Wave-powered boat finishes crossing

A Japanese adventurer has completed a three-month journey from Hawaii to Japan in a boat powered by the energy of ocean waves.

The 4,800-mile voyage, which began in Honolulu in March, ended when Kenichi Horie's three-ton yacht docked in Wakayama in western Japan last night.

"The sea was so calm, and the weather was so great throughout my journey. That's why it took me so long," he said.

The trip - which Mr Horie claims was the world's longest solo voyage in a wave-powered boat - is just the latest journey using green technology for the 69-year-old sailor.

In 1992, Horie pedalled a boat from Hawaii to Okinawa in southern Japan. In 1996, he sailed nearly 10,000 miles from Ecuador to Tokyo aboard a solar-powered boat made from recycled aluminium beer cans.

Mr Horie's most recent trip would have taken just 10 days in a regular diesel-powered boat. But he said he is raising awareness about ecology, although his endeavours may take a bit longer.

His boat, which relies on wave energy to move two fins at its bow and propel it forward, sailed at an average speed of 1.5 knots - slower than humans walk.

Mr Horie ate mostly rice and curry that he brought along on the boat, but sometimes ate squid and flying fish that he caught.