Sailor Embarks On Solo Adventure With Wave-Powered Boat

by Jennifer Dennard

Kenichi Horie, a Japanese sailor who has embarked on numerous solo boating adventures in his 40-plus-year career, is using the power of waves to undertake his current trip.

Horie is aboard the Suntory Mermaid II, the world’s first wave-powered boat, traveling solo from the Hawaii Yacht Club in Honolulu to the Kii Channel in Japan — a trip of nearly 6,000 kilometers that will last an estimated two and a half months.

The boat, made with recycled aluminum material, is 31 feet long. It harnesses wave power through the use of two front fins that absorb energy generated from the pitching motion of the boat. As a result, pitching is reduced, while stability is improved.

The boat is also capable of using sails or an outboard motor when entering or exiting harbors, as well as in emergencies. Horie will not use the sails or motor while cruising.

Onboard power for the boat’s navigation light, ham radio, iridium satellite phone and PC is generated from a solar battery.

Horie has a long history of solo adventures — traveling across the Pacific without a port call for 94 days in 1962, around the world without a port call in 1974, and again in 1982. The past two decades have seen him make similar crossings on solar-powered and human-powered boats built from such environmentally-friendly materials as recycled aluminum cans, beer-brewing barrels and whiskey barrels.