Japanese sailor Kenichi Horie has finished a 110-day solo (单独的) voyage across the Pacific Ocean in a boat pushed by sea waves to win another world first. Weak waves and ocean water movements made his arrival late, which was going to be in late May. “When waves were weak, the boat slowed down. That’s a problem that needs to be solved,” the adventure told reporters from his boat in western Japan. His 9.5-meter-long boat can move like a dolphin’s tail, and it rises or falls with the waves. Horie reached his destination in the channel between the main Japanese islands just before midnight after covering about 7,000 kilometers from Hawaii. Horie first made world record in 1962 when, at the age of 23, he became the first person to sail alone across the Pacific. He made the three-month voyage from his hometown in spite of breaking Japanese law, which did not allow his citizens to sail on their own out of the country, and without a passport or money. He was arrested upon arrival in San Francisco but the city mayor freed him, gave him a 30-day visa and made him an honorary citizen. News of his achievement made him a hero back home in Japan and his book of the voyage In the Pacific was made into a film. Since then, he has completed many sailing trips across the Pacific and around the world. After his latest adventure with an environmentally friendly theme, Horie planned to return to his hometown on Sunday. He said, “Throughout history, mankind has used wind for power, but no one has appeared to be serious about wave power.” Horie told the reporter, “I think I’m a lucky boy as this wave power system has remained untouched in fact.” 小题1:Horie’s boat was mainly powered by ________.
|