn from this story? What’s the take away

Kenichi said it best at a news conference when upon completing his voyage from San Francisco to Japan, he said "It was my great joy to have been able to make a challenge as a real goal and safely achieve it, instead of just holding onto it as a dream.

Think we can all take a life lesson from what Kenichi said. We all have dreams but we have to be willing and wanting to challenge those fears that prevent us from making them happen.

You see, everything we want is on the other side of fear. For Kenichi, there are no limits, nor should there be. He wants to be a challenger as long as he can and keep sailing until he's 100.

I have no doubt Kenichi will do just that. Hope he remembers to have his passport and spending money on his next trip.

Well, there you go. That’s life, I swear.

For further information regarding the material covered in this episode, I invite you to visit my website that you can find on either Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, for show notes calling out key pieces of content mentioned, and the episode transcript.

As always, I thank you for listening. 

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