Volume 3 Blood and Fire Chapter 228 Storm (Part 1)
Captain Martin expected a violent storm to come.
Although there are no signs in the sky at present, past experience will not deceive him.
Usually, the airflow in the sky flows from the northeast to the south. The greater the horizontal gradient force, the faster the wind speed.
But judging from the current weather signs, the northeasterly wind in the past is about to turn into a southerly wind.
If it were a normal south wind, Captain Martin would be overjoyed, because then their sailing speed would be faster.
But the weather at this moment must be brewing a terrifying storm coming from the southern sea.
Captain Martin remained on deck all night, filled with great anxiety.
As midnight approached, patches of cloud began to appear in the originally cloudless night sky, and soon they blocked the bright moonlight.
Captain Martin and the boatswain called up all the sailors and lowered the small sail, leaving only the mainsail, fore and aft sail, foresail and tent sail.
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In the second half of the night, the wind picked up and was very strong, moving at a speed of 20 meters per second.
The rattling of the mast, the snapping of the sail ropes, and the whimpering of the cabin all made Iroth and everyone else who had never known the storm know what was going on.
Ilosu and Ekaterina were both on deck, ready to help.
As for the druids of the War Eagle clan, they were hiding in the cabin of the ship fearfully. They were actually somewhat naturally afraid of the sea.
When they were resting just now, the night sky was cloudless and full of stars, but now it was filled with dark clouds and strong winds.
"Is there a hurricane?" Eloise asked Captain Martin.
"Not yet, it's coming."
At this time, Captain Martin ordered the lower bellows of the foresail to be rolled up. The sailors climbed up the ladder, worked hard to roll up the lower bellows of the foresail, tied it with sail ropes, and tied it to the lowered sail frame.
Captain Martin wanted to retain as much sail surface as possible in order to balance the hull and moderate the degree of side-to-side swaying.
After this precautionary work was done, Captain Martin ordered the first mate and boatswain to prepare for the approaching hurricane.
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The ropes for mooring the boat and the cables for the mast were thickened into double materials, the pulleys on both sides of the small ballista were also fastened tightly, the shrouds and backstays were tightened, and the holes were closed tightly.
Like a general in a military formation, Captain Martin never left the helm at the bow of the ship. From the helm, he observed the roaring sky with great concentration, as if he wanted to dig out the secrets of the weather.
At this time, the air pressure is already very low, and most people can feel discomfort.
This low level was rare in the past. At the same time, the color of the storm mirror on the smuggling ship also indicates the coming storm.
In the early morning, the wind speed reached 28 meters per second, beating the cable extremely violently, as if it were striking the strings of an instrument, making a rapid trembling sound;
The windlass also struck each other;
The rope rushed in the rough rope groove and made a sharp sound;
The canvas fluttered with a thud to both sides;
The waves were also extremely high, crashing against the "Pearl Goddess", while the smuggling ship moved forward like a winged bird on the white waves.
At this time, the wind became stronger. The mast was bent under the pressure of the sail, and the smuggling ship seemed to jump over the waves.
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"Roll up the mainsail!" cried Captain Martin. "Lower the foresail and the fore-sail!"
The sailors immediately returned to their jobs, loosening the rigging rigging, tightening the furling rigging, and pulling down the sail with tow ropes, the sound louder than the wind.
The fast sailing of the smuggling ship stirred up a large amount of sea fog, and the fenders covering the hull beat the waves gently and heavily, and sometimes the fenders were straight out of the water.
Eloise and Ekaterina watched the "Pearl Goddess" struggle with the waves, admiring and worrying at the same time.
Even if they didn't hold on to the railing, they could still stand firmly on the deck, but they couldn't say a word to each other in the storm.
They watched large flocks of seabirds soaring in the strong wind. The stronger the waves, the more energetic these storm birds flew, which was frightening to watch.
At this time, Captain Martin did not waste a second. He tried his best to find ways to get the ship out of danger.
He decided to use a light sail method to prevent the ship from being blown off course. Therefore, some sails had to be raised on the ship and pulled diagonally to let it catch the wind on its side.
Amidst the roar of the waves, the sailors unfurled the foresail, narrowed the sail leg, and spread a triangular sail on the secondary mast, with the tiller facing the leeward side.
The "Pearl Goddess" has good driving performance, and the bottom compartment is full of cargo, which is equivalent to a stable ballast, so it can be blown by strong winds as fast as a horse whipping, regardless of the wind and waves.
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With the sail reduced to such a small amount, can it be sustained?
These sails are made of fine frost-patterned canvas, but the wind is so strong that no matter how good they are, they can't stand it!
The advantage of using the smallest sail area to take advantage of the wind is to put the strongest part of the hull towards the waves and maintain the original course.
However, traveling like this is not without danger, because the boat may fall into the wide deep trough between two waves and be unable to get up.
However, Captain Martin had no choice at this time and had to use a light sail method as long as the mast and sails were not knocked down by the wind.
The crew was in front of him, ready to go wherever men were needed.
Captain Martin tied himself to the guardrail with a rope and stared at the furious sea.
The night passed in this state, and it was hoped that the storm would subside by daybreak.
But the hope was in vain. Towards the morning, the wind became stronger than before and turned into a hurricane.
Captain Martin remained silent, but in his heart he was worried about the safety of the ship and everyone on board.
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The "Pearl Goddess" was tilting sharply at this moment, the deck pillars creaked, and sometimes the waves hit the auxiliary poles protruding from the mainmast.
For a while, the entire crew thought that the ship could not get up!
When the sail was blown out of the frame, as if a big white gull was about to fly away, some sailors were already holding axes to cut off the guard ropes of the big mast.
The boat actually floated again, but it couldn't keep up with the waves and had no direction. It was bumping so hard that the mast was almost broken.
We cannot continue sailing like this because the hull can no longer withstand it. As soon as the side plates come apart or the seams crack, waves will rush in.
Captain Martin now has only one option: to pull up a triangular sail and let the wind blow.
This small sail had to be pulled many times, and it took several hours to pull it into place. It was not until the afternoon that the triangular sail was pulled on the auxiliary mast of the main mast and allowed to be manipulated by the wind.
As a result, the "Pearl Goddess" was towed up by a small piece of canvas, and it began to fly at an incalculable speed.
Just like that, it headed northeast where the storm was driving it.
It must maintain maximum speed, because only speed can achieve safety, so Ekaterina sometimes needs to perform auxiliary blowing at the request of Captain Martin to obtain relatively balanced power.
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Sometimes, it crossed the huge waves, cut through the waves with its sharp tip, and got in like a whale. The waves swept across the deck, from bow to stern.
Sometimes, its speed is the same as the wave, and the rudder has lost its function, so it lurches left and right, almost capsizing the boat.
Sometimes, driven by hurricanes, the waves are faster than it, so the waves jump higher than the top of the ship, sweeping across the deck from bow to stern with rapid and unstoppable momentum.
I spent a day and a night in such a dangerous situation, feeling a little hopeful at one moment and disappointed at the next.
Captain Martin did not leave his post for a while, nor did he eat anything. Although he remained calm on the outside, he was panicking in his heart, his eyes always staring at the hazy fog in the north.
But isn't it? All dangers are possible.
The "Pearl Goddess" was thrown off its course and rushed towards the northern continent at an uncontrollable speed.
Captain Martin naturally felt that a disaster was threatening him.
He was always afraid of hitting a rock and being wrecked, and being shattered to pieces. He estimated that the distance between Hokuriku's coastline before the wind was no less than 10 kilometers. However, in this case, approaching the shore would mean being in distress or sinking.
Running in the boundless sea is ten thousand times better than running aground on a rock, because although the waves are strong, there are always ways to defend yourself. At most, you can only obey its mercy. If the storm blows the boat to the shore, it will be finished.
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Captain Martin found Eloise and had a special conversation with him.
He made no secret of his current situation.
He was an old seaman who was not afraid of sacrifice. He would face reality with great calmness. Finally, he said that he might have to do it as a last resort and let the "Pearl Goddess" crash into the coast.
"In order to save this ship, you can do whatever you want. We are all laymen and we should follow Captain Martin's instructions." Illos said cooperatively.
"What about your men? I'm not belittling them. I'm afraid they are really not afraid of the sea?" Captain Martin asked.
"I will tell them at the last moment. When there is really no hope for the ship, you can inform me."
"I will naturally inform you then, Your Excellency Paladin!"
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