Britain’s Solo Sailor

Ellen MacArthur started sailing when she was eight，going out on sailing trips with her aunt.She loved it so much that she saved her money for three years to buy her first small sailing boat.When she was 18，she sailed alone around Britain and won the“Young Sailor of the Year”award.

But Ellen really became famous in 2001.Aged only 24，she was one of the only two women who en-tered the Vendee Globe round the world solo race，which lasts l00 days.Despite many problems，she came second in the race out of 24 competitors and she was given a very warm welcome when she returned.

Ambition and determination have always been a big part of Ellen’s personality.When she was youn-ger，she lived in a kind of hut(棚屋)for three years while she was trying to get sponsorship to compete in a transatlantic race.Then she took a one-way ticket to France，bought a tiny seven meter Class Mini yacht(游艇)，slept under it while she was repairing it，and then she raced it 4，000 kilometres across the Atlantic in 1997，alone for 33 days.

Ellen has had to learn many things，because sailing single—handed means that she has to be her own captain，electrician，sailmaker，engineer，doctor，journalist，cameraman and cook.She also has to be very fit，and because of the dangers of sleeping for long periods of time she’s in the middle of the ocean，she has trained herself to sleep for about 20 minutes at a time.

And she needs courage.Once，in the middle of the ocean，she had to climb the mast(桅桿)of a boat to repair the sails—at four o’clock in the mornin9.with l00kph winds blowing around her.It took her many hours to make the repairs;Ellen says：“I was exhausted when I came down.It’s hard to describe how it feels to be up there.It’s like trying to hold onto a big pole，which for me is just too big to get my arms around，with someone kicking you all the time and trying to shake you off”.

But in her diary，Ellen also describes moments which make it all worthwhile(值得的)：“A beautiful sunrise started the day，with black clouds slowly lit by the bright yellow sun.I have a very strong feeling of pleasure，being out here on the ocean and having the chance to live this.I just feel lucky to be here”.

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