A Canadian ex-executive who once served as dean and president of Temple University Japan is getting closer to making history — as probably the first foreigner to sail solo around Japan.
Kirk Patterson, 61, has been trying to circumnavigate Japan on his sailboat since arriving in Hakodate from his hometown of Victoria, British Columbia, in June 2013.
Using an autopilot and relying almost entirely on wind and solar power, Patterson has already completed almost 90 percent of the 11,800-km route, sailing beyond the farthest points of Japan — northernmost Soya Cape in Hokkaido, easternmost Nosappu Cape, also in Hokkaido, the westernmost point of Yonaguni Island in Okinawa and the southernmost point of Hateruma Island, also in Okinawa.