Wave Powered Boat Crosses Pacific Successfully

A boat propelled only by the rocking sea gives renewed hope for a fuel-free shipping future

By Nicole Dyer Posted 07.08.2008 at 4:06 pm 5 Comments

Going the Distance Captain Ken-ichi Horie, aboard the Suntory Mermaid II, prepares to travel solo 4,350 miles from Hawaii to Japan on wave power alone. S. Yamada

It was all smooth sailing for seafaring extremist Ken-ichi Horie. That wasn’t exactly what he was hoping for when he set sail for Japan from Hawaii in the world’s most sophisticated wave-powered boat, named the Suntory Mermaid II

As we reported earlier, Horie aimed to make the 4,350-mile cross-Pacific trip in 60 days, about 50 days longer than it would take him in a diesel-powered craft—but infinitely more eco friendly. Instead, the 111 days, owing to an unusually long stretch of good weather and flat seas.

Traveling an average of 1.5 knots, 69-year-old Horie certainly didn’t set any speed records but he did set one for the longest ocean voyage made in a wave-powered craft, proving along the way that a fossil-fuel-free propulsion system can work, albeit leisurely, under real-world maritime conditions. Congrats to Mr. Horie and team.

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5 Comments

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cacophony

07/08/08 at 8:04 pm

ocean is pretty cool

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macro820

07/09/08 at 12:19 am

What's wrong with sails? Should use both... maybe throw some sun in there and could prob make the trip half..

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Haldir

07/10/08 at 9:37 am

I think technology like this is great. But If I hear news about a wind powered airplane I'm out.

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savetheanimals

07/13/08 at 10:59 am

i love that we're finding ways to get around without hurting everything, but i think that he could've made it there sooner if he had used sails. and i think that we should use solar panels to get energy. there's alot of ways to power stuff without hurting eveything and everybody. and it would be cheaper too! now i kmow that sounds good to eveyone!!!

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joe.c

09/18/08 at 8:42 pm

If he had used sails people would have said "It's just a sailboat!"

The point was that the mechanical energy from the ocean's waves could be harnesed as a motive force.