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I visited San Francisco’s Maritime Museum last summer, and I’ve shared a few images previously here. I really enjoyed studying the artifacts, the ship models, and the dioramas exhibited on the museum’s ground floor. But one of the most intriguing displays is the story of Kenichi Hori, the 23-year-old who in 1962 sailed alone across the Pacific in the sloop Mermaid. I had never heard of this young yachtsman before, although he remains a heroic figure in Japan to this day. And he didn’t stop after just one trip; he’s completed several other solo voyages, and currently holds the record as the oldest man to cross the Pacific solo — in 2022, at the age of 84.
