Darren Porter is standing in the sunshine by the docks at the Portsmouth Naval Base, on the south coast of England. The electricity generator is humming loudly. There is a mess of yellow and blue cables on the ground, a cabin with gadgets and a video screen inside it. The scene is a mixture of high-tech and heavy-duty equipment. Mr Porter offers to turn the generator off, having already boiled the kettle.

达伦•波特(Darren Porter)正顶着阳光，站在位于英格兰南部海岸的朴茨茅斯海军基地(Portsmouth Naval Base)码头边。发电机正在发出响亮的轰鸣声。周围的地面上有一团黄蓝交缠的电缆，还有一间小屋，屋里有一些小工具和一面显示屏。整个场景中混杂了高科技和重型设备。波特受命要去关掉发电机，因为它已经热得沸腾起来了。

He is a professional diver, monitoring and repairing ships and shipyards for BAE Systems, which manages the Portsmouth Naval Base estate on behalf of the Royal Navy. Two teams of five oversee the entire base, which at any one time might contain frigates, destroyers, mine countermeasure vessels, and a Falkland Islands patrol ship.

波特是一名职业潜水员，负责为BAE系统公司(BAE Systems)监控和维修船只以及船坞，该公司目前代表英国皇家海军(Royal Navy)管理朴茨茅斯海军基地的物业。两个五人团队负责巡视整个基地，在任何一个时点，基地中都可能停有护卫舰、驱逐舰、水雷反制舰以及一艘福克兰群岛(Falkland Islands)巡逻舰。

The 48-year-old, who is from Portsmouth, a city dominated by the naval port, began exploring the sea at the age of 11, at first snorkelling after his uncle suffered a back injury and passed on his wetsuit.

波特现年48岁，是海军港口城市朴茨茅斯本地人。他11岁就开始了潜水，最初他用水下呼吸管浮潜，那时他叔叔背部受伤，将自己的潜水服给了他。

The first time he went out, the visibility was “crystal clear”. Typically, on the south coast, he says, you can see for 6ft. But on that day visibility was 15ft. “You could see everything and it was amazing. That got me hooked.”

他第一次潜水时，海水“清澈透明”，能见度极高。他说，在南海岸，能见度通常可达6英尺。但在那一天，能见度达到了15英尺。“你能看到所有东西，这种感觉非常奇妙。从此我就迷上了潜水。”

He first went out to wrecks, before diving for scallops, shellfish and lobsters.

一开始，他潜水寻找的是遇难船只残骸，后来开始寻找扇贝、贝类和龙虾。

The Porter family were either in construction or car sales. In their spare time his father, brother and uncles used to go scuba diving and water skiing. After leaving school Mr Porter moved into building work, which took him to Germany.

波特的家人要么从事建筑业，要么从事汽车销售。闲暇时间里，波特的父亲、兄弟和叔叔们经常会玩水肺潜水和滑水。离开学校以后，波特进入了建筑业工作，因为工作去了德国。

Having been in the building trade for 15 years he had had enough and decided to turn his hobby into a profession. Using his savings he paid for an advanced training course, which in 1998 cost £5,000 – today it is nearer £15,000.

在建筑行业待了15年以后，他感觉自己干够了这一行，决定将自己的爱好发展成一种职业。靠着自己的积蓄，他付钱参加了一项高级训练课程——这套课程的费用在1998年时就高达5000英镑，如今则接近15000英镑。

The industry, he says, can be quite difficult to break into. Many give up – “maybe it wasn’t in their heart to keep trying”, he reflects. But if you want to break into it badly enough, “you’ll peg away and someone, somewhere will give you a break”.

他说，潜水行业可能非常难以进入。很多人都放弃了——他沉思道，“或许他们心中没有不断尝试的信念”。但如果你足够热切地想要进入潜水行业，“你就会坚持不懈地努力，某个人、某个地方会给你一次机会”。

Professional divers work in a range of fields, including civil engineering projects involving bridges, tunnels, dams and pipelines.

职业潜水员会在一系列领域开展工作，包括与桥梁、隧道、水坝以及输油管道有关的民用工程项目。

A yellow metal diving helmet rests on the ground alongside a jacket. The helmet weighs 8kg, the jacket 25kg. This equipment makes him neutrally buoyant in the water, meaning he neither sinks nor rises. But on a warm day like today, the gear can make him hot very quickly on land.

一顶黄色的金属潜水头盔静静躺在地上，旁边还有一件潜水夹克。这顶头盔重达8公斤，而夹克则重达25公斤。这些设备能使他在水中悬浮，这意味着他既不会沉下去，也不会浮起来。但在像今天这样暖和的天气里在陆地上穿着这套装备，很快就会把他热得够呛。

He talks of “the buzz of being neutrally buoyant and the excitement of seeing something you haven’t seen before – it’s a whole new world underwater, inner space”.

他谈到，“悬浮让人愉悦，看到从未见过的东西也让人感到兴奋——水下是一个全新的世界，一个内在的空间”。

A typical day starts at 7.30am and finishes at 5pm, including paperwork. In the winter, time in the water can be limited to 45 minutes: “You start shivering.” In the summer, they can dive for up to four hours.

通常而言，他从早晨7点30分开始工作，到下午5点结束，其中包括文书工作的时间。在冬季，下水的时间可能被限制在45分钟以内：“超过这个时间你会开始发抖。”在夏天，潜水员最多可以下潜四个小时。

There is only one diver in at a time. The other is on standby in case he has to rescue his colleague. The danger comes from the tides or a boat engine being started accidentally. Mr Porter feels more at risk, however, in a small car on a motorway than diving.

每次只有一个潜水员下潜，另外一个潜水员则在旁边待命，以防出现必须下水营救同事的情况。危险可能来自潮汐，或者是一台被意外发动的船只发动机。但在波特看来，在高速公路上驾驶一辆小型汽车比潜水更危险。

The industry has become a lot safer, he says. “There used to be a lot of ‘yahoo-ness’. The cowboy outfits have gone and the offshore industry has [made a big push] on safety standards.” The only work-related accident Mr Porter has had is when he broke his wrist falling over a jetty.

他说，潜水行业已经变得安全多了。“过去曾有很多野蛮做法。现在牛仔装已经消失不见了，近海潜水行业也已（大力推动）安全标准的提高。”波特经历过的唯一一次与工作有关的事故，是他从防波堤上摔下来，摔得腕部骨折。

There is a sense of escapism from the day-to-day ordinary life. He loves the feeling of weightlessness and being so focused on his breath. “It’s very peaceful and tranquil. When the sun is high and it’s clear, it’s dazzling and pretty. Then the next day after a storm it’s not the same place. It seems a completely different world.”

潜水能给人带来一种从日复一日的平凡生活中逃离的感觉。他深爱失重状态以及将注意力集中在自己呼吸上的感觉。“水中非常宁静。晴天的时候，水体清澈耀眼，非常漂亮。而一场暴雨之后的第二天，水下就不一样了，看起来像是另一个完全不同的世界。”

This world can be mesmerising. When Mr Porter, who is naturally reticent, gets on to the beauty of being underwater, he comes to life. “It’s the equivalent of being up early or staying out late seeing the sunrise and sunset, those peaceful moments.”

这个世界可以令人着迷。波特天生沉默寡言，但一说到水下世界之美，他就变得活跃了起来。“这就像是早起看日出，或在户外守候日落，那些宁静平和的时刻。”

Being in the sea can be meditative. “You’re aware of your own breathing and the sound of the bubbles.” Although, on one occasion the other diving team were working on a ship and the noise travelling through the water was so loud it vibrated through him. “I had to get out of the water because I was like a tuning fork.”

潜水能够促人冥想。“你能清楚感受到自己的呼吸，听到吹水泡的声音。”不过，时不时会碰上有另一个潜水队在一艘船上作业，通过水体传来的噪音是如此响亮，以至于让他的身体都随着声波震动。“这时我必须从水中出来，因为在水里我就像是一根音叉。”

It is a secret world, he says. “You see spring and autumn underwater. You see everything grow. Different species come and go, spawn, the lobsters appear. Then it all goes in the winter and you see the season change underwater.”

他说，这是一个神秘的世界。“你能在水下看到春季和秋季。你能看到万物生长。不同的物种来了又去，产卵，龙虾也会出现。到了冬季，它们全都消失得无影无踪，你能在水下看到季节变幻。”

In winter the choppy water and overcast skies lead to zero visibility – which means seeing less than a metre ahead. Everything is done by touch. “Over the years you acquire a knowledge. A sixth sense kicks in and sometimes it’s easier to close your eyes than try and see. The sensitivity in your fingers means you can understand what’s going on.”

在冬季，海中浪很大，天空布满阴云，导致水下可见度为零——这意味着在水下只能看到前方不到一米处的东西。所有事情都是通过伸手触摸来完成的。“随着工作年限的增长你学到了一门学问。第六感开始发挥作用，有些时候，闭上眼睛操作，比试图睁眼看清后操作更加容易。手有触觉，意味着你能明白正在发生什么。”

Every year his team are put through a medical to test their fitness: their ability at step-ups and cycling are monitored.

每年他和同事都会接受一项医学测试，以考察他们的健康程度。测试内容包括考察他们在台阶跳和骑车中的运动表现。

He feels lucky to find such an enduring job in his home town. Most professional divers are lured abroad to work offshore on oil rigs. There the job requires underwater welding and construction on submerged structures and pipelines.

他感到自己很幸运，能在自己的家乡找到一份如此持久的工作。绝大多数专业潜水员被吸引到了海外，在离岸的石油钻井平台上工作。在那些地方，潜水工作需要进行水下焊接以及水下建筑和输油管线的工程建设。

Robots, Mr Porter believes, will not replace humans in the near future. The ROVs – remotely operated underwater vehicles – that he works with are too clunky compared to a human hand. If Mr Porter or his colleagues become tangled underwater they can free themselves. If the ROV gets tangled, it needs rescuing by the divers.

波特不认为机器人将在在不久的将来取代人类。与人类的手相比，和他一起作业的遥控潜水器（Remotely operated underwater vehicle，简称ROV）显得过于笨拙。如果波特或者他的同事在水下被缠绕住，他们可以自己摆脱出来。但如果ROV被缠绕住了，则需要潜水员的救援。

Mark Corp, the team’s supervisor, believes a good diver is someone who is alert, follows instructions and can give a good running commentary. “Some people go [underwater] and say ‘there’s a lot of old seaweed’.”

潜水队的主管马克•科尔普(Mark Corp)认为，优秀的潜水员需要满足几个条件：机警、听从指挥、并且能够对水下的情况做出有用的解说。“有些人在（潜入水下）以后会说，‘这里有好多年头不短的海草啊’。”

Instead he wants divers to describe the marine growth, whether it was hard or soft, barnacles or seaweed. This is all piped back to the person overseeing operations in a cabin. From there they can monitor a large video screen that relays footage from a camera fixed on the diver’s helmet.

相反，科尔普希望潜水员们描绘船底生物附着情况，比如附着的是软体动物还是硬壳动物，甲壳动物还是海草。这些描述会被全部传回给岸上的小屋中监视整个水下作业活动的监控员。在小屋里，监控员可以在一块大尺寸显示屏上，看到从固定在潜水员头盔上的摄像头传回来的视频画面。

The diving teams at BAE are exclusively male. While Mr Corp says there are women in the industry, here the banter is laddish. “The trouble is you’ve got to get undressed in front of blokes,” he explains, before grinning: “It wouldn’t bother me.”

BAE系统公司的潜水队清一色全是男性。虽然科尔普说，这一行也有女性，但他只不过是在开玩笑。他解释道：“麻烦的是，你得在别人面前脱衣服。”随后他笑着说：“反正我是不在乎的。”