Sailing Round the World
Before he sailed round the world single-handed, Francis Chichester had already surprised his friends several times. He had tried to fly round the world but failed. That was in 1931.
- single-handed: 单独一人的；单独地，独自地。
The years passed. He gave up flying and began sailing. He enjoyed it greatly. Chichester was already 58 years old when he won the first solo transatlantic sailing race. His old dream of going round the world came back, but this time he would sail. His friends and doctors did not think he could do it, as he had lung cancer. But chichester was determined to carry out his plan. In August, 1966, at the age of nearly sixty-fix, an age when many men retire, he began the greatest voyage of his life. Soon, he was away in his new 16-metre boat, Gipsy Moth.
- transatlantic: 横越大西洋的。
- carry sth. out: to do or complete something, especially that you have said you would do or that you have been told to do. 执行，贯彻，实施，实现，完成。
Chichester followed the route of the great nineteenth century clipper ships. But clipper had had plenty of crew. Chichester did it all by himself, even after the main steering device had been damaged by gales. Chichester covered 14,100 miles before shopping in Sydney, Australia. This was more than twice than the distance anyone had previously sailed alone.
- clipper ship: 快速帆船，19 世纪流行的一种帆船。
- gale: a very strong wind, 大风，暴风。
He arrived in Australia on 12 December, just 107 days out from England. He received warm welcome from the Australians and his family who had flown there to meet him. On shore, Chichester could not walk without help. Everybody said the same thing: he had done enough; he must not go any further. But he did not listen.
After resting in Sydney for a few weeks, Chichester set off once more in spite of friends' attempts to dissuade him. The second half of his voyage was by far the dangerous part, during which he sailed round the treacherous Cape Horn.
- in spite of: 尽管，不顾。
- spite: a feeling of anger towards another person that makes someone want to annoy, upset, or hurt them, especially in a small way 恶意；怨恨。
- dissuade: to persuade someone not to do something 劝说…不做某事，劝阻。
- treacherous: If the ground or sea is treacherous, it is extremely dangerous, especially because of bad weather conditions.（地面或大海尤因气候恶劣）极端危险的，凶险的。
On the January he left Australia. The next night, the blackest he had ever known, the sea became so rough that the boat almost turned over. Food, clothes, and broken glass were all mixed together. Fortunately, the damage to the boat was not so serious. Chichester calmly got into bed and went to sleep. When he woke up, the sea had become calm again. Still, he could not help thinking that if anything should happen, the nearest person he could contact by radio, unless there was a ship nearby, would be on an island 855 miles away.
- rough: not even or smooth, often because of being in bad condition 高低不平的；崎岖的；难行的。
After succeeding in sailing round Cape Horn, Chichester sent the following radio message to London: "I feel as if I had wakened from a nightmare. Wild horses could not drag me down to Cape Horn and that sinister Southern Ocean again."
Just before 9 o'clock on Sunday evening 28 May, 1967, he arrived back in England, where a quarter of a million people were waiting to welcome him. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him with the very sword that Queen Elizabeth I had used almost 400 years earlier to knight Sir Francis Drake after he had sailed round the world for the first time. The whole voyage from England and back had covered 28,500 miles. It had taken him nine months, of which the sailing time was 226 days. He had done what he want to accomplish.
Like many other adventurers, Chichester had experienced fear and conquered it. In doing so, he had undoubtedly learnt something about himself. Moreover, in the modern age when human beings depend so much on machines, he had given men throughout the world new pride.