The wind and waves on the sea became stronger, and the height of the waves soared from two meters to three to four meters. Along with the dark clouds in the sky, a terrifying and depressing atmosphere filled the entire sea.
"Lower the sails and furl the jib," Chen Zuwang shouted loudly.
He began to slow down. Such a big wave was not suitable for high-speed sailing. There was a risk of the ship capsizing with full sail.
The ship's speed soon dropped to about ten knots.
At this time, the wave became even bigger, reaching five meters.
Even though the bow was hollow, it started to pick up a lot of 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 have been closed at this time, and the hatch cover has been 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 the 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 waves for a while, and then hit the sea heavily. The front and rear of the boat were repeatedly squeezed and stretched by the movement of the waves. The top of the boat was blown by the strong wind, and was again blown by the waves.
The waves hit it.
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 were 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 hull deformation of the ship 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 started to ring, and their lungs stung.
Suddenly, just when everyone couldn't stand it anymore, there was 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 airflow 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. When he looked outside the hatch cover, he saw only black
Under the bright sky, countless lightning bolts swam like startling dragons.
"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 to lift the heavy hatch cover and close 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 turning white from 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 wave and keep walking with the bow of the boat in the direction of the swell. If the side of the boat faced the swell wall, the boat would capsize.
At this time, he could no longer care about other people, and mobilized all his abilities to drive the ship and ensure the safety of the ship.
Chen San tightly held on to the safety rope tied around his waist to prevent himself from being swept into the sea by the big waves. He was almost completely frightened.
The threats 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 burst into tears with the feeling of surviving a disaster.
"Count the number of people." Chen Zuwang yelled.
After a while, the chief mate came up and reported that two sailors were swept away by the big waves. Another sailor fell from the lookout 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 tripped over ropes and debris on the deck that were washed away by the waves, causing injuries."
"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."
"A piece of canvas is torn in the front mainsail, and a spare canvas is being replaced."
"All three hatch covers were damaged, one of which was blown off and seriously damaged."
"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 water leakage."
Chen Zuwang and others used towels to wipe away the water stains on their bodies, and each of them drank a few sips of strong liquor before they felt relieved.
At this time, we were 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. The carpenters began to repair the 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 the shift change. They quickly handed over to the new people, and then went down to warm themselves by the fire.
"Let the kitchen prepare hot soup and scones. Let's start the meal in advance to keep everyone warm. Give each person two ounces of pear blossom white wine," Ming Yan ordered.
The cook quickly took two helpers and opened the closed briquette stove. He used a windmill to blow up the fire and started making soup. The two helpers used the other two stoves to bake cakes.
The cook thought for a while 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 aroma was very tempting. These things can be stored easily, so Yang Fan made them in large quantities within the system.
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's more than enough to open a restaurant in Acropolis, Tianjin."
Chef Zhang giggled and said: "We won't go there, we will cook food for everyone on the boat. We like to be on such a beautiful boat. It's a pity that the chicken coop was swept away by the big waves. Otherwise, I would give you some frangipani flowers."
It’s always delicious.”
This chapter has been completed!