stand off and on meaning in English

离岸时近时远地行驶

They were ashore nigh on a week , and us standing off and on in the old walrus
他们在岸上停留了有一个星期光景，我们这些人呆在老瓦鲁斯号上。
But , look here , he went on , here s what i want to know , barbecue : how long are we a - going to stand off and on like a blessed bumboat
“但是，你看， ”他接着说道， “我想知道的是这个，大叉烧：还要多久我们才会离开这只该死的垃圾船？