三年前沖上岸的太陽能幽靈船之謎終于解開

三年前沖上岸的太陽能幽靈船之謎終于解開

When you live along the coast, you get accustomed to seeing some bizarre things wash ashore. Here's one thing you're not likely to forget, however: a solar-powered caravan-type houseboat, with no sign of a crew.

當你住在海邊時，你會習慣看到一些奇怪的東西被沖上岸。然而，有一件事你可能不會忘記:一艘太陽能大篷車式的游艇，沒有船員的跡象。

The mystery of this solar boat has finally been solved. (Photo: Ballyglass Coast Guard Unit)

Three years ago, that's exactly what happened to a local in County Mayo, western Ireland, during a nightly beach stroll, reports CNN.

據(jù)美國有線電視新聞網(wǎng)(CNN)報道，三年前，愛爾蘭西部梅奧縣的一名當?shù)厝送砩显诤┥⒉綍r就遇到了這種情況。

"It looked a little bit like a caravan. In the water, it seemed just a strange looking object really," said Michael Hurst, officer in charge at Ballyglass Coast Guard Unit.

“它看起來有點像一輛大篷車。在水中，它看起來只是一個看起來很奇怪的物體。”邁克爾·赫斯特說，他是巴里格拉斯海岸警衛(wèi)隊的負責人。

The vessel was built of wood and was kitted with impressive solar arrays. Windows were lined on both sides, but there was no sign of a crew. As ghost ships go, this one was one-of-a-kind. So you'd think that tracing its origin would be easy, but despite significant media buzz around the strange boat, no one stepped up to claim it.

這艘船是木制的，并裝備了令人印象深刻的太陽能電池陣列。兩邊都是窗戶，但沒有船員的跡象。作為幽靈船，這是獨一無二的。所以你可能會認為追溯它的起源很容易，但是盡管媒體對這艘奇怪的船大肆宣傳，卻沒有人站出來認領(lǐng)它。

There was but one clue: a message scribbled on a wall inside of it. That message read: "I, Rick Small, donate this structure to a homeless youth. To give them a better life that Newfoundlanders chose not to do! No rent no mortgage no hydro."

只有一條線索:一條信息潦草地寫在里面的墻上。上面寫著:“我，里克·斯莫爾，把這個建筑捐給一個無家可歸的年輕人。為了給他們更好的生活，紐芬蘭人選擇不這樣做!沒有租金，沒有抵押貸款，沒有水電。”

This likely meant that the ship came from across the Atlantic Ocean, from Newfoundland in Canada. But how long had it been adrift? What accounts for its strange design? Who is Rick Small?

這可能意味著這艘船來自大西洋彼岸的加拿大紐芬蘭。但它漂流了多久?是什么導致了它的奇怪設(shè)計?里克是誰?

The mystery continued for three years-- members of the coast guard unit and the local community eventually refurbished the vessel and donated it to a community sensory garden in nearby Binghamstown-- until finally, the cold case was re-opened by an inquisitive reporter. Now, at last, the mystery has a solution.

這個謎團持續(xù)了三年——海岸警衛(wèi)隊和當?shù)厣鐓^(qū)的成員最終翻新了這艘船，并把它捐贈給了賓厄姆斯敦附近的一個社區(qū)感官花園——直到最后，一名好奇的記者重新打開了這個冰冷的案件?，F(xiàn)在，這個謎終于有了答案。

Rick Small, it turns out, is a 62-year-old Canadian inventor who originally designed the oddball vessel as part of an effort to raise awareness about climate change. His plan was to sail from Newfoundland, through the Arctic Ocean and back again, to demonstrate how the sea ice is disappearing. He never quite managed to embark on the journey, and eventually decided to donate the ship to a local cause.

事實證明，62歲的加拿大發(fā)明家里克·斯莫爾最初設(shè)計這艘古怪的船是為了提高人們對氣候變化的認識。他的計劃是從紐芬蘭島出發(fā)，穿過北冰洋，然后再回來，以展示海冰是如何消失的。他始終未能踏上征程，最終決定將這艘船捐贈給當?shù)氐囊豁検聵I(yè)。

How the boat ended up across the Atlantic Ocean in Ireland, however, remains a complete mystery. It's unclear when exactly the vessel went missing, but clearly no one had been looking for it. Remarkably, it was sturdy enough to cross the Atlantic without anyone on board, and who knows where else it might have traveled.

然而，這艘船是如何在愛爾蘭橫渡大西洋的，仍然是個謎。目前還不清楚這艘船失蹤的確切時間，但顯然沒有人在尋找它。值得注意的是，它足夠堅固，可以在沒有任何人員的情況下橫渡大西洋，而且誰知道它還可能到過其他什么地方。

"It didn't sink," Small said. "I must have done a good job, eh?"

“它沒有沉沒，”斯莫爾說。“我一定干得很出色，嗯?”

Who knows, perhaps it even traversed the Arctic Ocean after all.

誰知道呢，也許它終究還是穿越了北冰洋。