Wave-Powered Boat Crosses the Pacific

You’ve heard of solar power and wind power. But have you heard of wave power?
Japanese sailor Kenichi Horie sure has – he just sailed across the Pacific in a boat powered solely by ocean waves.

Horie, already famous for being the first person to sail across the Pacific back in 1962, took the environmentally friendly, 110 mile journey this spring. He completed his mission on July 4th and secured another first in the sailing world at the age of 69.

From the article on Physorg.com…

“The feeling is yet to sink in,” Horie added, according to the Jiji and Kyodo news agencies. “I want to go home as soon as possible and eat home-cooked meals.”

Originally scheduled to land in May, the 31-foot boat was slowed considerably due to weak waves and opposing ocean currents. With two special fins at the front of the boat designed to act like dolphin flippers each time the boat rises and falls with the waves, the boat is at the mercy of the ocean. If there are no waves, the boat simply floats.

“When waves were weak, the boat slowed down. That’s the problem to be solved,” the adventurer told reporters Saturday from aboard his catamaran Suntory Mermaid II off the Kii Peninsula in western Japan.

Besides that obvious inconvenience, wave power seems to be a viable alternative energy source. Paired with a back-up energy source for times when the waters are still, wave power could be tremendously useful on the ocean.

“Throughout history, mankind has used wind for power, but no one has appeared to be serious about wave power,” Horie told AFP last December. “I think I’m a lucky boy as this wave power system has remained virtually untouched.”

Horie is no stranger to eco-friendly cruising. He’s also sailed in a recycled catamaran and a boat that ran on a single solar battery. This is his first venture into wave power, but from the sounds of it, certainly not his last. He’s showing no signs of slowing down – even though he turns 70 in September.

To read more about Horie, visit this website.