With a combined age of 259, four British adventurers - Anthony Smith, 84, Don Russell, 61, David Hildred, 57, and Andrew Bainbridge, 57 - will launch a ten-week, 4,500-kilometer Atlantic crossing voyage powered only by a plastic raft. Sailing from the Canary Islands to the Bahamas, according to Smith, is to prove that elderly people can do something interesting.
英国四位年龄总计259岁的探险家——84岁的安东尼 史密斯、61岁的唐 拉塞尔、57岁的戴维 希尔德雷德和57岁的安德鲁 贝恩布里奇将驾驶塑料筏开始为期10周、行驶里程达4500公里的横渡大西洋之旅。按史密斯的话说，从西班牙的加那利群岛行驶到巴哈马的意义在于证明老年人也能做些引人关注的事。
Smith has been plotting his dream trip since 2005. After placing a advert appealing for fellow crew, he has spent the past few months gathering gas pipes, electronics, wood, and two telegraph poles to assemble a 11m-by-6m raft. There is also a wooden hut, 6x2 meters, where the crew will take turns to sleep on two bunk beds. Cooking and all-important communications will be also carried out there. There is even a library.
2005年，史密斯着手实现梦想之旅。他先刊登广告招募同伴，随后用了几个月将塑料管、电子器件、木材以及两根电线杆组装成了一只长11米，宽6米的塑料筏。筏子上还有一个长6米，宽2米的木棚，里面有两张床，供船员轮流休息。船员还可在船上做饭、实现通信交流。船上甚至还有一个图书馆。
The lights and electronics will be powered by four solar cells on top of the hut, a wind generator and a pedaling machine. Meanwhile, the crew will be sustained by 16 boxes of food, containing cornflakes, eggs, oranges and bananas. A small bread maker will add homely comfort to their ordeal. Drinking water will be carried in five pipes, each 5.5-meter long.
给灯和其他用电器具充电的工具4块太阳能电池、一个风力发电机和一个利用脚蹬踏板发电的装置。此外，船员们准备了16箱食物，包括玉米片、鸡蛋、桔子和香蕉。还有一个面包机也可为他们的长途跋涉增添家的温馨。饮用水储存于5根长约5.5米的管内。
"People ask me 'Am I frightened?' But I say I don't know enough to be frightened," Smith explains. "I don't know how we will get on, as we don't know each other very well. I don't know how tiring it will be, living on something that goes up and down all the time. I don't know what it will be like living on a bunk. Nobody knows what a storm will do to us, or how well we will be able to steer." Asked what treats he's brought along to keep the crew's spirits up, Smith's answer is simple. "Alcohol. Everyone's quite keen on a drink."
“人们问我害不害怕，我说，我不太清楚。我不知道我们将相处得怎样，因为我们相互间还不是非常了解。我不知道整天呆在摇晃的船上会多累，睡在火车铺位一样的床上是什么感觉。没有人知道会遇上什么样的风暴，我们将怎样驾驭船只(应对)。”被问及如何在航行中提振士气时，史密斯的答案很简单：“酒。大家都爱来一杯。”
A former science correspondent of The Daily Telegraph, Smith has written over 30 books and worked on several documentary projects. He presented Tomorrow's World when the BBC television show was in its infancy. In 1962 he led a pioneering expedition, The Sunday Telegraph Balloon Safari, over east Africa. The following year he became the first Briton to go over the Alps by hot air balloon.
史密斯曾担任《每日电讯报》科学新闻记者，著有超过30本书，曾制作数部纪录片。他还在英国广播公司“明日世界”节目开播初期担任过主持人。1962年他负责一项名为“星期日电讯报之乘坐热气球看非洲”的东非探险活动，并于第二年成为第一个乘坐热气球飞越阿尔卑斯山的英国人。