Jan 25 (NHK) - Japanese sea adventurer Horie Kenichi has taken a step toward his goal of becoming the oldest person ever to sail solo and nonstop across the Pacific.
The 83-year-old yachtsman is known as the first person to make a nonstop, solo crossing of the Pacific 60 years ago. His new expedition will start in late March.
Horie on Monday sent the yacht he will use to San Francisco, his point of departure. The 5.8-meter-long sailboat was moved from the western Japanese city of Nishinomiya on a trailer-truck to a nearby port for shipment by sea.
Horie plans to leave for San Francisco on March 15 and set sail for Japan on March 26 local time. He expects his expedition will take about three months.
He says he sent out his yacht about three weeks earlier than planned out of concern for possible logistic delays in the United States.
Horie says he is getting ready and he feels excited as his sailing date nears.
