英國八旬老人將率隊橫渡大西洋

With a combined age of 259, four British adventurers - Anthony Smith, 84, Don Russell, 61, David Hildred, 57, and Andrew Bainbridge, 57 - will launch a ten-week, 4,500-kilometer Atlantic crossing voyage powered only by a plastic raft. Sailing from the Canary Islands to the Bahamas, according to Smith, is to prove that elderly people can do something interesting.

英國四位年齡總計259歲的探險家——84歲的安東尼 史密斯、61歲的唐 拉塞爾、57歲的戴維 希爾德雷德和57歲的安德魯 貝恩布里奇將駕駛塑料筏開始爲期10周、行駛里程達4500公里的橫渡大西洋之旅。按史密斯的話說，從西班牙的加那利羣島行駛到巴哈馬的意義在於證明老年人也能做些引人關注的事。

Smith has been plotting his dream trip since 2005. After placing a advert appealing for fellow crew, he has spent the past few months gathering gas pipes, electronics, wood, and two telegraph poles to assemble a 11m-by-6m raft. There is also a wooden hut, 6x2 meters, where the crew will take turns to sleep on two bunk beds. Cooking and all-important communications will be also carried out there. There is even a library.

2005年，史密斯着手實現夢想之旅。他先刊登廣告招募同伴，隨後用了幾個月將塑料管、電子器件、木材以及兩根電線杆組裝成了一隻長11米，寬6米的塑料筏。筏子上還有一個長6米，寬2米的木棚，裏面有兩張牀，供船員輪流休息。船員還可在船上做飯、實現通信交流。船上甚至還有一個圖書館。

The lights and electronics will be powered by four solar cells on top of the hut, a wind generator and a pedaling machine. Meanwhile, the crew will be sustained by 16 boxes of food, containing cornflakes, eggs, oranges and bananas. A small bread maker will add homely comfort to their ordeal. Drinking water will be carried in five pipes, each 5.5-meter long.

給燈和其他用電器具充電的工具4塊太陽能電池、一個風力發電機和一個利用腳蹬踏板發電的裝置。此外，船員們準備了16箱食物，包括玉米片、雞蛋、桔子和香蕉。還有一個麪包機也可爲他們的長途跋涉增添家的溫馨。飲用水儲存於5根長約5.5米的管內。

"People ask me 'Am I frightened?' But I say I don't know enough to be frightened," Smith explains. "I don't know how we will get on, as we don't know each other very well. I don't know how tiring it will be, living on something that goes up and down all the time. I don't know what it will be like living on a bunk. Nobody knows what a storm will do to us, or how well we will be able to steer." Asked what treats he's brought along to keep the crew's spirits up, Smith's answer is simple. "Alcohol. Everyone's quite keen on a drink."

“人們問我害不害怕，我說，我不太清楚。我不知道我們將相處得怎樣，因爲我們相互間還不是非常瞭解。我不知道整天呆在搖晃的船上會多累，睡在火車鋪位一樣的牀上是什麼感覺。沒有人知道會遇上什麼樣的風暴，我們將怎樣駕馭船隻（應對）。”被問及如何在航行中提振士氣時，史密斯的答案很簡單：“酒。大家都愛來一杯。”

A former science correspondent of The Daily Telegraph, Smith has written over 30 books and worked on several documentary projects. He presented Tomorrow's World when the BBC television show was in its infancy. In 1962 he led a pioneering expedition, The Sunday Telegraph Balloon Safari, over east Africa. The following year he became the first Briton to go over the Alps by hot air balloon.

史密斯曾擔任《每日電訊報》科學新聞記者，著有超過30本書，曾製作數部紀錄片。他還在英國廣播公司“明日世界”節目開播初期擔任過主持人。1962年他負責一項名爲“星期日電訊報之乘坐熱氣球看非洲”的東非探險活動，並於第二年成爲第一個乘坐熱氣球飛越阿爾卑斯山的英國人。