鸭子船如何从军事起源成为波士顿游行的固定项目

【中美创新时报2024 年 6 月 21 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）周一晚上，波士顿凯尔特人队夺得历史性的第 18 个冠军几分钟后，球迷们发出呼声：“给鸭子船加油！”果然，到周二早上，市长吴弭（Michelle Wu ）和其他官员正在制定周五胜利游行的计划，这些标志性的船只——按照传统——将载着胜利的球队穿过城市。《波士顿环球报》记者丹尼尔·库尔（Daniel Kool ）和通讯员玛蒂·卡沃（Maddie Khaw）对此作了下述详细报道。

二十多年来，这些船一直是波士顿任何重大体育庆典的标志，载着球员穿过成群的狂热粉丝。波士顿首次举办“流动集会”是在 2002 年，当时新英格兰爱国者队赢得了他们的第一个超级碗冠军，应时任市长托马斯·梅尼诺的要求，这些船只也参与其中。

从那时起，这些两栖车辆（也因在热门观光旅游中运送游客而闻名）就成为了波士顿本世纪令人羡慕的一系列体育赛事冠军的代名词：迄今为止已取得 13 场胜利。

“这是波士顿独有的事物，”TD Garden 体育博物馆馆长理查德·约翰逊说道，该博物馆致力于纪念波士顿体育的历史和特色。“球迷们一直公开表达支持……这只是最近的一次表现。这是一件好事。你知道，这是一个真正的社区活动。”

约翰逊列举了一些巩固了这些船只在波士顿体育界标志性地位的时刻：红袜队投手杰克·皮维以 75,000 美元的价格购买了他在球队 2013 年胜利游行中乘坐的鸭子船；凯尔特人队教练道格·里弗斯在 2007-08 赛季带领球队进行了鸭子之旅，几个月后他们就将为球队赢得第 17 个总冠军。

蜿蜒穿过波士顿公园和后湾区，与这些船的最初用途相去甚远：二战期间，这些船用于运送士兵穿越陆地和水面，最著名的是在诺曼底登陆日，据威斯康星州原始鸭子公司称，该公司于 1946 年开始提供美国首个鸭子之旅。

甚至他们的名字也有点用词不当，或者至少是一种口语。根据美国国家运输安全委员会的说法，“DUKW”是该型号的制造商代码：D 代表 1942 年车型，U 代表实用车身形状，K 代表全轮驱动，W 代表双后轴。

“这辆车的独特性、我们与二战的历史渊源以及它们在争取自由的斗争中的作用，都讲述了一个美丽的故事，”波士顿鸭子船之旅首席执行官辛迪·布朗（Cindy Brown）说。

波士顿鸭子船之旅于 1994 年 10 月成立，当时只有 15 名员工和 4 辆车。如今，该公司拥有 28 辆两栖车辆，并以波士顿为中心命名“Commonwealth Curley”、“Longfellow Bridget”和“Symphony Hal”。

布朗说，该公司最初使用的是原版二战船只，但大约 15 年前，由于老化的船只越来越难以维护，该船队被专门为观光设计的“仿制 DUKW”船所取代。

布朗说，这些船共有 28 艘，存放在多切斯特的车库中，由 25 名机械师、维修工和经理组成的团队负责日常维护和年度大修。她说，她希望目前的船队能继续使用几十年，但公司也在考虑在适当的时候使用电力替代。

周四下午，距离胜利游行不到 24 小时，一艘名为“Beantown Betty”的红色鸭子船载着游客游览了后湾区和城市的其他地区。它从保诚中心出发，驶过哈佛大桥，穿过剑桥，经过科学博物馆，然后驶入查尔斯河，年轻的乘客们被带到船头轮流驾驶。

马特·布林（Matt Breen）每天讲述四到六次鸭子之旅，他扮演的角色是“马克斯·马歇尔拱门”，在 80 分钟的旅程中，他一直和乘客们开玩笑。一路上，他指出了从芬威的 Citgo 标志到扎基姆桥等地标，以及其他不那么吸引游客的景点，如萨福克县监狱和特里蒙特街上的纽约披萨店——中间穿插着笑话和趣闻。

“我们试图将故事保持在 75% 的历史和 25% 的喜剧之间，”布林说道，他在 2016 年加入波士顿鸭子船之旅之前曾涉足单口喜剧。

虽然鸭子船在波士顿的风景中占有特殊地位，但在少数其他地方也可以找到鸭子船之旅，包括威斯康星戴尔斯、田纳西州查塔努加和圣地亚哥。

曾发生过与鸭子船有关的致命事故。

2016 年，一艘鸭子船在西雅图大桥上突然转向迎面驶来的车辆，据称是由于维护不善导致机械故障。据《西雅图时报》报道，这家旅游公司西雅图鸭子船之旅于 2020 年申请破产。

大约两年后，一艘鸭子船在密苏里州布兰森沉没，溺水身亡 17 人。该公司后来关闭。

2016 年，波士顿的一艘名为“Penelope Pru”的波士顿鸭子船撞死了一名骑摩托车的女子。同年晚些时候，立法机关通过了提高两栖游览车安全性的规则，要求鸭子船和类似车辆配备安全设备，包括盲点摄像头和近距离传感器。

布朗说，安全是公司的首要任务，也是公司更换为拥有更易获取替换零件的新型船队的原因之一。她补充说，公司面临的监管比严格的陆地或水上运营更多。

“我们受到双重监管。陆地上是卡车，水上是船，”布朗说。“我们有两双眼睛盯着车辆的两个区域。”

布朗说，每艘旅游船都配有一名司机和一名导游，其中至少一人拥有船长执照。成人票价为 52.99 美元。

周五，这些船将保持干船状态，但在之前的游行中，它们曾穿过查尔斯河。

布朗说，在为游行队伍配备人员时，公司会考虑司机的“资历、全职和全年[状态]，以及他们参加过多少次游行”。

周五的游行队伍将有至少二十多艘鸭子船，这意味着需要配备约 50 名员工——约占公司全体员工的四分之一。

她说，一些以前参加过游行的司机今年放弃了自己的位置，为新人提供了获得荣耀的机会。

“你真的必须努力争取。没有第一年的员工能做到，”布朗说。“这是一种荣誉和特权，所以我们很重视。”

43 岁的布林是今年获得游行席位的幸运员工之一。他已经将闹钟定在了周五早上 4:15，这样他就有一小时的时间前往多切斯特车库，在那里他将帮助准备游行用的鸭子，然后由警察护送它们前往花园。这将是他第二次参加冠军游行，第一次是在 2018 年，当时红袜队赢得了世界大赛。

对于布林来说，有机会帮助举办游行是“超现实和令人谦卑的”。

“这让我感到自豪，”他说。“我在巡演中谈论游行，我在做游行之前就谈论过它们……这是一个疯狂而令人兴奋的时刻，参与其中很酷。”

题图：2004 年冠军游行期间，鸭子船经过时，红袜队球迷在查尔斯河岸边排成一排向他们的球队致敬。鸭子船不会在凯尔特人队冠军游行中在河中行驶。GREENE, BILL GLOBE STAFF

附原英文报道：

How duck boats went from their military roots to a Boston parade fixture

By Daniel Kool and Maddie Khaw Globe Correspondent,Updated June 21, 2024 

Minutes after the Boston Celtics claimed a historic 18th championship Monday night, the call rang out among fans: “Fuel up the duck boats!“

Sure enough, by Tuesday morning Mayor Michelle Wu and other officials were laying out plans for Friday’s victory parade, with the iconic boats — as tradition dictates — shuttling the victorious team through the city.

For more than two decades, the boats have been a hallmark of any major Boston sports celebration, carrying players through throngs of adoring fans. The city’s first “Rolling Rally” was in 2002, when the New England Patriots won their first Super Bowl, with the boats included at the request of then-Mayor Thomas Menino.

Since then, the amphibious vehicles — also known for ferrying visitors on popular sightseeing tours — have become synonymous with championships during Boston’s enviable string of sports successes this century: 13 so far.

“This is a uniquely Boston thing,” said Richard Johnson, curator of the Sports Museum at TD Garden, which celebrates the history and character of Boston sports. “The fans have always voiced vocal and public support. … This is just the most recent manifestation of that. It’s a nice thing. You know, it’s a real community thing.”

Johnson cited some moments that he said cemented the boats’ iconic status in Boston sports: Red Sox pitcher Jake Peavy buying the duck boat he rode on during the team’s 2013 victory parade for $75,000; Celtics coach Doc Rivers taking the 2007-08 team on a duck tour months before they would bring home the team’s 17th championship.

Meandering past Boston Common and through the Back Bay is a far cry from the boats’ original purpose: carrying soldiers over land and water during World War II, most notably onto the beaches of Normandy during D-Day, according to Original Wisconsin Ducks, which started offering the nation’s first duck tours in 1946.

Even their name is a bit of a misnomer, or at least a colloquialism. “DUKW” was the manufacturer’s code for the model, according to the National Transportation Safety Board: D represented model year 1942, U the utility body shape, K stood for all-wheel drive, and W meant dual rear axles.

“The uniqueness of the vehicle, and the history of our ties to World War II, and how they were used in the fight for freedom, it all just tells a beautiful story,” said Cindy Brown, chief executive of Boston Duck Tours.

Boston Duck Tours began in October 1994 with 15 employees and a fleet of four vehicles. Today, the company boasts 28 of the amphibious vehicles, sporting Boston-centric names “Commonwealth Curley,” “Longfellow Bridget,” and “Symphony Hal.”

Brown said the company initially used original World War II boats, but the fleet was replaced with “replica DUKW” boats specially designed for sightseeing about 15 years ago, as the aging vessels became harder to maintain.

The boats, 28 in total, are kept in a Dorchester garage, where a crew of 25 mechanics, detailers, and managers oversee daily maintenance and annual overhauls, Brown said. She said she hopes to keep the current fleet alive for several decades, but the company is also looking into electric-powered replacements for when the time comes.

On Thursday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the victory parade, a red duck boat named “Beantown Betty” brought tourists around Back Bay and other parts of the city. After starting at the Prudential Center, it chugged over the Harvard Bridge, through Cambridge, and past the Museum of Science before dipping into the Charles, where young passengers were shuffled to the front to take turns driving the boat.

Matt Breen, who shifts into his character “Max Marshall Arch” during the four to six duck tours he narrates each day, bantered with riders throughout the 80-minute tour. Along the way, he pointed out landmarks from Fenway’s Citgo sign to the Zakim Bridge, as well as other, less touristy spots, such as the Suffolk County Jail and New York Pizza on Tremont Street — interspersed with jokes and fun facts.

“We try to keep it to about 75 percent history, 25 percent comedy,” said Breen, who dabbled in stand-up comedy before starting with Boston Duck Tours in 2016.

While they hold a special place in Boston’s landscape, duck boat tours can be found in a handful of other places, including the Wisconsin Dells, Chattanooga, Tenn., and San Diego.

There have been fatal accidents involving the vessels.

In 2016, a duck boat swerved into oncoming traffic on a Seattle bridge after a mechanical failure allegedly stemming from poor maintenance. The tour company, Ride the Ducks Seattle, filed for bankruptcy in 2020, The Seattle Times reported.

About two years later, a duck boat sank in Branson, Mo., drowning 17 people. The company there later closed.

In Boston in 2016, a Boston Duck Tours boat named “Penelope Pru” struck and killed a woman on a motor scooter. Later that year, the Legislature passed rules to increase safety of amphibious tour vehicles, requiring duck boats and similar vehicles to have safety equipment including blind spot cameras and proximity sensors.

Brown said safety is the company’s top priority and part of the reason it swapped to a newer fleet with more readily accessible replacement parts. She added that the company faces more oversight than strictly land- or water-based operations.

“We’re double-regulated. It’s a truck on land and a boat on water,” Brown said. “We have two sets of eyes looking at both areas of the vehicles.”

Each tourist boat is crewed by a driver and a tour guide, Brown said, at least one of whom has a captain’s license. An adult ticket costs $52.99.

The boats will stay dry Friday, but they’ve splashed through the Charles for previous parades.

When it comes to staffing the parade, Brown said, the company considers drivers’ “seniority, full-time and year-round [status], and how many parades they’ve done.

The parade Friday will see a convoy of at least two dozen duck boats, which means staffing around 50 people — about a quarter of the company’s entire staff.

She said some drivers who worked previous parades gave up their spots this year to offer newcomers a chance at the glory.

“You really have to earn it. No first year employees get to do it,” Brown said. “It’s an honor and a privilege, so we take that seriously.”

Breen, 43, is one of the lucky staffers who earned a parade spot this year. He’s already set his alarm for 4:15 Friday morning, which gives him an hour to make his way to the Dorchester garage, where he’ll help prep the ducks for the parade before they’re escorted by police to the Garden. It’ll be his second time working a championship parade, his first being in 2018 when the Red Sox won the World Series.

For Breen, the chance to help make the parade happen is “surreal and humbling.”

“It makes me proud,” he said. “I talk about the parades on the tour, I talked about them before I ever did one … It’s a crazy, exhilarating moment, and it’s cool to be a part of.”