(单词翻译:单击)
Finally, we arrive at a small clearing. Brian keeps the place tidy, the grass mowed, and has even built some small structures to hang and dry the gear.
最后,我们到达了一块小空地
For the ultimate in luxury, he sets up an awning to give us a little shade from the hot Bahamian sun as we put our gear together.
他还为我们搭建了一个遮阳篷,我们在装备设备时,遮阳篷能遮挡巴哈马灼热的阳光,这真是极致奢华了
After years of anticipation, I get my first glimpse of the cave where I will be doing 90% of my training: Dan's Cave.
经过多年的期待,我第一次看到了我将要进行90%训练的洞穴:丹穴
It's beautiful and peaceful. And small.
它美丽又宁静,还很小
It's hard to imagine that this tiny opening leads to miles of caves that Brian has explored and mapped.
很难想象这个小小的开口,会通向布莱恩探索和绘图的数英里长的洞穴
Smack dab in the middle of nowhere, this little oasis attracts life.
在这片无人之地,这个小小的绿洲吸引着生命
Birds are chirping, hundreds of butterflies flit about, and a curly-tail lizard watches us intently.
鸟儿啁啾,成百上千只蝴蝶飞来飞去,一只卷尾蜥蜴目不转睛地看着我们
To a chorus of frogs, we carry our tanks down to the water.
在青蛙合唱团的伴唱下,我们将氧气瓶拖入水中
With side mount, you don your tanks in the water, so we rig up our tanks with regulators, and then carry them down to the cave entrance
采用侧挂潜水,就可以在水里挂氧气瓶了
and set them where we will be able to reach up and get them once we are in the water.
然后把它们放在水里我们能够到的地方
Cave diving requires a lot of specialized gear. Even the regulators.
洞穴潜水需要很多专业装备,连调节器也是
With cave diving you might have to go through a passageway that is so narrow that you have to go single file.
进行洞穴潜水时,可能要穿过狭窄的通道,此时只能排成一排
What would you do if you had to share air with a diver that was out of air?
如果你不得不和没有氧气的潜水员分享氧气时,该怎么做呢?
Well, you would need a really long hose to reach someone in front of you.
你需要一根很长的软管才能够到前面的人
So one of the regulators in my sidemount kit is 7 feet long.
所以,我的侧装套件中配有一个7英尺长的调节器
I coil it up here, and I can still breathe off of it myself,
我把它卷到这儿,我自己可以呼吸
but if it's needed I can pull it all out and I can give it to someone that's out of air and follow behind them in a narrow passage.
但如果需要的话,我可以把它全部拔出来,递给缺少氧气的人,然后在狭窄的通道里跟在他们后面
Since the water is only around 75 degrees, a wetsuit is necessary to keep warm.
由于水温只有75度左右,所以必须穿上潜水衣保暖
Then I don my sidemount harness, which is kind of like the buoyancy compensator I normally use, but there's no tank strapped on the back.
我随后穿上侧挂式安全带,有点像我平时用的浮力补偿器,但后面没绑氧气瓶
In the water, I clip my tanks to my harness, run my hoses, check my gas, test my regulators and inflator valve, and test my lights.
我在水里把氧气瓶夹到安全带上,试试软管,检查一下氧气,测试调节器和充气阀,还看了看灯
You might wonder why we wear helmets.
你可能想知道我们为什么戴头盔
They look goofy but it's better than whacking your head on a rock ceiling, and it's a convenient place to mount a bakup light or two.
这样看起来很傻,但这比头撞到岩石顶部要好得多,而且在上面装一两盏灯很方便
When I'm ready, Brian and I do a very careful check of each other.
我准备好后,就和布赖恩一起仔细地互检
In cave diving, small equipment issues can quickly turn into big problems. So catching anything small now is important.
在洞穴潜水中,设备出现的小故障很快会变成大问题
Are we good to go?
我们可以走了吗?
Yes, we are doing this together.
可以了,我们一起潜
Finally, we are ready to submerge. And I had to practice this tie-off on reel in what is called primary tie-off.
我们终于准备下潜了
Then we descend down into the cavern.
然后我们下潜到洞穴里
I continue to make tie-offs where Brian tells me to.
我继续在布赖恩告诉我的地方做捆绑
He is having me practice on all kinds of different shapes.
他让我练习各种不同的形状
Finally we make the final tie-off, called a "terminal" tie off right next to the Stop sign.
我们做了最后一个捆绑,叫做“终点站”捆绑,就在停止标志的旁边
The stop sign signifies the end of the cavern zone: the part of the cave where you can still see light from the opening.
停止标志表示洞穴区域的尽头:在洞穴的这个部分,仍然可以看到洞口的光线
I can't go past this sign at this stage of my training.
在我训练的这个阶段,还不能越过这个标志
The first exercise I have to perform is a simulation of a blind navigation in an out of air situation.
我要做的第一个练习是在缺少氧气的情况下的模拟盲目导航
I am breathing from Brian's long-hose regulator while following the guideline with my eyes shut, and he is using me as his guide by holding my arm.
我用布赖恩的长软管调节器呼吸,同时闭上眼睛,他正握住我的手臂,用我作为他的引导
Then we switch positions and he is the one out of air.
然后我们更换位置,他现在缺少氧气
Normally this would be done with our lights off in the dark, but we need light for Todd to film it, so I have to promise to keep my eyes shut.
通常情况下,我们会熄掉灯,在黑暗中进行该操作
We navigate all the way back to entrance.
我们一直导航到入口
Doing it with my eyes closed builds confidence in the guideline system and it's my job to practice retrieving the line by spooling it back up.
闭着眼睛做这件事可以建立对引导系统的信心,我的工作还有收线,把引导线绕到线轴上
Getting out of the water is the opposite of getting in-you take your tanks off before you climb out.
出水和入水正好相反,要先取下氧气瓶再上岸
That was super awesome!
太棒了!
We drag our gear out of the water, and haul it back up to the truck.
我们把装备从水里拽出来,再拖回到卡车上
Cave diving is a lot of work, but at least you never get seasick!
洞穴潜水要做的工作很多,但至少你永远不会晕船!
Soon we take apart our portable base camp and head back to Brian's shop.
很快我们就把便携式大本营拆了,然后返回布赖恩的店铺
As the sun sets over Marsh Harbour, I can rest a little, but that was only day 1.
落日照在沼泽港上时,我可以休息一下,但这只是第一天
I have another 8 days of training still to go!
我还有八天的训练呢!
Every morning of my training starts the same way.
每天早上,我的训练都是以同样的方式开始
Bright and early, I'm back in the classroom trying to remember a lot of new terms, definitions, rules and tips
清早,我回到教室,试着记住许多新术语、定义、规则和技巧
as Brian works his way through from the basics to the more advanced concepts.
布赖恩从基础知识往更高阶的概念深入
And after the classroom session, we analyze our tanks, and load the van.
下课后,我们检查了氧气瓶,然后把它们装上货车
Finally we're on our way again!
我们又出发了!
At the cave site, Brian has another guideline exercise for me-finding a lost guideline in the dark.
到达洞穴后,布莱恩让我做另一个引导练习,要我在黑暗中找到一根丢失的引导线
I have to promise to keep my eyes shut again as Brian spins me around so I don't know where the line is.
我必须保证在布赖恩把我转来转去的时候再次闭上眼睛,这样我就不知道线在哪里了
If I cheat, I'm only cheating myself, because I won't learn how this is done.
如果我作弊,就只是在骗自己,因为我不会知道这是怎么做到的
The first step is to tie off to something so I can find where I started. Keep in mind, my eyes are shut, I have to do this by feel alone.
第一步是把线绑到一个物件上,这样就能找到起点
Then, I pick a direction, moving slowly while sweeping my arm up and down to try to catch the guideline that will lead me to safety.
然后,选择一个方向,慢慢地移动,同时上下挥动手臂,试图抓住指引我走向安全的引导线