Nelson Liu Son of the Ocean/海洋之子 劉寧生
Six hundred years after Cheng Ho's exploits, another maritime fest was accomplished by Nelson Liu, who has become the first Taiwanese skipper to accomplish circumnavigation by Liu, skippering his sailboat New Era, departed from Kaohsiung Harbor on December 24, 1998, and returned on May 19, 2001, completing his navigation of three oceans and five continents in two and a half years after traveling about 28,000 nautical miles.
The reason for going sailing
I went sailing because the sea is there. My birthplace is right at the seaside, and I've been fond of outdoor activities since childhood. At the end of 1989, I finally could fulfill my dream of going sailing. I went to a navigation school in Australia eleven years ago, and then crossed the Pacific Ocean by boat in 1992.
To recover the lost Chinese traditions
When we were in Egypt, I saw the river full of traditional Egyptian sailboats. I couldn't help but wonder: while Egyptians are still using their traditional boats, while we know little about our own maritime traditions though we also have a long history of navigation? Accordingly, after this circumnavigation, the first thing I'm going to do is to recover and record our ancient maritime traditions.
Sailing under the USA colors:regret
It was quite regrettable that, according to some regulations, the ROC national flag could not be raised on New Era. As a result, New Era could sail under ROC colors only on the high seas.
Love the ocean with open hearts
We really appreciate the encouragement given by Kaohsiung people. During the voyage, sometimes the idea of giving up occurred to us. However, thanks to the expectations and support of so many people, we didn't yield to difficulties. Moreover, when one has the opportunity to do something he has long dreamed of doing but fails to grasp it, he probably would regret it for the rest of his life. Consequently, despite some frustrations, we completed the voyage and had wonderful memories.
During the voyage, I realized it's important to fully communicate beforehand, and we need to improve on that. I also learned that I have to know clearly about my own limits, shortcomings and strong points, so that I may do better next time. (Speech by Nelson Liu/edited by the Editorial Office)
繼鄭和之後，台灣出現六百年來第一位航海家，1998年12月24號，跨世紀號從高雄港出發，經過兩年半的時間，跨越三大洋五大洲，終於在2001年5月19日返抵高雄港，總計全程五萬公里，航行超過八百天，這是一趟艱辛之旅。
為什麼想去航海？
因為海在那裡，所以我去航海，出自一種對海的熱情。我出生海邊，從小就喜歡戶外活動，像是潛水、浮潛，真正有能力出海是在89年底的時候，因為自己終於能夠克服對海的困難；我也是一步步學習，11年前，先去澳洲航海學校學習，後來去舊金山買到福隆號，92年橫渡太平洋。這個夢想從我少年開始，直到我後來做生意，賺了一點錢，後來收掉生意毅然決然投入自己的理想，完全靠決心和毅力。
想找回已失去的中國傳統
當我見識到滿河面的埃及傳統帆船，不禁感慨，在尼羅河流域，埃及人仍然沿用傳統帆船，這些窮困的民族保留了他們珍貴的文化資產，為什麼我們反而把自己的東西通通丟光呢？
經過赤道的時候，我們裝扮成海神，其實這是一種歐洲的儀式，表示通過時得到海神的允許了？值得反省的是，我們中國人航海也有悠久的歷史，為什麼現在進行的不是我們中國的儀式傳統？現在大多數人不知道我們中國式的帆船有什麼禁忌，這是我回來以後要做的工作之一，整理記錄我們古老的傳統。
熱愛探索的基因
跨世紀號環航世界可以稱作探索－探索生命的價值。家父熱愛原始藝術，到世界各地去做田野調查，與其說是基因遺傳，我覺得可能是一種生長環境，我從小接觸海，覺得海可親可愛。家父剛開始很反對，他認為我們幾個人如果是為了創紀錄去航海，意義不大，真正值得深省的是，到底我們做這件事有什麼意義？對別人尤其是年輕人有什麼幫助？這才是最重要的。
掛美國旗，至為遺憾
很遺憾的是，我們國人第一次從事以帆船環航世界的活動，居然懸掛的是美國的國旗，礙於國內法令的限制，跨世紀號竟然無法打出中華民國的旗幟，只好轉而靠行在美國旗下，也因此，跨世紀號每每只能在公海上升上自己的國旗，意思意思一下！
以更開放的心去擁抱海洋
帆船是取得和大自然協調的最好工具、認識海洋的途徑，而且對環境衝擊又小，想在台灣發展水上活動，希望有朝一日也有三百艘帆船從高雄港出發，往南到中國海或北到日本海，如何去擁抱海洋，熱愛海洋，要有一套合理的管理辦法，包括政府等提供良好的環境，這是尚待我們努力的地方。
感謝高雄市的鼓勵，航行過程中，我們不只一次湧現放棄、退怯的想法，但是帶了這麼多高雄人的希望，背後這麼多人支持，怎麼能夠退怯？更重要的是，一個人有幸能從事一生想做的事，如果不好好把握，怎麼對得起自己？就像我們在巴布亞紐幾亞遇到打劫，暫時對人性失望，但最後並沒有放棄人與人之間互動的信念，也就是所有美好的回憶遠勝於負面的打擊。
整個過程，我學到一件事：事前要充分溝通，這是我覺得最需要改進的地方。不過壞的經驗更值得別人做參考和警惕。我最大的收穫，是認清自己能力到達什麼程度，有什麼缺點和優點，將來也許可以做得更好。（劉寧生演講／編輯部整理）