The surprising thing I learned sailing solo around the world | Dame Ellen MacArthur

譯者: Ann Faster 審譯者: Yamei Huang

When you're a child,

如果你還小，

anything and everything is possible.

凡事都有無限可能。

The challenge, so often, is hanging on to that as we grow up.

但是隨著我們的成長， 挑戰也隨之而來。

And as a four-year-old,

我 4 歲時，

I had the opportunity to sail for the first time.

第一次有機會航行。

I will never forget the excitement as we closed the coast.

我忘不了第一次靠岸的興奮。

I will never forget

我也忘不了，

the feeling of adventure as I climbed on board the boat

第一次登上甲板，

and stared into her tiny cabin for the first time.

盯著小船艙時的熱血沸騰。

But the most amazing feeling was the feeling of freedom,

但最強烈的感受是自由，

the feeling that I felt when we hoisted her sails.

尤其揚帆時的感受。

As a four-year-old child,

身為一個才 4 歲的孩子，

it was the greatest sense of freedom that I could ever imagine.

我能夠想像到最大的自由之感。

I made my mind up there and then that one day, somehow,

我當時下定決心，

I was going to sail around the world.

要駕船環遊世界。

So I did what I could in my life to get closer to that dream.

我努力實現這個夢想。

Age 10, it was saving my school dinner money change.

10 歲時，我開始省學校的午餐錢。

Every single day for eight years, I had mashed potato and baked beans,

8 年來，午餐只吃薯泥和焗豆，

which cost 4p each, and gravy was free.

每樣只要 4 鎊，還附免費肉汁。

Every day I would pile up the change on the top of my money box,

我每天把省下來的錢 放在存錢罐的頂部，

and when that pile reached a pound, I would drop it in

每集滿一鎊時，就放進存錢罐裡，

and cross off one of the 100 squares I'd drawn on a piece of paper.

然後劃掉我自己畫的 100 個格子中的ㄧ格。

Finally, I bought a tiny dinghy.

最後我買了一艘小船。

I spent hours sitting on it in the garden dreaming of my goal.

花幾小時，坐在院子裡的船， 想像我在環遊世界。

I read every book I could on sailing,

我讀了我能夠獲得的所有航海書，

and then eventually, having been told by my school

最後，學校也跟我說，

I wasn't clever enough to be a vet,

我太笨了當不上獸醫，

left school age 17 to begin my apprenticeship in sailing.

我 17 歲畢業後，就去拜師學航海。

So imagine how it felt just four years later

想像一下 4 年後，

to be sitting in a boardroom

我坐在會議室，

in front of someone who I knew could make that dream come true.

面對可以幫我實現夢想的人。

I felt like my life depended on that moment,

我想，這輩子就取決於那一刻，

and incredibly, he said yes.

不可思議的是，他答應了。

And I could barely contain my excitement as I sat in that first design meeting

在首次的設計會議上我非常興奮，

designing a boat on which I was going to sail

設計我要駕駛的船，

solo nonstop around the world.

獨自不間斷繞世界一周。

From that first meeting to the finish line of the race,

從首次會議到比賽結束，

it was everything I'd ever imagined.

就像我想的那樣。

Just like in my dreams, there were amazing parts and tough parts.

但就如我預期， 有困難也有精彩的地方，

We missed an iceberg by 20 feet.

途中，我曾和冰山擦身而過；

Nine times, I climbed to the top of her 90-foot mast.

9 次爬上 90 尺高的桅；

We were blown on our side in the Southern Ocean.

在南極海還一度快被吹倒。

But the sunsets, the wildlife, and the remoteness

但夕陽落日、野生動物、杳無人煙，

were absolutely breathtaking.

這些都讓我驚嘆不已。

After three months at sea, age just 24,

航行了 3 個月，當時我 24 歲，

I finished in second position.

我獲得第二名。

I'd loved it, so much so that within six months

我很享受過程，以致 6 個月內，

I decided to go around the world again, but this time not in a race:

我決定再次踏上環遊世界的旅程， 但這次不是比賽。

to try to be the fastest person ever to sail solo nonstop around the world.

我想挑戰獨自不間斷 繞行地球的紀錄。

Now for this, I needed a different craft:

為此，我需要一艘新船：

bigger, wider, faster, more powerful.

更大、更寬、更快、更有力。

Just to give that boat some scale, I could climb inside her mast

只要把船做得大一點，

all the way to the top.

它的桅要能讓我向上攀爬到頂部。

Seventy-five foot long, 60 foot wide.

長 75 英尺，寬 60 英尺。

I affectionately called her Moby.

我把它暱稱為「摩比」。

She was a multihull.

她是艘「多體船」。

When we built her, no one had ever made it solo nonstop

當我們建造它的時候， 沒有人能夠不停靠

around the world in one, though many had tried,

獨自環航世界， 雖然很多人試過了，

but whilst we built her, a Frenchman took a boat 25 percent bigger than her

但我們在造它的同時 一名法國人以比她大 25% 的船，

and not only did he make it, but he took the record from 93 days

他不只成功了，還把紀錄

right down to 72.

從 93 天減少到 72 天。

The bar was now much, much higher.

門檻越來越高。

And these boats were exciting to sail.

我的船也迫不急待要出航。

This was a training sail off the French coast.

這是在法國外海的訓練。

This I know well because I was one of the five crew members on board.

我很了解這艘船， 因為我是船上 5 個船員之一。

Five seconds is all it took from everything being fine

5 秒鐘前進展顺利，

to our world going black as the windows were thrust underwater,

之後，一個大浪打過來， 船就翻了，

and that five seconds goes quickly.

那五秒很快，完全來不及反應。

Just see how far below those guys the sea is.

你看，我們在水下有多深。

Imagine that alone in the Southern Ocean

想像一下，獨自一人在南極海，

plunged into icy water, thousands of miles away from land.

陷入冰冷的海水， 離陸地有千里之遙。

It was Christmas Day.

那天是聖誕節，

I was forging into the Southern Ocean underneath Australia.

我航行到澳洲下方的南極海。

The conditions were horrendous.

天氣情況很惡劣。

I was approaching a part in the ocean

我在某片海域航行，

which was 2,000 miles away from the nearest town.

最近的城鎮離我 2000 英里。

The nearest land was Antarctica, and the nearest people

最近的陸地是南極洲，

would be those manning the European Space Station above me.

距離我最近的人是 歐洲太空站的宇航員。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

You really are in the middle of nowhere.

真的是孤立無援。

If you need help,

如果你需要幫助，

and you're still alive,

而且還活著的話，

it takes four days for a ship to get to you

一艘船要 4 天才能到達這個位置，

and then four days for that ship to get you back to port.

再花 4 天才能送你回到港口。

No helicopter can reach you out there,

直升機到不了這裡，

and no plane can land.

飛機也無法降落。

We are forging ahead of a huge storm.

在巨大的風暴中前行。

Within it, there was 80 knots of wind,

這裡的風速有 80 節，

which was far too much wind for the boat and I to cope with.

我跟船都無法承受。

The waves were already 40 to 50 feet high,

浪已經有 40 到 50 英尺高，

and the spray from the breaking crests

濺起來的浪花，

was blown horizontally like snow in a blizzard.

像暴風雪迎面打來。

If we didn't sail fast enough, we'd be engulfed by that storm,

但如果不開快點， 我們就會被風暴捲走，

and either capsized or smashed to pieces.

不是翻船就是解體。

We were quite literally hanging on for our lives

我們幾乎是把命

and doing so on a knife edge.

掛在刀口上。

The speed I so desperately needed brought with it danger.

但高速航行同時也很危險。

We all know what it's like driving a car 20 miles an hour, 30, 40.

都知道，就像開車， 時速二三十或四十英里，

It's not too stressful. We can concentrate.

不是很緊張，可以很專心，

We can turn on the radio.

也可以一邊聽音樂。

Take that 50, 60, 70, accelerate through to 80, 90, 100 miles an hour.

如果加速到五、六十甚至到一百，

Now you have white knuckles and you're gripping the steering wheel.

你會緊抓方向盤而且指節發白。

Now take that car off road at night

想像一下，晚上以這個車速，

and remove the windscreen wipers, the windscreen,

沒有雨刷和擋風玻璃、

the headlights and the brakes.

車頭燈和煞車。

That's what it's like in the Southern Ocean.

這就我在南極海的情況。

(Laughter) (Applause)

(笑聲)(掌聲)

You could imagine

你能想像，

it would be quite difficult to sleep in that situation,

這種情況下怎麼能睡得著，

even as a passenger.

就算只是乘客。

But you're not a passenger.

況且你不是乘客，

You're alone on a boat you can barely stand up in,

你是孤伶伶的駕駛， 而且站都站不穩，

and you have to make every single decision on board.

還要做出每個決定。

I was absolutely exhausted, physically and mentally.

我身心俱疲。

Eight sail changes in 12 hours.

12 個小時內換了 8 張帆。

The mainsail weighed three times my body weight,

主帆是我體重的 3 倍，

and after each change,

而且每換一次，

I would collapse on the floor soaked with sweat

我就會滿身大汗倒在甲板上，

with this freezing Southern Ocean air burning the back of my throat.

南極海的冰冷空氣侵蝕我的喉嚨。

But out there, those lowest of the lows

但俗話說烏雲背後有陽光、

are so often contrasted with the highest of the highs.

大難不死必有後福。

A few days later, we came out of the back of the low.

幾天後，我們總算苦盡甘來，

Against all odds, we'd been able to drive ahead of the record

出乎意料的，儘管情緒低落，

within that depression.

我們還是刷新了紀錄。

The sky cleared, the rain stopped,

天晴了，雨也停了，

and our heartbeat, the monstrous seas around us were transformed

本來急促的心跳和周圍像猛獸的海，

into the most beautiful moonlit mountains.

都變成月光撒落的靜謐山巒。

It's hard to explain, but you enter a different mode when you head out there.

很難形容，但你知道 進入了不同的境界。

Your boat is your entire world,

這艘船就是你的世界，

and what you take with you when you leave is all you have.

離開時所帶的東西 就是你的全部家當。

If I said to you all now, "Go off into Vancouver

如果我現在說：「去溫哥華，

and find everything you will need for your survival for the next three months,"

購買出海 3 個月會用到的所有物品。」

that's quite a task.

那也不是個小工程，

That's food, fuel, clothes,

食物、燃油、衣服，

even toilet roll and toothpaste.

甚至衛生紙、牙膏。

That's what we do,

我們全部買好，

and when we leave we manage it

出發後開始精打細算。

down to the last drop of diesel and the last packet of food.

從每一滴柴油到每一份食物。

No experience in my life

這輩子沒有其他時候，

could have given me a better understanding of the definition of the word "finite."

能更讓我體會到 「資源有限」的含義。

What we have out there is all we have.

我們帶了多少就是多少，

There is no more.

不會有更多了。

And never in my life had I ever translated that definition of finite

我也沒想到我會把這種體悟，

that I'd felt on board to anything outside of sailing

運用到我航海之外的生活，

until I stepped off the boat at the finish line having broken that record.

直到我踏上岸，破了紀錄的那一刻。

(Applause)

(掌聲)

Suddenly I connected the dots.

我恍然大悟，

Our global economy is no different.

全球經濟不也是如此嗎？

It's entirely dependent on finite materials

它完全倚仗在人類史上，

we only have once in the history of humanity.

可能只能使用一次的有限資源。

And it was a bit like seeing something you weren't expecting under a stone

這就像從石頭底下發現了新玩意，

and having two choices:

你有兩個選擇：

I either put that stone to one side

要不是把石頭搬開，

and learn more about it, or I put that stone back

然後開始研究， 或者把石頭堆回去，

and I carry on with my dream job of sailing around the world.

然後繼續我繞行全球的夢想。

I chose the first.

我選了前者。

I put it to one side and I began a new journey of learning,

我把石頭搬開，開始了新的學習。

speaking to chief executives, experts, scientists, economists

去拜訪官員、專家、 科學家、經濟學家，

to try to understand just how our global economy works.

試著了解全球經濟體系。

And my curiosity took me to some extraordinary places.

我的好奇心開拓了一個新視野。

This photo was taken in the burner of a coal-fired power station.

這張照片是一座火力發電廠，

I was fascinated by coal, fundamental to our global energy needs,

我對煤很感興趣， 它是能源的基礎，

but also very close to my family.

同時跟我很有淵源。

My great-grandfather was a coal miner,

我的曾祖父是礦工，

and he spent 50 years of his life underground.

他在地底賣力了 50 年。

This is a photo of him, and when you see that photo,

這是他的照片，看著這張照片，

you see someone from another era.

你能看到時代的痕跡。

No one wears trousers with a waistband quite that high

現在已經沒人把鬆緊帶的褲子，

in this day and age. (Laughter)

穿這麼高了。(笑聲)

But yet, that's me with my great-grandfather,

這是我和我的曾祖父，

and by the way, they are not his real ears. (Laughter)

順帶一提，那不是真的耳朵。 (笑聲)

We were close. I remember sitting on his knee listening to his mining stories.

我們很親近。我會坐在他腿上 聽他的礦工故事。

He talked of the camaraderie underground,

他會說那些地下的同袍之誼，

and the fact that the miners used to save the crusts of their sandwiches

他們會把三明治的吐司邊留下，

to give to the ponies they worked with underground.

餵給礦坑拉車的小馬。

It was like it was yesterday.

就像昨天才發生。

And on my journey of learning,

在我的學習過程中，

I went to the World Coal Association website,

我曾上世界煤礦協會的網站，

and there in the middle of the homepage, it said,

在首頁的中間寫著：

"We have about 118 years of coal left."

「煤礦存量可供 118 年使用。」

And I thought to myself, well, that's well outside my lifetime,

我還想，至少有生之年用不完，

and a much greater figure than the predictions for oil.

而且比石油存量多多了。

But I did the math, and I realized that my great-grandfather

但我一算，發現我曾祖父，

had been born exactly 118 years before that year,

正是網站所說的 118 年前出生。

and I sat on his knee until I was 11 years old,

我坐在他的膝上直到 11 歲，

and I realized it's nothing

我發現那其實很短，

in time, nor in history.

無論就時間或歷史來說。

And it made me make a decision I never thought I would make:

這讓我下了一個意想不到的決定：

to leave the sport of solo sailing behind me

不再從事單人航海的運動，

and focus on the greatest challenge I'd ever come across:

更專注在我從未遇過的大挑戰：

the future of our global economy.

全球經濟的未來。

And I quickly realized it wasn't just about energy.

我很快發現不只是能源，

It was also materials.

原料也岌岌可危。

In 2008, I picked up a scientific study

2008 年，我看了一篇科學研究，

looking at how many years we have

想知道我們還有多少年，

of valuable materials to extract from the ground:

可以從地下獲取珍貴資源。

copper, 61; tin, zinc, 40; silver, 29.

銅 61 年；錫、鋅 40 年； 銀 29 年。

These figures couldn't be exact, but we knew those materials were finite.

這些數字未必精確， 但至少確定有用完的一天。

We only have them once.

我們只能用一次。

And yet, our speed that we've used these materials has increased rapidly,

但我們消耗的速度卻快速增加，

exponentially.

呈指數成長。

With more people in the world with more stuff,

地球上有越多人、越多需求，

we've effectively seen 100 years of price declines

100 年來， 我們親眼目睹使用期限

in those basic commodities erased in just 10 years.

只有 10 年的生活必需品不斷降價。

And this affects all of us.

這影響我們每個人，

It's brought huge volatility in prices,

也帶來了價格的巨大浮動。

so much so that in 2011,

影響之大，在 2011年，

your average European car manufacturer

歐洲的汽車製造商都發現，

saw a raw material price increase

原物料的價格漲了

of 500 million Euros,

5 億歐元。

wiping away half their operating profits

吃掉了他們一半的利潤，

through something they have absolutely no control over.

而且他們無能為力。

And the more I learned, the more I started to change my own life.

當了解越多，我的生活也開始發生改變。

I started traveling less, doing less, using less.

我開始少旅遊、少做、少消耗。

It felt like actually doing less was what we had to do.

我發現我們該做的就是「少做」。

But it sat uneasy with me.

但這很難做到，

It didn't feel right.

覺得哪裡怪怪的。

It felt like we were buying ourselves time.

好像我們只是在拖延時間，

We were eking things out a bit longer.

只是讓資源可以用久一點。

Even if everybody changed, it wouldn't solve the problem.

就算大家改變習慣，問題還是沒解決。

It wouldn't fix the system.

整個大環境還是一樣。

It was vital in the transition, but what fascinated me was,

轉型很重要，但我在想的是，

in the transition to what? What could actually work?

要轉型成怎樣？怎樣才能解決問題？

It struck me that the system itself, the framework within which we live,

我想到這個系統本身， 我們存在的這個架構，

is fundamentally flawed,

本質是有缺陷的。

and I realized ultimately

所以我最後明白，

that our operating system, the way our economy functions,

整個經濟的運作模式，

the way our economy's been built, is a system in itself.

「經濟」被建構成一個「系統」。

At sea, I had to understand complex systems.

在海上，我必須了解複雜的系統。

I had to take multiple inputs,

有很多輸入，

I had to process them,

我去處理它們，

and I had to understand the system to win.

我要更了解系統才能贏，

I had to make sense of it.

我必須去理解。

And as I looked at our global economy, I realized it too is that system,

所以我發現全球經濟也是個系統，

but it's a system that effectively can't run in the long term.

卻不是個可以長久運作的系統。

And I realized we've been perfecting what's effectively a linear economy

在過去 150 年，我們已經

for 150 years,

把「線性經濟」發揮到極致：

where we take a material out of the ground,

從地表下取出資源，

we make something out of it, and then ultimately

做出點產品，然後最後用完了，

that product gets thrown away, and yes, we do recycle some of it,

產品就被丟棄。 我們的確實有在回收，

but more an attempt to get out what we can at the end,

但到最後只想試圖擺脫，

not by design.

而不是有計畫再利用什麼。

It's an economy that fundamentally can't run in the long term,

這種設計本來就不為了長久。

and if we know that we have finite materials,

如果我們知道資源有限，

why would we build an economy that would effectively use things up,

為什麼要用一個不斷丟棄，

that would create waste?

然後會造成浪費的系統？

Life itself has existed for billions of years

生命已經存在數十億年之久，

and has continually adapted to use materials effectively.

不斷試著去有效運用資源。

It's a complex system, but within it, there is no waste.

聽起來複雜， 但這樣就沒有所謂「垃圾」，

Everything is metabolized.

每個產物被代謝掉了。

It's not a linear economy at all, but circular.

不是「線性經濟」，而是「循環經濟」。

And I felt like the child in the garden.

我就像當年坐在院子裡，

For the first time on this new journey, I could see exactly where we were headed.

初次踏上新旅程， 我可以預見我們的發展。

If we could build an economy that would use things rather than use them up,

如果經濟是「用」但不「用完」，

we could build a future that really could work in the long term.

我們的未來就可以持續下去。

I was excited.

我好興奮。

This was something to work towards.

這是值得努力的目標。

We knew exactly where we were headed. We just had to work out how to get there,

我們有目標， 只是要想怎麼達成，

and it was exactly with this in mind

也就是這樣的想法，

that we created the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in September 2010.

我們在 2010 年 9 月， 創辦了艾倫麥克阿瑟基金會。

Many schools of thought fed our thinking and pointed to this model:

很多學派接受我們的論點，

industrial symbiosis, performance economy, sharing economy, biomimicry,

並結合工業共棲、效益經濟、 共享經濟、生物擬態，

and of course, cradle-to-cradle design.

當然，還有「搖籃到搖籃」的設計。

Materials would be defined as either technical or biological,

物質被分為技術性或生物性，

waste would be designed out entirely,

把浪費排除在設計之外，

and we would have a system that could function

我們就可以有一個系統，

absolutely in the long term.

長久地運轉下去。

So what could this economy look like?

所以這種經濟會是怎樣呢？

Maybe we wouldn't buy light fittings, but we'd pay for the service of light,

可能我們不買燈具， 但我們買「燈光」的服務，

and the manufacturers would recover the materials

廠商就負責管理回收這些材料，

and change the light fittings when we had more efficient products.

如果有更環保的燈具， 就由他們更換。

What if packaging was so nontoxic it could dissolve in water

或是無毒、可被水分解的包裝，

and we could ultimately drink it? It would never become waste.

最後可以喝掉，就沒有空瓶垃圾。

What if engines were re-manufacturable,

或是組裝式的引擎，

and we could recover the component materials

我們可以替換裡面的零件，

and significantly reduce energy demand.

有效減少能源消耗。

What if we could recover components from circuit boards, reutilize them,

如果可以替換、再利用電路板零件，

and then fundamentally recover the materials within them

然後經過第二階段，

through a second stage?

改變使用的素材。

What if we could collect food waste, human waste?

What if we could turn that into fertilizer, heat, energy,

然後轉換成肥料、熱、能量，

ultimately reconnecting nutrients systems

甚至重新建立養分的循環，

and rebuilding natural capital?

恢復我們的自然資源。

And cars -- what we want is to move around.

如果車子只是移動的手段，

We don't need to own the materials within them.

我們不需要每個人都有車，

Could cars become a service

未來可能以服務的形式，

and provide us with mobility in the future?

購買「移動」這項產品。

All of this sounds amazing, but these aren't just ideas, they're real today,

乍聽之下很神奇， 但這都是真實存在。

and these lie at the forefront of the circular economy.

這就是「循環經濟」的核心。

What lies before us is to expand them and scale them up.

我們要做的是去擴充、升級。

So how would you shift from linear to circular?

要怎麼從線性變成循環經濟呢？

Well, the team and I at the foundation thought you might want to work

我們基金會的團隊就想，

with the top universities in the world,

要和世界一流的院校合作、

with leading businesses within the world,

和世界知名的企業合作、

with the biggest convening platforms in the world,

與世界最大的智庫平台合作、

and with governments.

還有各國政府。

We thought you might want to work with the best analysts

你可能想和專家共事，問他們：

and ask them the question,

你可能想和專家共事，問他們：

"Can the circular economy decouple growth from resource constraints?

「循環經濟可以讓經濟成長， 不再受制於有限資源嗎？」

Is the circular economy able to rebuild natural capital?

「循環經濟可以重建自然資本嗎？」

Could the circular economy replace current chemical fertilizer use?"

「「循環經濟可以取代化肥使用嗎？」

Yes was the answer to the decoupling,

答案：是的，

but also yes, we could replace current fertilizer use

而且我們還可以取代現代化肥，

by a staggering 2.7 times.

化肥使用也可以減少 2.7 倍。

But what inspired me most about the circular economy

但循環經濟最讓我訝異的，

was its ability to inspire young people.

是對年輕人的啟發。

When young people see the economy through a circular lens,

當他們從這樣的角度看經濟，

they see brand new opportunities on exactly the same horizon.

他們在相同的議題上看見了新可能。

They can use their creativity and knowledge

他們用創意和知識，

to rebuild the entire system,

重建了整個系統。

and it's there for the taking right now,

這就是大家該努力的目標，

and the faster we do this, the better.

而且越早行動越好。

So could we achieve this in their lifetimes?

在他們有生之年可能完成嗎？

Is it actually possible?

這真的可行嗎？

I believe yes.

我的答案是肯定的。

When you look at the lifetime of my great-grandfather, anything's possible.

在我曾祖父的年代，凡事都有可能。

When he was born, there were only 25 cars in the world;

他出生的時候全世界只有 25 輛車，

they had only just been invented.

車才剛被發明。

When he was 14, we flew for the first time in history.

他 14 歲時， 人類第一次翱翔天際。

Now there are 100,000 charter flights

現在每天

every single day.

有 10 萬架航班起降。

When he was 45, we built the first computer.

他 45 歲，人類有了第一台電腦。

Many said it wouldn't catch on, but it did, and just 20 years later

當時很多人都不看好， 但在短短 20 年

we turned it into a microchip

我們把它變成薄薄的晶片，

of which there will be thousands in this room here today.

相信在場就有上千片的晶片。

Ten years before he died, we built the first mobile phone.

他死前 10 年， 人類有了第一支行動電話，

It wasn't that mobile, to be fair,

雖然剛開始很笨重，

but now it really is,

但現在太方便了。

and as my great-grandfather left this Earth, the Internet arrived.

在他過世那年，有了網路。

Now we can do anything,

現在我們無所不能，

but more importantly,

更重要的是，

now we have a plan.

我們也有了計畫。

Thank you.

謝謝！

(Applause)

(掌聲)