OSAKA (Kyodo) A Doshisha University student has succeeded in crossing the Pacific Ocean alone in a yacht, arriving Friday in San Francisco, his supporters in Osaka said Saturday.

"I'm just so glad. Thanks for everyone's support," Kyosuke Tomoda, 26, was quoted as saying as his mother Mariko, friends and trainer Yo Aoki greeted him with applause.

Aboard the 8-meter-long yacht, named "For You," Tomoda left the town of Tajiri, Osaka Prefecture, on Aug. 2, the birthday of his late father, Katsutoshi, who was also a yachtsman. Tomoda overcame a typhoon early in the voyage and finished the 11,300-km journey in about 2 1/2 months.

Tomoda said that during the journey, he thought about how he could use his experiences during the rest of his life.