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Lin Chuanqing decided to abandon the ship and everyone went ashore to take shelter from the wind - he was an old fisherman and knew the severity of typhoons. Fishing boats sheltering in the port would be destroyed when hit by a strong typhoon, so he followed the rules when taking shelter from the wind. No one is left on board.
"Everyone abandon the ship? Isn't it too dangerous without anyone on the ship?" Zhou Weisen became anxious when he heard this.
"My brother Zhou, if the typhoon really sweeps over our heads, it will be good if we can save our lives. Do you still want a boat?" Lin Chuan took a few puffs on a cigarette.
"Haven't we already entered the sheltered anchorage..."
"You don't know much about typhoons." Lin Chuanqing shook his head repeatedly. Zhou Weisen did not argue anymore - after all, the other party was the formation commander and an old sea dog, so it was always right to listen to him.
Lin Chuanqing immediately ordered some personnel to land immediately with tools and materials and establish a temporary camp on Samar Island. At the same time, the boats, small weapons, radio stations, various controlled materials and many supplies and equipment on board were moved to the shore to make complete preparations. Under the command of Lin Chuanqing, another group of people were making preparations on the ship. They turned off the boiler, closed all the watertight hatches, and put all the sails and all the odds and ends on the deck into the cabin. Items that cannot be stored in the cabin are tied securely. Finally, Lin Chuanqing ordered the bottom tank to be filled with water to increase the draft. Stable center of gravity.
Lin Chuanqing was very worried about the Feiyun. The Feiyun's full load displacement was only more than a hundred tons, and it might not survive the typhoon. He suggested that the Feiyun be simply pulled ashore, so the crew began to unload part of the Tidemaker together. Materials. A temporary slide was built. The mast and sails of the Feiyun were all removed, and the hull was pulled up to the beach and transported to a sheltered place on the shore. Secure with rope and anchor chain.
It was getting dark. A fire was lit in the camp on the shore. Zhou Weisen and Lin Chuanqing stood side by side at the seaside camp, looking worriedly at the restless sea.
"I think we shouldn't sleep tonight. Everyone has to take turns on duty."
"You go to rest first, and you will be on duty in the second half of the night." Zhou Weisen said, "I couldn't sleep in the first half of the night."
At this time, a disaster is approaching the travelers to the east of Mindanao, 400 kilometers south-west. No one knows how many times this typhoon, often called the "Butterfly Storm of the Philippine Sea" in later generations, happened that year. At this time it is moving rapidly northward along the east side of the Philippine Islands at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour. The radius of the Category 10 wind circle of this typhoon reaches 100 kilometers, while the radius of the Category 7 wind circle is 300 kilometers. For the Spaniards in Manila, they just missed the edge of a Category 7 wind circle. It was not a big deal in the Philippines, which is frequently hit by typhoons, so there was no special record. It is precisely for this reason that there is no word about this typhoon in the materials in the Great Library. but. For Samar Island. It has destructive power.
Qian Shuiting was suddenly awakened. The wind was howling in my ears, the heavy raindrops made my body ache, and the makeshift hay shed had flown to nowhere. He got up in a daze and found that the wind was so strong that he could hardly stand. The fire had long been extinguished. In the dark night, only the occasional lightning could see the shadows of swaying trees and a few half-lying people. silhouette. Even though he shouted loudly, it was covered up by the wind. He could generally feel it. The wind was already almost due north, blowing from the sea to the shore. Fortunately, the campground is relatively high and has not been hit by the waves.
The rain washed down his cheeks and he could barely keep his eyes open. He could only hear himself subconsciously saying "It's over, it's over" - the power of nature is too powerful.
Suddenly, a particularly bright bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck directly at the sea. It was so bright that it blinded the eyes for an instant, but it soon returned to darkness, while the rumbling thunder continued for more than ten seconds.
The wind and rain continued until the next morning - although the time shown on the watch was already past six in the morning, the sky was still very dark, the wind and rain were still strong, and the visibility was very poor. The wind blew straight towards the coast, and rows of gray waves kept coming from a distance, getting higher and higher, and finally formed nearly ten-meter-high waves that crashed on the coral reefs along the coast and surged up to the coast.
The ship was no longer visible where the Tidemaker anchored, and there were many pieces of wood and torn canvas scattered on the beach along the coast. Zhou Weisen's heart was pounding - looking at this, he knew that the tide was in danger!
Although the Senate has not lost ships before, this is the first time that a steam-powered battleship has been lost during the tide! This alone makes their actions lackluster. He couldn't help but secretly regret why he didn't just return home and have a happy ending. He had to be greedy for credit and make this happen.
Hundreds of sailors and sailors gathered in a torn camp that was ravaged by violent storms. They were tired and hungry, and had almost no ability to move in the force ten winds. Although Zhou Weisen and Lin Chuanqing were anxious, there was really nothing they could do in this situation. In the mess, I could only find some military rations and the like, and I could barely fill my stomach.
After noon, the wind and waves gradually subsided, and Lin Chuanqing estimated that the area had entered the eye of the typhoon. Immediately, a roll call was ordered, and it was discovered that 11 people were missing in the storm last night. Lin Chuanqing ordered people to seize the time to cook and clean up the camp. At the same time, he organized people to go to the waterside to check the situation, find out the status of the tide boat, and see if the missing person could be found.
The rain had subsided by this time and visibility was better. Zhou Weisen led the expedition team and saw the Tide Maker less than 200 meters along the coast. The 901 gunboat had capsized, rolled over and ran aground on a coral reef more than 100 meters away from the coast, with its mast and chimney broken.
A 130mm main gun fell from the deck and was deeply embedded in the reef, with only the muzzle exposed. The remains of a typewriter sank into the sand, and the barrel had been twisted into a pile of grotesque steel tentacles.
The expedition team searched along the coastline and found several broken corpses in addition to broken wood and debris from various boats. Some of them could still identify the uniforms of sailors. These people should have been caught in a storm in the middle of the night. The person who was accidentally swept into the sea by the wind and waves was thrown directly to the coast by the huge waves, and hit the rugged and hard coral reefs on the shore, with almost no hope of survival.
Zhou Weisen went to check on the Feiyun again - the Feiyun suffered no damage on land, although its hull also moved in the strong wind. Mendoza was in shock all night and had been hiding in the tent to pray. This time when he saw Zhou Weisen coming back, he jumped into his arms like a bird returning to its nest, and a lot of Spanish poured out like a tide. As he spoke, he held his face and chewed it wildly.
Zhou Weisen had to try his best to comfort his wife, thinking that this Latin American horse was very neurotic...
At the second roll call in the afternoon, the number of missing people dropped to 6. The others lost their way at night and returned to the team one after another after dawn.
It wasn't until another morning that the wind and waves basically calmed down. Taking advantage of the low tide, they rowed a small boat to the Tide Maker to inspect the damage to the hull.
The Tidemaker rolled over on its side on the reef, its hull was soaked in water in many places, and everything on the deck was swept to pieces. It would be a huge project to repair it - just to straighten it out of trouble is a huge project, not to mention the damage to the hull and the deformation of the keel. There was absolutely nothing they could do against a ship that had rolled over.
"Now, we have become Robinson Crusoe." Zhou Weisen said dejectedly.
"Fortunately, we have a lot of people with complete weapons and equipment and a radio station. We can temporarily be the owner of the island here. We don't have to wait long, the navy will come to rescue." Lin Chuanqing disagreed, "Besides, the Feiyun is intact. As long as the hand Don’t be afraid if there is a boat inside.”
"We immediately sent electricity back and asked them to send a ship to rescue them as soon as possible."
They then called together officers and non-commissioned officers at all levels to discuss how to persevere. Then the manpower was allocated, some people rebuilt the camp, some people went to the wreckage of the Tidemaker to see if some materials could be recovered, and some people went to the island to harvest some wood for building materials and fuel. The remaining people searched for the missing people on the coast, collected the bodies and buried them at sea. As for the broken wood, they were collected and dried on the shore to prepare for fire.
At the same time, the atmosphere in the Lingao Executive Committee was like the eye of a typhoon, seemingly calm but extremely depressing. Members of the Executive Committee and Chen Haiyang of the Navy are all anxiously waiting for news here. Since receiving the telegram from the Feiyun on the afternoon of July 16 to return to shelter early, the members of the Executive Committee and the Navy Command have been waiting for news. The main station awaits the telegram. But they have not waited for any telegrams from Feiyun and 854. Only the two returning ships are still reporting their itinerary. They have passed through the Balintang Strait.
They waited until the morning of July 17, and they could wait no longer.
"It seems that something has really gone wrong, and it is a big deal. Otherwise, there would be no news about the two ships. Is it really a typhoon?" Net Bubu jumped.
No one answered this possibility that everyone was unwilling to mention before, until Ma Qianzhu broke the silence: "Old Chen, can you send a rescue team? Otherwise, wait for Shuang to return or send 8154 directly."
"901's self-sustaining power is not enough to allow them to go back and check the situation. Besides, without Dai Shuang's escort, it will be very dangerous for Haifeng to tow a Galen. The 8154 fishing boat has insufficient fuel and cannot run such a long distance. .”
"The Haitian is waiting for maintenance in Hong Kong. It is better to suspend the maintenance and go to the Philippines first." Chen Haiyang said, "The Haitian is not used intensively, and the maintenance needs are not particularly urgent."
He Ming said: "Bei Wei is leading a detachment for training and activities in Xiangshan'ao. They can be transferred to the ship to prepare for unexpected situations."
"But they are unfamiliar with the sea lanes and conditions."
"That's it, let's send the report." (To be continued.)
Chapter 450 Storm
