The wind and waves on the sea became stronger, and the height of the waves soared from two meters to three or four meters. Along with the dark clouds in the sky, a terrifying and depressing atmosphere filled the entire sea.
"Lower the sail, furl the jib," Chen Zuwang shouted loudly.
He began to slow down. Such a big wave was not suitable for high-speed navigation. Full sail creates the risk of capsizing.
The ship's speed soon dropped to about ten knots.
At this time the wave was even bigger, reaching five meters.
The bow of the ship, even though it was hollow, began to pick up heavy waves.
Between the peaks and troughs of the waves, this small boat was so small, but it still bravely pointed its bow towards the big waves and rushed straight over.
In the cabin, all the portholes had been closed at this time. The hatch cover is also tightly closed. Except for those who must operate on the deck, other personnel are not allowed to go on the deck to avoid being swept away by huge waves.
In the huge waves, the entire hull was subjected to strong pressure in six directions.
The left and right sides were squeezed by the waves, and the bottom of the boat was thrown up by the swells, and then hit the sea heavily. The ship's front and rear are repeatedly squeezed and stretched by the motion of the waves. The top of the boat was blown by strong winds and hit by rising waves.
The whole boat made a creaking sound.
The air pressure in the cabin was obviously rising, and my lungs were very uncomfortable.
Because the four walls of the ship are deforming, squeezing, and moving, the air pressure in the cabin is increasing.
Chen Xiao is Chen Liang's grandson and one of the technicians. He is responsible for monitoring the condition of the keel and ribs in the cabin.
At this time, he saw a terrifying scene. The ribs and beams of the ship were actually squirming. All the bamboo shoots are moving.
At this moment, he suddenly realized that the ship did not resist force when it was subjected to force, but could deform to relieve the pressure within the range of motion.
When Western sailing ships encountered high sea conditions, some sailors even placed walnuts at the joints of the squirming wood, allowing the moving wood to crush the walnuts and then eat them.
As the storm intensified, the ship's hull deformation further increased.
The air pressure in the cabin continued to increase. Everyone felt that their heartbeats were speeding up, their cheeks were red, their ears began to ring, and their lungs tingled.
Suddenly, just when everyone couldn't stand it anymore, bang! With a loud bang, the sealed hatch cover on the deck was blown away by the air pressure in the cabin, flew up from the deck, and then landed heavily on the deck.
Fortunately no one was hit.
After the hatch cover flew out, the air flow inside and outside the cabin was connected, and the air pressure in the cabin suddenly decreased. The heavy rain outside also fell directly on the cabin. Chen Xiao was soaked in the rain. He looked outside the cabin cover and saw countless lightnings swimming like dragons under the black sky.
"Re-cover the hatch cover quickly, don't close it completely, leave a gap. The rainwater has poured into the cabin. Hurry!" the first mate roared in a hoarse voice, and a team of sailors rushed to the deck, lifted the heavy hatch cover and closed it again At the entrance of the warehouse.
The bridge was open-air, and all the people on it were soaked in the rain.
The rain was so heavy that I could hardly open my eyes.
There is a vast expanse of white everywhere. It is not yet the third month of the lunar calendar, and the weather is still very cold. Everyone's skin is white from the cold in the freezing rain.
For the first time, Mingyan felt that sailing was really a hard job. He felt that a canvas roof should be installed on the bridge, which was at least much better than being exposed to the cold in the wind and rain.
Chen Zuwang did not expect that his first trial voyage would encounter such a big storm.
The wave height is now almost seven meters.
But he couldn't retreat. He could only face the big waves and keep walking in the direction of the waves with the bow of the boat. If the ship's side faces a swell wall, the ship will capsize.
He no longer cared about other people at this time, and mobilized all his abilities to drive the ship and ensure the safety of the ship.
Chen San tightly grasped the safety rope tied around his waist to prevent himself from being swept into the sea by the big waves. He was almost completely stunned.
The threat of heaven and earth made his legs weak, but he knew that he could not escape at this time. For the first time, he understood the meaning of the idiom of helping each other in the same boat.
After two full hours, the dark clouds finally dispersed, the rain stopped, the wind subsided, and the waves calmed down.
The sea has returned to a wave height of about one meter.
The people on the boat cried out with the feeling of surviving a disaster.
"Count the number of people." Chen Zuwang yelled.
After a while, the first mate came up and reported that two sailors were swept away by the big waves. There was also a sailor who fell from the observation deck into the waves and could not be found.
"Twenty-five people hit the sharp corners of different components in the wind and waves, causing varying degrees of injuries."
"Seven people were injured when they tripped over ropes and debris on the deck that were washed away by the swell."
"Count the losses." Chen Zuwang said expressionlessly. As long as he went into the sea, there would be casualties. This was a very risky matter.
"There are three leaks in the cabin and repairs are being carried out."
"The front mast connection is somewhat loose and is being repaired."
"There is a piece of canvas torn in the front mainsail, and a spare canvas is being replaced."
"All three hatch covers were damaged, and one of them was blown off, causing serious damage."
"The cook reported that the chicken cage was swept away by a big wave. All fifteen laying hens were missing. A large pot of bean sprouts was also swept away."
"There were cracks found in several ship plates on the right front side, but there was no leakage."
Chen Zuwang and others wiped the water stains on their bodies with towels, and each of them drank a few sips of strong liquor before they felt relieved.
At this time, he was listening to the damage control report and ordering countermeasures.
The water press installed next to the ship's bulwark began to pump out the accumulated water that entered the cabin. Carpenters began repairing damaged components.
Chen Zuwang asked the first mate to take over the helm and reduce the speed.
The people on the deck went down to the warehouse to warm themselves by the fire, and someone came up to take over.
Everyone on the deck was frozen, and they were very happy to hear that the shift was changing. Quickly hand over to the new people, and then go down to warm up by the fire.
"Let the kitchen prepare hot soup and scones. Let's start the meal in advance so that everyone can stay warm. Give each person two taels of pear blossom white wine," Ming Yan ordered.
The cook quickly took two helpers and opened the closed briquette stove. A windmill was used to blow up the fire, and the soup was quickly made. The two helpers used the other two stoves to bake cakes.
The cook thought for a moment and decided to make a hot and sour soup, adding more shredded ginger, which would be sour and appetizing, make people sweat, and make everyone's blood revitalize.
After a while, the aroma of hot and sour soup wafted from the kitchen. The cook on the ship also cooked according to the recipes, and many of the dishes were not available in this era.
Two large buckets of hot and sour soup were brought over, as well as hundreds of hot naan pancakes. The fragrance is very tempting. This thing can be easily saved, so Yang Fan's system produces a large number of them internally.
Chen Liang took a big sip of the hot and sour soup, burped with satisfaction, and praised: "Chef Zhang, your skills have improved again. With this taste, it is more than enough to open a restaurant in Tianjin Acropolis."
Chef Zhang giggled and said, "We're not going there. We'll just cook food for everyone on the boat. We like being on such a beautiful boat. It's a pity that the chicken coop was swept away by the big waves. Otherwise, I'd give you some frangipani flowers." It’s always delicious.”
