KENICHI HORIE 'I WANT TO CROSS THE PACIFIC AT 100'

His age-defying achievements are the stuff of legend, says Nic Compton, but how did this gentle, unassuming man fulfil such huge sailing ambitions?

- Nic Compton

This sounds like one of those puzzles that do the rounds on social media: Kenichi Horie held the record for being both the youngest and the oldest person to sail across the Pacific single-handed and non-stop. How is that possible? And, no, the answer isn’t that he’s the only person to have done it. The correct answer is that he first sailed across the Pacific (solo and non-stop) in 1962 at the age of 23, becoming the first (and therefore the youngest) person to do so. He then did it again in 2022 at the age of 83, becoming the oldest person to do so. To hold both records is an extraordinary achievement – and probably a record in itself.

But that’s not all. In between those two landmark voyages, Horie has sailed around the world three times (westabout, eastabout and vertically) and has crossed the Pacific a further seven times. Along the way, he has set a variety of other records, including the longest journey by pedalboat, the smallest boat to sail across the Pacific, and the fastest crossing of the Pacific by a solar-powered boat. He has also become a household name in Japan and acquired a towering name among sailing folk the world over. His latest record earned him the prestigious Blue Medal Award from the Cruising Club of America – a special prize for a man who has spent much of his life sailing between Japan and the USA.

AMBITIOUS BEGINNINGS