Ken-Ichi Horie – The Wind-Up and the Pitch
Japanese sailing icon Ken-Ichi Horie is back in the news — or will be soon — with yet another weird new boat he intends to sail across the Pacific. Longtime readers will recall Horie as the first Japanese sailor to sail solo from his homeland to San Francisco in 1962 aboard a 19-ft plywood sloop named Mermaid. He was 23 then. He is now 66 and still going strong. In the 45 years since that first voyage, Horie has recrossed the Pacific many times in many different types of craft ranging from a 9-foot sailboat to peddle and solar-powered boats to a 32-ft catamaran whose hulls were made of aluminum beer kegs welded together — the latter a nod both to his interest in recycling and his longtime sponsor Suntory breweries.
on the front provides forward power when the boat pitches up and down.
Like an old time magician, Horie tries to top himself with each new project. Improbably, he continues to succeed. Proof positive is his latest boat, Suntory Mermaid II, which he hopes to voyage from Hawaii to Japan starting next summer. This 31-ft aluminum catamaran is powered by wave action — the pitching movement of the boat causes hydrofoils beneath the bows to generate thrust “like the tails of dolphins and whales”. The boat will also be fitted with an engine, mast and sails, but those will not be used in the crossing.
We’ll have more on the boat, the technology and Horie-San himself in future editions of ‘Lectronic Latitude and Latitude 38. In the meantime, check out this website for more on the boat and a layman’s summary of the technology: www.tsuneishi.co.jp/english/horie/index.html.