NISHINOMIYA, Japan – Adventurer Kenichi Horie sailed into Shin Nishinomiya Yacht Harbor on Tuesday, completing a 250-day solo nonstop voyage around the globe.
The 66-year-old sailor reached Osaka Bay on Monday evening and was expected to finish his eastbound voyage on Tuesday morning, but due to a lull in winds, he had to wait before his final push to the shore.
Horie, who in 1962 became the first yachtsman to complete a transpacific solo voyage, began his recent expedition from the yacht harbor on Oct. 1. It took 250 days to finish the 31,000-mile journey.
He completed a westbound around-the globe trip in 1974 and is the second man to complete both the eastbound and westbound voyages alone.
In the early stages of the Pacific Ocean leg of the voyage, he was caught in four storms and forced to change course, causing a two-week delay.
He rounded Cape Horn, the southernmost point of South America, on Jan. 11. After reaching seas off Tasmania on April 14, Horie sailed north for Japan.
Minoru Saito, a 71-year-old yachtsman, also finished his solo nonstop around-the-world journey on Monday evening, arriving at a harbor in Miura at about 8 p.m.
Saito is the oldest person to complete an around-the-world voyage.
He left the harbor on Oct. 16. He said: “I failed to complete the voyage within 180 days. It took 50 more.”
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