Sixty years after his first singlehanded Pacific crossing from Japan to San Francisco, Kenichi Horie is ready to go again. If all goes well, famed Japanese singlehander Kenichi Horie, 83, will set sail today from San Francisco bound for Japan. Horie, known as “Japan’s most famous yachtsman”, became the first person to make a non-stop solo crossing of the Pacific in 1962, at the age of 23.

In 1962, Horie set off from Osaka and arrived in San Francisco 94 days later in his 19-foot plywood boat Mermaid. Traveling without a passport or money and little knowledge of English, Horie was briefly arrested on his arrival in San Francisco. Fortunately, the mayor intervened, saw to his release, and presented Horie with a visa and the key to the city.

In the 60 years since then, Horie has made multiple Pacific crossings in a variety of vessels including craft made from aluminum cans and powered by solar panels and another propelled by foot pedals. In 1999, he sailed from the west coast to Japan on a catamaran made out of beer kegs. Three years later, he sailed the other way around via whiskey barrels.

For his current voyage, Horie will be sailing the 19-foot aluminum Suntory Mermaid III.  Mermaid, the boat Horie used in 1962, is on display at San Francisco’s Maritime Museum.

When asked whether he had any concerns for his trip, Horie said, “Nothing at all. Maybe just being old.”