Solitary sailor, Kenichi Horie has taken on the challenge of many adventures using wind, solar, and human power. Now, he’s completed a new adventure using wave power. The Tsuneishi Forestry Construction Company completed construction of the world’s first wave-powered boat, the “SUNTORY Mermaid II” (hull length: 9.5 meters, Maximum width: 3.5 meters, Hull weight: 3 tons), in June 2007. The boat was towed to its mother port of Shin Nishinomiya Yacht Harbor from Tsuneishi. On March 16th, 2008, the Suntory Mermaid II set sail from the Hawaii Yacht Club (Honolulu). Over 110 days, it successfully sailed about 7,000 km to the Kii Channel (between Gamouda cape in Tokushima and Hinomisaki Cape in Wakayama).

"Because the mountain is there…." There is no logical reason for mountaineers to conquer peaks around the globe. For myself, the ocean has been the arena for challenging myself since I first crossed the Pacific in my yacht Mermaid, 45 years ago. Completing one challenge, another appears, as surely as morning follows night. My life consists of endless trials. Kenichi Horie