Here’s a neat story coming out of the Honolulu Yacht Harbor.

Yesterday, World Record-holder Kenichi Horie departed from Hawaii on a boat bound for Japan. The catch? The boat is fueled by wave power. The Suntory Mermaid II is the first oceangoing boat of its kind and has a long road ahead: 3,780 nautical miles, to be exact.

The trip will take the 69-year-old Horie approximately 2 1/2 months, but for those of you who are curious to see history as it is taking place, Horie’s progress can be tracked here. There’s also some neat photos but the site is in Japanese. Fear not, however, here is a simple online translator for curious non-Japanese speakers. Just copy and paste!

Here’s Horie announcing his ambitious plan a few years ago, the video also has some interesting info on the wave power that will be used on the voyage:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLJ8bwIWwWI&hl=en]

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