A crew (全体船员) of six teenage girls completed a nine-day sailing trip in the US recently, after braving seasickness and strong winds.
For the past three years, the Sea Cadet teenagers who set sail were all male. Roger Noakes, who captained (担任队长) the boat, said this was the first time he'd taken out an all-female crew.
The girls asked for an all-girls trip in August this year. The crew set sail along with three adults, Noakes and two Sea Cadet representatives. The original plan was for the girls to sail 24 hours a day in rotating shifts (轮流换班) along the coast and then return. Things turned out differently, however. "The first night was difficult because the wind was really hard. The waves were going up and down," said Abby Fairchild, 16. "Everybody got seasick." Noakes gave the girls the choice of just sailing in the bay and not going into open water. "But they decided they were going."
The teenagers then sailed a long way overnight and slept in shifts. "We've learned everything from controlling the boat to putting up the sails while we have rough seas," said 15-year-old Olivia Wilcox.
The teenagers stopped on land in Massachusetts. They didn't make it to their original destination (目的地) in Maine, where they were supposed to have a celebratory dinner, due to the weather and winds. They said they weren't disappointed, however, as they'd learned a lot. "They learned about boating, and above all, they built confidence and character," said Noakes.
