Sailor traverses Pacific on recycled beer kegs

May 3, 1999
Web posted at: 6:12 p.m. EDT (2212 GMT)

(CNN) -- A Japanese sailor is making a statement about the environment -- on a journey across the Pacific Ocean.

Kenichi Horie's catamaran is made entirely of recycled materials, including stainless steel beer kegs -- 528 of them -- and plastic bottles.

The beer containers give the boat its name, Malt's Mermaid II, but Horie can rest assured about its seaworthiness. It was designed by one of the creators of a Japanese yacht that took part in the America's Cup.

The name of that craft, Mermaid, has found its echo in this one, which is nicknamed "Beer Barrel."

He set sail at the end of March and hopes to reach his homeland by June.

The sailor has a record of success behind him, with 10 voyages in nearly 40 years of seafaring adventure.

"This voyage is special to me because I just reached 60 this year, but this by no means is going to be my last voyage," Horie says. "It will be my last voyage during this century, but I'll go on a lot more during the next century."

In 1962, Horie became the first person to cross the Pacific solo in a plywood vessel.

In 1996, he sailed from Ecuador to Tokyo on a recycled boat.

Other voyages have included a sail around the world with no port of call and a trip from Hawaii to Okinawa on a pedal-powered sailboat.

Horie says his aim is to raise environmental awareness and stress the utilization of every resource at hand.

Correspondent Anand Naidoo contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.