科考南北極的女駕駛

上海外高橋的中國極地考察專用碼頭，“雪龍”號即將起錨啟航。船員們跟親人告別的人群中，有位年輕的女孩特別顯眼，高挑的個子，身材勻稱，長相嬌美，因為依依不舍，她一直拉著身邊男人的手，滿眼深情。這是一次充滿了艱辛探險的遠航，時間長達半年。大家原以為女孩是來給出征的戀人送行的，可沒想到，過了一會，她從男人的手中接過行李，一個人上船了，原來她才是那個出海的女駕駛，男人是她的家屬。

為了航海

這個登上“雪龍”號科考船的女孩名叫謝潔瑛，1982年出生，是“雪龍”號自1994年首航以來第一位女駕駛員，任三副。三副屬于船舶駕駛員的一個證書認證，按照級別往上還有二副和大副。謝潔瑛在“雪龍”號上的任務就是和其他三個同伴輪流開船，駕駛4個小時，休息12個小時，沒有休假日。萬噸巨輪竟然會掌握在一個年輕女孩的手里……連謝潔瑛也沒有想到會有這一天。10年前的她連海都沒有見過。

那時的謝潔瑛是上海曹楊中學高三學生，正在積極備考。有一天，班主任告訴大家一個消息，上海海事大學的航海技術專業要報名面試了，而且第一次計劃招女生。“這個專業是培養船舶駕駛員的，有興趣的同學可以去報名試試。”同學們聽了都很興奮，搶著圍上去看招生細則。上面說這個專業是要培養具備駕駛和管理海洋船舶能力的高級航海技術人才。學生畢業后，主要從事海洋船舶駕駛工作，也可從事航運管理、海事監督、船舶保險、船舶檢驗、科研和教學等工作……謝潔瑛的腦海里馬上浮現出這樣的畫面：一個船員站在甲板上，望著藍色無邊的大海，任海風吹拂面頰。想起來就有點心動，這正是她向往的生活啊!

回家后，謝潔瑛同父母商量報名的事。“不行，哪有女孩子去當船員的?你不知道跑船有多辛苦，常常回不了家，大風大浪又危險。”父親堅決反對。“現在不是以前了，開船都是靠高科技，不會有危險。再說這個專業出來也不是都要上船工作的，還可以從事管理工作的嘛。”謝潔瑛用從招生細則里看來的那些信息，說服父母的老觀念，可是父親仍然不同意，他總覺得女孩子做這份工作不合適，再說女兒的學習成績向來很好，老師也說了她考個復旦、交大沒問題。謝潔瑛看實在說不通父母，只能耍計謀：“人家只招18個，你們也別著急，還不一定輪得上我呢！”果然母親上當了，走過來打圓場說：“好吧好吧，那就先試試看。”

謝潔瑛性格開朗，獨立自主，很有上進心，這一試就成功了。兩個月后，錄取通知書來了，她順利地進入了上海海事大學的航海技術專業，成為18個女生中的一個。大學前兩年上的都是理論課，包括力學、氣象學、無線電通訊、船舶機械、海商法等等，大部分都是理工課程。

大三那年，學校組織大家進行航海實習，跑的是東南亞航線。第一次出海，同學們都有點興奮，但是外海的風浪大，不一會就有人暈船躺下了，連平時體力很好的男生都連連說吃不消。船一直以20度左右搖擺，謝潔瑛自始至終都沒有暈船的反應。她笑著說：“我大概就是天生的船員。”

女駕駛員在全國都是鳳毛麟角，少之又少。謝潔瑛參加長江航行的時候，附近的輪船很多，都是男駕駛員，他們用無線電保持通訊，喊喊話聊聊天。有幾次，船長聯系不上對方的時候，就說：“小謝，你來喊兩句。”果然，當聽到謝潔瑛的聲音時，那些男駕駛員就一個個興奮起來。“怎么會是個女駕駛員呢?頭一次碰到女駕駛員。”這時候，謝潔瑛就覺得自己特別風光。

勇往直前

“雪龍”號在茫茫無際的大海里航行，謝潔瑛一個人站在甲板上，海上看到的日出和日落每天都不一樣。她喜歡拿著相機拍下每個美麗多變的瞬間。其實，這次出海對謝潔瑛來說是一個特別難得的機會。

想當初快要畢業的時候，好多招聘單位還是拒絕女船員。謝潔瑛就直升研究生，2007年畢業后留校當了老師，教航海英語。

那段時間，謝潔瑛周一到周五上課，放寒暑假就和同事出去旅游，偶爾有那么幾個星期的時間帶著學生上船去做航海實習……這樣的船上工作當然不是父母最初認為的那種跑船，一來航行的時間不長，二來船上都是老師和學生，一點都不會覺得枯燥。漸漸的，也沒什么人知道謝潔瑛會開船的事情。

在一次初中同學的聚會上，謝潔瑛和現在的老公談了朋友。他是個朝九晚五的上班族。第一次拜見公公婆婆的時候，老公介紹說謝潔瑛是大學的英語老師，婆婆聽了很開心，微笑著點頭說：“教師工作蠻好的，女孩子就是要安穩點。”

夢想總是藏在人們內心的某個角落，并不會輕易地就消逝。2009年夏天，中國第26次南極科學考察隊向上海海事大學申請要一個駕駛員，駕駛他們的“雪龍”號極地科學考察船去南極。學校把報名的通知書發到各個辦公室，老師們在一起討論這件事。“謝潔瑛突然來了一句：“我有三副證書，應該可以勝任的。”謝潔瑛的三副證書是通過無數次的考試，積攢了12個月的實踐時間，好不容易才拿到手的。

之前，學校也曾經派老師參加極地科考，但這是第一次有女老師報名，所以領導也很重視，特意安排謝潔瑛上學校的“育鋒”輪實習。謝潔瑛心中暗喜，估計這回被選中的可能性很大。可是幾天后，領導突然打電話來，說是要給她打個招呼：“小謝，估計他們還是要一個男駕駛員。”謝潔瑛聽了很失望。同事們勸她別放在心上：“反正你也是試試看，成不成到時候再說。”

有個成語叫喜出望外。過了一段時間，謝潔瑛就接到了南極科考隊的正式通知，說她已經被選中了，將作為“雪龍”號的三副，去南極考察181天。得到這個消息，謝潔瑛激動得趕緊打電話給老公，其實就在這之前他們剛剛辦了喜酒，搬進新家才兩周。掛了電話，她馬上覺得有點不對勁，這次的航行她要離開半年，老公的心里會不會不高興呢?

回家的路上，謝潔瑛就一直在想這個問題，怪不得人家說船員辛苦，一出海就要和家人分離這么久，這可真不是件容易的事。何況，她和老公現在還是新婚期，如果老公不同意的話，那還是算了吧。晚上，謝潔瑛對老公說了自己的想法，征求他的意見：“你說我到底要不要去?”老公馬上接口說：“去啊，為什么不去?如果我有這么好的機會，辭職也要去。”得到了這樣的支持，謝潔瑛的心里很甜蜜。

接下來要說服的就是雙方的長輩，公婆聽說這個消息以后很吃驚：“大學老師還會開船嗎?”謝潔瑛跟他們解釋說，自己原來學的就是航海技術專業，而且有“駕駛執照”，讓他們放心……最難搞定的是謝潔瑛的父親，他一直不贊成女兒跑船，以前帶學生實習也就算了，可這次是遠航，他一聽就不答應。謝潔瑛只得騙他說：“也不過就是兩個月而已，很快就能回來的。”父親勉為其難地同意了。可是沒多久，考察團出征的新聞就在媒體上報道了，父親一看才知道，原來女兒這次要6個月之后才能回來，掐指一算，連春節都回不來了。

科考南北極

開頭上船的兩個月有新鮮感，這里看看，那里兜兜，謝潔瑛第一次看到企鵝的時候，歡呼雀躍，給它們拍了很多照。

接下去的行程，一望無際的大海里只有他們這條船在航行，一路向南，什么風景也沒有，離家也越來越遠。好不容易熬到90天的時候，有人就迫不及待地做了一張倒計時牌，開始計算回家的日子。

女人感性，更容易想家。在船上打電話是件特別奢侈的事情，一分鐘要好幾元美金，而且通信質量很差，常常“喂”了半天都聽不到對方的聲音。謝潔瑛只能靠發郵件跟家里聯系，每天寫一篇航海日記給老公看，希望他也能知道在船上發生的一些事。可是父親不會用電腦，他總是心急地等待女兒的電話。有一次在打電話的時候，信號突然斷了，父親急死了，以為船上出了什么事情，趕緊聯絡女婿問情況，還一刻不停地守著電視機看新聞，生怕說到“雪龍”號發生什么意外。后來這樣的“意外”發生次數多了，他也慢慢適應了，不再那么著急。

這兩年，女人開飛機的越來越多，可是開船的還是少有耳聞。開船一直都是男性的職業，偶爾有個女人出現在船上生活會很不方便。“雪龍”號是一條科考船，這次出征有100多個人，其中有12位女性，謝潔瑛是4位駕駛員中唯一的女性。試航的時候發制服，謝潔瑛拿到手一看，衣服、襪子、護膚品全是男式的，人家根本就沒想到會有女駕駛員。在船上，每次洗澡只能控制在3分鐘內，所以大家都把頭發剪得很短，很多男船員都是光頭。謝潔瑛也沒辦法，只得把心愛的長發剪短。船上沒有發型師，大家都是相互理發，無奈沒人會剪女式發型，結果就給謝潔瑛剪了一個男人頭，弄得她哭笑不得。船員們還開玩笑地說：“我們船上有4個男駕駛員。”

2010年4月，“雪龍”號要回上海了。那幾天的心情對謝潔瑛來說是極其復雜的，既有歸心似箭想見家人的感覺，又有對船上生活戀戀不舍的感覺。吃散伙飯的那天，她對其他科考隊員說：“過兩個月你們啟航去北極的時候，我一定來歡送你們。”船上的隊員笑著說：“我們舍不得你下船，還是和我們一起去北極吧。”

沒想到這玩笑在兩個月后竟然變成真的了。2010年6月份，領導找到謝潔瑛，問她還想不想再去趟北極，因為考察團很想讓她跑個全程：“他們覺得你的表現很好，而且你對‘雪龍’號也比較熟悉。你自己考慮一下吧。”這下，謝潔瑛又為難了。雖然她的內心是比較想去的，畢竟能夠一下子去南極和北極對一個普通人來說，是絕無僅有的機會。但是，她才剛剛回來兩個月，又要去跑船，家里人會不會答應啊？

好在老公對謝潔瑛還是很支持的，他說：“你跑完這圈，就成了中國第一個既去過南極、又去過北極的女駕駛員，說起來我臉上也有光啊。”

北極之行，這回謝潔瑛已經有經驗了，船上什么東西都有，她只要輕裝上陣，帶兩件替換的內衣，再帶幾部喜歡看的電影就可以了。

北極的行程是兩個月，2010年9月底，謝潔瑛圓滿完成任務回來了。謝潔瑛和老公新婚一年，卻有8個月是分別的，對彼此的思念之情真是說也說不完。老公摟著謝潔瑛問：“下次你還上船么？”謝潔瑛想了想：“如果有好的機會還是會去的。”“那下次帶上我吧。”“真的？”“人家是帶著妻子出海，你是帶著老公出海，多牛啊！”聽了老公的玩笑話，謝潔瑛的心里甜滋滋的。

在謝潔瑛家中的桌子上，有一幅未完成的拼圖，是前不久朋友送給她的。她打算利用業余時間拼好這幅由2000塊拼板的世界地圖。因為地圖上有南極和北極。謝潔瑛說，現在在給學生上課時，她的南極之行、北極之旅已成為必不可少的一課。

Only Helmswoman Steers Xue Long Expedition to Antarctic Waters

By Shan Shan Lu Qing

Xie Jieying， born in 1982， was the only helmswoman on Xue Long Science Research Ship in China’s 26th expedition to the Antarctic waters from October， 2009 to April， 2010. As a matter of fact， she has been the only helmswoman since China’s first Antarctic expedition in 1984.

Xie was the third officer on Xue Long to the Antarctic， working with three other male colleagues to steer the huge vessel. When the ship sailed， each worked for four hours and took the next 12 hours off and came back on duty again. They did not have days off.

Ten years before， Xie Jieying has been a senior student at Caoyang Middle School in Shanghai， preparing for the upcoming national college entrance examination. She had even never seen the sea. One day， she learned that Shanghai Maritime University was recruiting female students for maritime navigation for the first time in its history. After studying the enrollment announcement， Xie was excited. Steering a big ship on the sea was a future that appealed a great deal to her.

She talked to her parents about the opportunity and her wish. Her father tried to change his daughter’s mind， stating “No woman should work on an ocean-going ship， for she wouldn’t be able to come home for months and even years. What is more， waves and winds on the sea are most hazardous.” Her father pointed out that she was so brilliant academically that she could go to better universities. The daughter said very probably she would not get recruited even if she qualified because the university was going to enroll only 18 girls. Her mother believed applying to the university was all right， thinking the daughter wouldn’t make it but the experience would be valuable.

But Xie Jieying passed the examination and got enrolled as one of the 18 female students for the major of maritime navigation. After intensive studies of theories and essentials for two years， they began to intern on ships. The student sailors took their first ocean-going trip on a huge ship bound for the Southeast Asian. During the first few days， most of her classmates got seasick seriously. She did not feel a thing. She joked that she was probably predestined to be a sailor.

While working on a ship that navigated the Yangtze River， the longest and most busy inland river of China， Xie Jieying often caused sensations among fellow helmsmen on other ships. River helmsmen chat with each other on radio and sometimes they do not respond to calls for capricious reasons. Whenever this happened to the ship where Xie was on duty， the captain would ask Xie to call out. Helmsmen would most gladly respond， for they had never met a helmswoman on radio before. This made Xie very proud and satisfied.

After graduation， however， she failed to land a job on any ship. Her applications for a steering job were all turned down. None of the other seventeen female graduates got employed to steer ships. Most male classmates got very good job offers even before their graduation. So Xie went on to take a postgraduate course. After the completion of the postgraduate program in 2007， she became a teacher of English at her alma mater.

As a teacher of English she worked normal hours on weekdays. In winter or summer vacations， she traveled and did sightseeing. She sometimes worked as a team leader to accompany students to intern on ships. Her national helmswoman’s certificate was even forgotten by her colleagues.

In the summer of 2009， China’s 26th Antarctic expedition team sent a request to Shanghai Maritime University for a qualified helmsman. The application notice was distributed to all the staff offices and it became a topic among teachers. The person to be chosen would go away for 180 days. While in a discussion， Xie said， to everyone’s surprise， that she had a third officer’s certificate that qualified her for application. She had worked as an intern for 12 months and passed all the tests before she managed to get the certificate. She believed she must use her certificate at least once in her lifetime.

The university had sent male teachers as helmsmen to the Antarctic expeditions before. But this time a woman teacher sent in application. The university paid attention and gladly made special arrangements for Xie to work on the university’s ship for intensive training. She was happy， believing that the odds were in her favor. However， she later learned through a grapevine that the team might prefer a man. The rumor hugely disappointed her. But her colleagues encouraged her to hang on， saying she should not give up hoping since the matter had not been decided yet.

Then Xie Jieying was officially notified that she was chosen as the third officer of Xue Long and she would work on the ship for 181 days. Electrified by the gratifying news， she called her husband immediately. However， she became worried after the call. Their wedding had just taken place two weeks before. She was still in her honeymoon. What would her husband think of her choice? Her husband backed her up， saying he would have resigned to take the job offer if he had qualified. Her parents-in-law were astounded to hear the news. They were mostly perplexed: how come a university teacher of English could steer a huge ship? It was not until then that it came to their knowledge that the English teacher married to their son had studied navigation as her major at the university and had a “driving license”. Her father objected again. But what could he do this time with his daughter’s determination? He most reluctantly said yes before he found that her daughter would be away for six months and would not be home for Spring Festival in 2010.

So Xie went off on the trip to the Antarctic. The first two months were exciting. Then she saw no land at all. The ship sailed southward in the endless ocean. Some colleagues even made a countdown chart when they were 90 days on the sea.

Xie Jieying kept in contact with her husband through email. Telephone call was out of the question， for signal was extremely poor and international phone calls were too expensive. She sent a daily log to her husband， so the families would know what was going on. But her father was computer illiterate. His way to keep contact with his daughter was to wait for his daughter to call home. One day an ongoing telephone call between the father and the daughter went dead and the father panicked thinking something terrible had just happened to Xue Long. He immediately called his son-in-law and switched on television for news. Nothing bad had happened. Poor telephone signals happened frequently. The senior gradually got used to it and stopped worrying.

The experience was unique for the girl born in 1982. Of the 100-plus-person team， there were altogether 12 women. Xie was the only woman of the four steering officers. When she first got the uniforms and other supplies， they were all for males. The supply officer had not expected to see a helmswoman. On the ship， the bath time was three minutes. Most men on the ship had crew cut and some had their heads shaved. Xie Jieying had her hair cut extremely short.