How a Young Sailor Learned to Love the Cruising Life少年水手爱上乘风破浪

A young sailor reminisces about how he （finally） came to love the cruising life.

一个少年水手回忆他（终于）爱上航海的心路历程。

Departure Day： As the plane lifted off the runway， I muttered my final goodbyes out the window. My parents had purchased an Island Packet 4451 10 months prior， and the day to board this boat had finally come. I was 11 years old and knew absolutely nothing about this cruising lifestyle my father had been speaking so highly of for the previous five years. I wasn’t on that plane by choice， but rather bribed on with the promise of a trip to Disneyland; the only thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to leave my home.

出发的日子：飞机从跑道腾空而起的时候，我朝着窗外低声说着再见。10个月前，我父母买了一艘包岛445型帆船，现在登船的日子终于到了。我当时11岁，对这种航海的生活方式一无所知，而父亲在之前的5年里却一直对此赞不绝口。坐上那班飞机并非我自己的选择，他们答应带我去一趟迪士尼，才把我哄上了飞机；我唯一确定的事情就是不想离开家。

Because I didn’t have any say in this big life change， I did anything possible to avoid moving onto the boat. I didn’t help pack the house. I made my homeschooling exceedingly difficult for my mother. I filled my younger brother with lies and tales of how he wouldn’t get to bring his stuffed animals onto the boat， how we would die， and how we would run out of money and food; my brother ate up all of this with a big spoon. The excuses I constantly presented to my parents became increasingly hysterical as we came closer to the departure date.

在这次人生巨变中，我没有任何发言权，所以就想尽办法避免登船。收拾行李的时候，我袖手旁观。在家上课时给母亲捣乱，让她难以招架。我还谎话连篇地骗弟弟，说他无法把毛绒动物玩具带上船，告诉他我们会死掉，会没钱花，会没东西吃；弟弟对这些说辞毫不怀疑，照单全收。随着出发日期的临近，我不断向父母提出的借口也越来越荒唐可笑。

Despite my best attempts， we were on a San Francisco-bound plane that September morning. My father was excited， my mother nervous， my brother impartial， and I sullen. I was not at all eager about this change in my lifestyle.

尽管我想尽了花招，我们还是在那个9月的早晨登上了飞往旧金山的飞机。父亲兴奋不已，母亲焦虑不安，弟弟若无其事，而我则闷闷不乐。对于这次生活方式的改变，我一点儿也不期待。

The adjustment period

适应期

The first three months on the boat had not been very easy. What my dad called an adjustment period， I called a nightmare. We had not met any other boats with kids， as my father had promised would so quickly happen. In contrast to how my father guaranteed I would have fun， I was having increasingly terrible days. I was always quick to make suggestions to return to Canada.

登船后的前3个月是比较难熬的。老爸所谓的适应期在我而言就是一场噩梦。父亲信誓旦旦，说我们很快就能碰到其他有小孩儿的船只，然而并没有。父亲打包票说我会玩得开心，恰恰相反，我的体验每况愈下。一逮着机会，我就提议回加拿大去。

But， after three months of traveling， we had a lucky break. In La Paz2， there was another cruising boat with a 13-year-old boy aboard. At the time， I was quite shy and didn’t want anything to do with him. But my parents were determined to make me a friend， and two weeks later， Glen and I could be seen endlessly boogie boarding3 the crashing waves to the beach.

但是，在航行了3个月之后，我们终于时来运转了。在拉巴斯，我们遇到另一艘航海游船，上面有个13岁的男孩。当时我很害羞，不想跟他有任何瓜葛，但是我父母决意让我跟他交朋友。于是两周之后，他们就看到我和这个叫格伦的男孩一起趴在滑浪板上冲向沙滩，在澎湃的浪尖玩得不亦乐乎了。

After meeting Glen， cruising for me began to get better and better. At some point during these months， I must have decided to give this cruising idea a chance. I tried to withhold my suggestions to return to Canada and kept my negative comments to myself. I tried to ignore the negatives and focus on the positives， and after a while， instead of refusing the idea of living on a boat， I refused the idea of moving onto land.

自从遇到格伦，航海对我来说便开始渐入佳境。在这几个月里，想必我在某个时刻已经暗下决心，要重新审视航海这件事。我尽力不再提回加拿大的建议，把负面的看法藏在心里。我尽力无视负面的东西，把注意力放在积极的事情上面。过了一段时间，我不再抗拒在船上生活的想法，相反，对于搬回岸上的念头，我已经心生抵触了。

Six months later

6个月后

The day I shot my first fish was the day I began to consider myself a true cruising kid. （You know the type： long sun-bleached hair， ragged clothes， skinny-looking.） Why？ We had met a new boat with kids on board， just a week after parting ways with Glen and his family. This boat was called Exodus. The father on Exodus， Tim， introduced my father and me to spearfishing. This became the new sport for our little group. Every single day， the kids and the dads piled into a dinghy4 along with all of our wetsuits， snorkels， fins and spear guns for a day of searching for fish， lobsters， scallops and anything else we guessed to be edible. This new sport took up the majority of our days and was a large part of my life at the time. That activity， in a way， represented how I was growing up. I was learning new skills and learning how to work independently， as well as part of a team. I was growing up in a way most kids don’t; I had adults around who helped me succeed and gave me support whenever I needed it， always doing their best to guide me in the right direction.

从射中第一条鱼的那天起，我就开始自认为是一个真正的航海少年了。（大家知道那是什么形象：长发晒得发白，衣衫褴褛，瘦不拉几。）为什么呢？与格伦一家人分别一周之后，我们遇到了另一艘船，上面有几个孩子。这艘船名叫“远征”号，船上的那位父亲叫蒂姆，他向我们父子俩介绍了用鱼叉捕鱼的方法。鱼叉捕鱼成了我们这个小团体新的消遣。每天，孩子们和两位爸爸带上潜水服、呼吸管、脚蹼和鱼枪等一应装备，挤进一艘小艇，去寻找鱼类、龙虾、扇贝以及其他任何我们猜测可以食用的东西，一忙就是一整天。这项新活动占据了我们的大部分时光，也是我的生活在那个阶段的重头戏。在某种程度上，这项活动代表了我的成长方式。我不断学习新技能，学习独立做事的方法，也学习如何团队配合。我的成长方式是大部分孩子所欠缺的；我有大人的陪伴，他们帮我获得成功，在我需要时给予我支持，总是尽最大努力引导我朝着正确的方向前进。

One year later

一年后

Leaving from Puerto Vallarta， Mexico， we arrived in the Marquesas after a 23-day Pacific Puddle Jump5 crossing. What an experience to be so alone for so long. Well， we did have a radio and SSB6 email， but it was still a real test to be stuck with the same three people in a small space for over three weeks.