三年前冲上岸的太阳能幽灵船之谜终于解开

三年前冲上岸的太阳能幽灵船之谜终于解开

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.

当你住在海边时，你会习惯看到一些奇怪的东西被冲上岸。然而，有一件事你可能不会忘记:一艘太阳能大篷车式的游艇，没有船员的迹象。

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.

据美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)报道，三年前，爱尔兰西部梅奥县的一名当地人晚上在海滩散步时就遇到了这种情况。

"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.

“它看起来有点像一辆大篷车。在水中，它看起来只是一个看起来很奇怪的物体。”迈克尔·赫斯特说，他是巴里格拉斯海岸警卫队的负责人。

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.

这艘船是木制的，并装备了令人印象深刻的太阳能电池阵列。两边都是窗户，但没有船员的迹象。作为幽灵船，这是独一无二的。所以你可能会认为追溯它的起源很容易，但是尽管媒体对这艘奇怪的船大肆宣传，却没有人站出来认领它。

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."

只有一条线索:一条信息潦草地写在里面的墙上。上面写着:“我，里克·斯莫尔，把这个建筑捐给一个无家可归的年轻人。为了给他们更好的生活，纽芬兰人选择不这样做!没有租金，没有抵押贷款，没有水电。”

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?

这可能意味着这艘船来自大西洋彼岸的加拿大纽芬兰。但它漂流了多久?是什么导致了它的奇怪设计?里克是谁?

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.

这个谜团持续了三年——海岸警卫队和当地社区的成员最终翻新了这艘船，并把它捐赠给了宾厄姆斯敦附近的一个社区感官花园——直到最后，一名好奇的记者重新打开了这个冰冷的案件。现在，这个谜终于有了答案。

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.

事实证明，62岁的加拿大发明家里克·斯莫尔最初设计这艘古怪的船是为了提高人们对气候变化的认识。他的计划是从纽芬兰岛出发，穿过北冰洋，然后再回来，以展示海冰是如何消失的。他始终未能踏上征程，最终决定将这艘船捐赠给当地的一项事业。

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，这艘船是如何在爱尔兰横渡大西洋的，仍然是个谜。目前还不清楚这艘船失踪的确切时间，但显然没有人在寻找它。值得注意的是，它足够坚固，可以在没有任何人员的情况下横渡大西洋，而且谁知道它还可能到过其他什么地方。

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

“它没有沉没，”斯莫尔说。“我一定干得很出色，嗯?”

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

谁知道呢，也许它终究还是穿越了北冰洋。