Xu Dongyuan and Xin Mengchen, reporters of this newspaper

"This hand just broke it." Zhai Mo pointed to the drum bag in his right hand to show the reporter.

For the sea, Zhai Mo said that he always "forgets the pain when the scar is good".

In 2022, Zhai Mo drove a sailboat to "circumnavigate the Arctic Ocean without docking", which lasted 504 days and had a total voyage of more than 28000,<> nautical miles, creating a new history of Chinese sailing. Recently, on this ship, Zhai Mo accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua Daily Telegraph, telling about his sailing years.

"Sailing in an ice zone is like walking a minefield"

On June 2021, 6, Zhai Mo and two crew members set sail from Shanghai. A month later, they sailed through the Bering Strait and into the Arctic Circle, which was in the midst of a short summer. This circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean, known as the "Road of Death", has buried countless pioneers here, and the seas along the route are named after them. "Pack ice is like tombstones, and icebergs and polar winds make navigation extremely dangerous." Zhai Mo said.

"You see, this is the hole we knocked out." Zhai Mo pointed to the right front side of the hull, where a deep pit remained. "Navigating through ice is like walking in a minefield. Three people work in three shifts and dare not sleep more. ”

In the ice floe area, Zhai Mo was at the helm, and the other two crew members, Misha and Wang Tienan, were in charge of the lookout at the bow of the ship, informing the ice ahead in sign language at any time. "We walked for 50 hours in the ice floe zone, which is more than 11 nautical miles." Zhai Mo recalled.

Before leaving for the Arctic Ocean, Zhai Mo specially bought firecrackers, signal guns and axes. "We were afraid that the ship would be frozen by the ice, and once it froze, we would have to wait until the next spring ice melted before leaving. Firecrackers drive away polar bears. "Before each voyage, Zhai Mo will go through a long period of preparation, and dare not be sloppy.

"All the routes are designed by myself. I will assume the problems that will arise during the voyage, think about how to deal with them, and collect and carefully study the climate information of the past ten years, and even the location information of various shipwrecks. Zhai Mo said.

Learn to sail on your own while traveling

Crossing dangers again and again, Zhai Mo's love for sailing has not diminished in the slightest. All this only stemmed from "I bought a ship myself as soon as my head was hot."

In 1968, Zhai Mo was born in Tai'an, Shandong Province, to a family of miners. His father named him "ink": "He may not have imagined that after a few decades, I would really become as black as ink." "After growing up, Zhai Mo was admitted to the Shandong Academy of Arts and Crafts. In 2000, when Zhai Mo went to Auckland, New Zealand to hold an exhibition, he met a Norwegian navigator named David. By then, 70-year-old David had already sailed around the globe one and a half times. "David told me that with just one ship, you can go to <> percent of the planet, even without getting a visa in advance."

"Maybe you don't believe it, the day after saying goodbye to the Norwegian captain, I started to go out to find a ship." Zhai Mo described his excitement in his autobiography. Zhai Mo, who sells paintings for money, buys ships, and can't even look at nautical charts and GPS can't see them, jumped into the embrace of navigation.

Zhai Mo's first ship was 7 meters long and less than 2 meters wide, equivalent to less than 30,20 yuan, and was a sailing ship with an age of more than <> years, named "Baiyun".

The journey back to Auckland from the island where the boat was bought was about 5 hours, during which the original owner taught Zhai Mo basic sailing skills such as steering, raising sails, and adjusting sails. "When I am close to shore, I can almost control the boat myself." Zhai Mo recalled.

Less than 20 days after the ship was bought, Zhai Mo set sail around New Zealand's North Island and sailed into the South Pacific. Less than 10 square meters of hull packed with luggage, he steered this small "home", traveling and teaching himself to sail. Compasses, nautical charts, wind direction, currents, ocean currents, everything starts from scratch.

On January 2007, 1, Zhai Mo set sail from Rizhao, China, departed along the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea, passed through Jakarta, Madagascar, the Cape of Good Hope, Panama, crossed the Mozambique Channel, the Caribbean Sea and other seas, crossed the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, and arrived at the end of Rizhao on August 6, 2009. With a total voyage of 8,16 nautical miles, it completed a single-person unpowered sailing boat around the world.

Captains, sailors, doctors, cooks, mechanics, maintenance workers, cleaners... Zhai Mo said: "At sea, the only person who can rely on is himself, he must know everything, and these roles must be 'played' well." Of these roles, the one that scares him the most is the doctor.

When huge waves hit, "draining" the hull is a priority, and anything on board is used to scoop water. "Once I was desperately scooping up the water in the cabin, and in a panic, I broke the bowl in my hand, and the soles of my feet were cut by debris, and the blood quickly merged with the seawater.

"Zhai Mo, why are you suffering." Relatives always ask Zhai Mo like this.

But in Zhai Mo's heart, sailing has become a way of life, "Every voyage, maybe it is physical masochism, but the spiritual satisfaction and harvest are intoxicating." ”

"When the big wave hits, there is indeed a sense of fear, and it will feel empty for a moment." However, Zhai Mo enjoys the loneliness brought by sailing. "Maybe because of painting, I'm very comfortable with loneliness, and even have some self-appreciation."

Want to do more

Nowadays, sailing is not only for inner freedom, Zhai Mo wants to do more.

The road of navigation is difficult and dangerous, but also beautiful. During the voyage, Zhai Mo took a large number of images, icebergs, auroras, seabirds, walruses, dolphins, whales, etc., all of which are the protagonists under his lens.

As China's maritime science popularization ambassador, marine public welfare image ambassador and the "Defend Nature" publicity officer of the United Nations Development Programme, Zhai Mo hopes that through his navigational behavior, more people will pay attention to the ocean, nature and global warming.

In recent years, sailing has gradually become well-known among the Chinese people. "Now from south to north, whether it is Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen or Shenzhen, there are many sailboats, which is a good phenomenon."

Seeing the increasing popularity of sailing in China, Zhai Mo hopes to contribute to the promotion of sailing, "Many large-scale events in the world originate from Europe and the United States, such as the Vendée Single Nonstop Global Race, Tour de France, Olympic Games, etc., and I hope that there will be world-class sailing events led by our Chinese in the future." ”

Zhai Mo, who is over fifty years old, still enjoys the life experience brought by sailing, "Is there anything better than constantly challenging, constantly surpassing himself, and pursuing the flowing scenery in the sea?" (Xinhua Daily Telegraph)