Europe 1 with AFP 3:11 p.m., June 04, 2022
An 83-year-old Japanese sailor arrived in his country on Saturday after a solo, non-stop crossing of the Pacific, becoming the oldest person to achieve the feat, according to the organizers of the journey.
He had already crossed this ocean in 1962, breaking the law of the time.
This is enough to reaffirm a little more respect for the elders, which is deeply rooted in Japanese culture.
Kenichi Horie, an 83-year-old sailor, arrived in Japan on Saturday after crossing the Pacific solo and without stopping.
According to the organizers of the journey, he became the oldest person to achieve this feat.
The octogenarian traveled for more than two months aboard the Suntory Mermaid III and began his adventure in a marina in San Francisco on March 27.
"I'm about to cross the finish line," Horie wrote on his blog on Friday after a three-day battle against crosscurrents.
"I'm exhausted," he said.
Already several journeys to his credit
This is the latest feat of this Japanese who, in 1962, had crossed the Pacific at the age of 23, then breaking Japanese law which prohibited sailors from leaving the country.
He had thus entered the United States illegally.
60 years ago, "I was constantly anxious and stressed about getting caught," he wrote in April.
"But this time it's different, I've been sent by many people and I have their support through tracking systems and wireless radio."
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Kenichi Horie accomplished other feats at sea, notably completing in 1993 a 7,500 km journey aboard a pedal boat, as well as a crossing of the Pacific aboard a boat partly made of recycled material and whose propulsion had relied on the driving force of the waves.