Gentleman from Japan

The Japanese maritime agency refused to sanction his trip on the grounds that it was "suicidal"; his frantic parents begged him to stay home. But Kenichi Horie, 23, a transistor-size auto parts salesman from Osaka, was a determined man. Last May 12 he crammed his 19-ft.

sloop Mermaid with 88 Ibs. of rice, 200 cans of fish, five gallons of water, 60 bottles of beer, a ukulele and two English grammars--then set off for San Francisco, 5,300 miles away.

Since he had no auxiliary motor or radio transmitter, Horie was given up for lost almost as soon as he was out of sight.

But last week, after 93 lonely days on the Pacific, he finally saw the fog rise over the Golden Gate Bridge, politely offered sake to the puzzled U.S. immigration officials who met him. The immigration service decided to grant a one-month visa, and Happy Horie popped off to see the sights, surrounded by the giggling infield of Osaka's touring girls' Softball team. Back home, Japanese officials had to decide whether to fine Horie for illegal exit or hail him as a national hero, the first Japanese to sail the Pacific solo.

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