KODOKU: Sailing Alone Across the Pacific

by Kenichi Horie ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1964

Not only is this an unintentionally funny but exciting true story, but it's also a handsome piece of bookmaking. Kodoku is Japanese for desperate loneliness, which sailor Horie experienced during his 94 days in the Pacific while sailing from Osaka to San Francisco. His ship was a 19-foot sailboat, the Hermaid, an incredibly small craft for such a non-stop trip. Horie sailed without permission or passport, carrying rice, water, beer and about 200 cans of food. During the journey he ran into five storms which had him bailing out bilge until he was repeatedly seasick, anguished and talking not only with himself but with ""another person"" he kept seeing on board. Among his reading material was The Old Man and the Sea, which had no effect on Horie's prose style: ""I would arrive in San Francisco cold. No rehearsal, no warm-up--the live take with a bang."" The fulfillment of his 5,000-mile dream journey is recorded day-by-day, with charts, plans, a list of gear and supplies and lengthy added comments of marine and psychological observations which anyone planning a similar trip will find pertinent. Subsequently, Horie got a great welcome in Frisco and became a Japanese national hero.

Pub Date: May 1, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: uttle

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION