Suntory Mermaid II is a 9.5-metre, 3-tonne catamaran driven by wave power. [1] It features two fin tails which absorb wave energy and generate thrust by moving up and down with the motion of the boat. The ship was designed by Hiroshi Terao of Tokai University.
On March 16, 2008, then 69-year-old Japanese sailor and environmentalist Kenichi Horie left the Hawaii Yacht Club, Honolulu, in Suntory Mermaid II, bound for Japan. He arrived on July 4, 2008 in the Kii Channel offshore of Hinomisaki cape, Wakayama, without incident. Horie had made the world's longest solo voyage in a wave-powered boat, using green technology. [2] [3]
The non-stop voyage across the Western Pacific Ocean took 110 days and covered 7,000 kilometres (3,780 nautical miles). During the voyage, Horie ate mostly rice, curry, squid and flying fish he caught. [4] The 9.5 metre (31-foot), three-ton yacht used wave energy to move two fins at its bow and propel it forward, sailing at an average speed of 1.5 knots. After arriving in Wakayama, Horie sailed on to his home harbour in Nishinomiya, where a homecoming ceremony was held.
Suntory Mermaid II was powered by single solar battery and made from recycled materials. Horie said: "Throughout history, mankind has used wind for power, but no one has appeared to be serious about wave power. I think I'm a lucky boy as this wave power system has remained virtually untouched." [2] [5]
Cruising is a maritime activity that involves staying aboard a watercraft for extended periods of time when the vessel is traveling on water at a steady speed. Cruising generally refers to leisurely trips on yachts and luxury cruiseships, with durations varying from day-trips to months-long round-the-world voyages.
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the water, on ice (iceboat) or on land over a chosen course, which is often part of a larger plan of navigation.
A yacht is a sail- or motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a yacht, as opposed to a boat, such a pleasure vessel is likely to be at least 33 feet (10 m) in length and may have been judged to have good aesthetic qualities.
Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body. This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth.
Proas are various types of multi-hull outrigger sailboats of the Austronesian peoples. The terms were used for native Austronesian ships in European records during the Colonial era indiscriminately, and thus can confusingly refer to the double-ended single-outrigger boats of Oceania, the double-outrigger boats of Island Southeast Asia, and sometimes ships with no outriggers or sails at all.
The sport and practice of single-handed sailing or solo sailing is sailing with only one crewmember. The term usually refers to ocean and long-distance sailing and is used in competitive sailing and among cruisers.
Kenichi Horie is a Japanese solo yachtsman. In 1962 he became the first person to sail solo and non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. He has made other significant solo voyages, usually involving boats exhibiting some sort of environmentally friendly theme, including his 2008 voyage across the Western Pacific Ocean in a wave-powered boat, the Suntory Mermaid II.
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America, Cape Horn marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage and marks where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet.
David Henry Lewis was a sailor, adventurer, doctor, and scholar of Polynesian culture. He is best known for his studies on the traditional systems of navigation used by the Pacific Islanders. His studies, published in the book We, the Navigators, made these navigational methods known to a wide audience and helped to inspire a revival of traditional voyaging methods in the South Pacific.
Michael Perham is an English sailor and adventurer from Potters Bar. In 2007 at the age of 14 he became the youngest person in the world to successfully sail across the Atlantic Ocean single-handedly, beating the record set in 2003 by British sailor Seb Clover. In 2009 at the age of 17 he became the youngest person to sail around the world solo. Perham's second record surpassed that of Zac Sunderland, an older 17-year-old American, set only six weeks earlier. Following this, Perham's adventures included driving around the world and racing in many offshore races, most notably the Sydney to Hobart yacht race in 2011 where his team placed second in class.
David Scott Cowper is a British yachtsman, and was the first man to sail solo round the world in both directions and was also the first to successfully sail around the world via the Northwest Passage single-handed.
A sailing yacht, is a leisure craft that uses sails as its primary means of propulsion. A yacht may be a sail or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, so the term applies here to sailing vessels that have a cabin with amenities that accommodate overnight use. To be termed a "yacht", as opposed to a "boat", such a vessel is likely to be at least 33 feet (10 m) in length and have been judged to have good aesthetic qualities. Sailboats that do not accommodate overnight use or are smaller than 30 feet (9.1 m) are not universally called yachts. Sailing yachts in excess of 130 feet (40 m) are generally considered to be superyachts.
Ertuğrul, launched in 1863, was a sailing frigate of the Ottoman Navy. While returning from a goodwill voyage to Japan in 1890, she encountered a typhoon off the Kushimoto coast of Wakayama Prefecture. It subsequently drifted into a reef and sank. The shipwreck resulted in the loss of more than 500 sailors and officers, including Rear Admiral Ali Osman Pasha. Only 69 sailors and officers survived and returned home later aboard two Japanese corvettes. The event is still commemorated as a foundation stone of Japanese-Turkish friendship.
Dougal Robertson (1924–1992) was a Scottish author and sailor who with his family survived being adrift at sea after their schooner was holed by a pod of orcas in 1972, one of the few documented orca attacks in the Pacific.
Spirit of Mystery is a replica of the Mount's Bay lugger Mystery which made a voyage to Australia in 1854/55. In 1854 a discussion in the Star Inn in Newlyn led seven fishermen to set sail in the hope of finding their fortunes. 116 days later, their Cornish lugger, Mystery, a 37 ft fishing boat that had never previously been out of sight of land, arrived in Melbourne, 12,000 miles away.
The Esse 850 is an 8.5 metre long racing sportboat designed by Umberto Felci and built by Josef Schuchter Sportboats of Stafa, Switzerland. The first hull was sold in 2004 and the Esse 850 International Class Association was begun in 2005 in Europe.
The Esse 990 is a 9.9-meter-long (32-foot) racing sportboat designed by Umberto Felci and built by Josef Schuchter Sportboats of Stafa, Switzerland. The first hull was sold in 2008 and series production was begun in 2009.
Jessica Watson is an Australian sailor who was awarded the Order of Australia Medal after attempting a solo circumnavigation at the age of 16. Although her voyage did not meet the distance criterion of 21,600 nautical miles (40,000 km) for a circumnavigation, Watson was nevertheless named the 2011 Young Australian of the Year and awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2012 for "...service to sailing and to youth through the achievement of sailing solo and unassisted around the world [sic], and as a role model for young Australians". She currently resides in Melbourne. Netflix produced a film, True Spirit (2023), about Watson's voyage.
A wave-powered ship is a ship, propelled harnessing the energy of the waves.
Navika Sagar Parikrama was a circumnavigation of the globe by female officers of the Indian Navy. The six-member all-woman team circumnavigated and managed the whole operation in their first-ever global journey, on INSV Tarini. The voyage lasted 254 days, from 10 September 2017 to 21 May 2018, with only 4 port calls, in Fremantle, Australia; Lyttelton, New Zealand; Port Stanley, Falkland Islands; and Cape Town, South Africa, and a forced technical halt at Port Louis, Mauritius, crossing the equator twice and passing through 3 oceans. The voyage was originally set to start on September 5, 2017, but a 5-day delay happened so that Nirmala Sitharaman, who was recently appointed defense minister, could flag off the crew. The boat returned to INS Mandovi in Goa after travelling 21,600 nautical miles. The voyage was showcased in Tarini, a documentary jointly produced by National Geographic and the Indian Navy, premiering at an event at Lady Shri Ram College on 8 March to mark International Women's Day. The voyage prompted National Geographic to start the "Girls Who Sailed" campaign, to tell tales of "grit and determination".