Here near the turning point, the big question is: “Which way down?”
We're approaching Bella Bella, the town that marks the Northernmost extent of our journey. The question that is beginning to lay heavy on our minds is whether to come down the west coast of Vancouver Island or to return the way we came, passing through the smooth water channels of the Inside Passage. Each choice has its allure.
This trip has been a steep learning curve for both of us. Jiayu had only the most rudimentary sailing experience before we left. Although I had day sailed for years, I had been on only three overnight trips on my boat and had never once even dropped my anchor, staying at marinas instead.
Starting close to home in the densely populated, nearly urban environs of the San Juan and Gulf Islands, we have come through progressively more difficult passages to reach this point. Help has become further away, the weather more intense, and at times, we have passed through areas where the precise timing of currents is absolutely necessary. We are just now getting our first tastes of swells across Queen Charlotte Sound, the remnants of wave trains that have come across the Pacific.
If this were not challenge enough, this trip is also the beginning of my life together with Jiayu. In April, she moved aboard my 28 foot Cape Dory sailboat and we undertook the challenge of forging a life together in a dwelling which contains less than 150 square feet of internal living space.
It has been a tremendous journey, and even if it ended right now, it would be the trip of a lifetime.
But it is not over. We're just about at the halfway point. And the question is, do we continue up this curve of learning? Do we continue to climb and face new challenges? Is it time to feel the full force of the open ocean? To ride swells that can grow big enough to make mountains disappear?
Or do we take joy in what we have learned and begin our descent from the mountain top. Do we turn back down and re-visit the places which have given us challenges and joy? It would be tremendous to re-visit the sites of our earliest challenges and, hopefully, laugh at how much easier it all seems now.
So what is it? The wilds of the West Coast? Its rocks, waves, winds, and wildlife?
Or the joys of the Inside Passage? A month amidst the tranquil serenity of the Broughton archipelago? And a gradual reduction of the stress that accompanies such a steep learning curve?
（翻譯）
眼看接近我們旅程的折返點，「往那個方向回去？」真是大哉問。
我們即將接近旅程計畫中幾乎最北方的小鎮貝拉‧貝拉。重壓我們心中的問題是：由溫哥華島西方返回，或是由原路折返，回到內灣航道平緩的水道。二者皆有其吸引力。
這趟旅程我們兩人都經歷陡峭的學習曲線。Jiayu在我們啟航前僅有最基本的航行經驗。雖然我有多年航行的經驗，但是我僅有過三次長時間航行，而且我都停靠在碼頭，從未下過錨。
我們從離家近、人口密集、接近城市的聖關與峽谷群島開始，逐漸進入更多挑戰的航道而來到今日。這裡，天氣變化更為劇烈、離援助越遠。有時候，某些地區需要精準的時間通過急流。不久前，我們才首次嚐到湧浪的滋味，這些海浪由太平洋緩慢傳送至夏綠蒂皇后海峽，而來到我們身旁。
若是這樣還不夠具有挑戰性，那麼這趟旅程還是我和Jiayu共同生活的開始。在四月份，她來到我9公尺的小船上，我們接受這個挑戰，在僅有150平方英尺的生活空間開始共同建築我們的生活。
這是一趟嘆為觀止的旅程，即使這趟旅程在此結束，也已經是我們一生中難以忘懷之旅。
但是旅途尚未結束，我們才快到中途點。現在的問題是：我們讓學習曲線持續攀升嗎？我們繼續接受新的挑戰嗎？面對開放海域深沈力量的時間到了嗎？我們要親身體驗如山一般高的湧浪嗎？
還是我們驗收已經學習的成果，開始從山頂返回？我們要轉身重新探訪曾帶給我們挑戰與歡樂的所到之處嗎？我想，重新探訪給予我們挑戰的早期航行點會是個美好的經驗。希望到時候我們會笑看怵目驚心的一切已變得如此容易。
所以到底怎麼選擇呢？溫哥華島西岸的野生原始？它的岩石、海浪、強風、和豐富的野生動物？
還是內灣航道的樂趣？在布萊頓群島享受一個月的寧靜安詳？以及逐漸降低陡峭學習曲線所帶來的壓力呢？
