Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 329 The Great Voyage ([-])

"It turned out to be this way." Shi Qinjie said thoughtfully, "It seems that the mainland has not had the courage to make preparations to tear faces with the Dutch. But is this route safe? I mean the weather, wind and waves and other conditions After all, the westerly wind in the southern Indian Ocean is much stronger than that of Baleen Whale Harbor. Unlike the South American continent, the wind and waves will be smaller. This is all bare sea, and the wind and waves will definitely be very strong. Your ship Can you take it?"

"We have heard the name of the Roaring Westerly Belt from many European sailors. They changed their expressions and thought it was a dead line. Of course, we also think so." Here, Li Yi paused, and then continued: "We will try to get close to the westerly belt to take advantage of a little wind and ocean currents, but not too deep. Don't forget, we can have steam power, so we just Just need a little bit of westerly winds. Well, we basically don't go south beyond 40 degrees south latitude, generally we sail between 35 degrees and 40 degrees. The westerly winds are not strong enough here, and the currents are not fast enough. , but enough for us with steam power."

"I hope so." Shi Qinjie was still a little worried, "This sea route is unfamiliar to us, in fact, it is unfamiliar to most sailors in the world. We don't know the sea conditions and climate there, I am worried that there will be huge waves, cyclones, and icebergs. In short, be careful, and everyone will remember the contributions you have made to the country. Brother, I will not say anything sensational, just one sentence, I am here Waiting for your victory."

"Hehe." Li Yi punched Shi Qinjie on the shoulder, then gave another bear hug, and said with a smile: "I will come back, I will open up this route, and I will let everyone remember me Name. Haha, it’s exciting to think about whether I will also become a famous navigator in the future.”

The "Broken Wave" and the "Chop Wave" rested in Xinhua Fort for two days. After replenishing various supplies, Li Yi and others bid farewell to Xinhua Fort, and then began to sail south, and arrived at noon on March 3. Tacheng Port.Today's Tacheng looks messy, except for a few seven or eight brick houses, most people (slaves) live in patches of thatched huts that have been built hastily.Only one wooden trestle was built in the port, and two steamships docked on both sides of the trestle, one on the left and one on the right.

Rodrigo, Shi Qinjie's secretary, went ashore to negotiate, and soon, Anda Shiwu, the captain of the stand-up team, walked over to say hello to Li Yi.Li Yi and Anda Fifteen are also old acquaintances. After saying their request, Anda Fifteen said nothing, and immediately went back to organize the manpower to load the coal that was piled up on the grass in a mess.The coal here has been screened, and a lot of thick gangue has been removed, so it can barely be regarded as clean coal.

The loading of the coal continued until the next afternoon.So far, the cabins of the two ships each carried [-] tons of coal, a large number of steam engine parts, spare board canvas, weapons and ammunition, vegetables and food, various wines, some livestock, a few silver dollars, and many miscellaneous things.In addition to these, there are naturally five hundred Eight Banners warriors, who are the queen thugs of the expedition fleet.

After replenishing a large amount of fresh water, on the evening of March 3, the expedition fleet did not stay any longer.Under the silent eyes of nearly a thousand pioneers in Tacheng Port, the two ships directly set sail and headed south towards the unknown sea.

……

"Johnson, where are we now? This damn wind, why is it so small? It's not enough!" Li Yi was wearing a long windbreaker and a navy-style barrel cap on his head, and walked to his big Deputy Sergeant Johnson asked beside him.Today is March 3, and the two ships have been traveling along the south-east route these days.After sailing until today, they only caught a little bit of a weak southwest wind.

Johnson is the first graduate of the nautical school. Although he is not very old, he is only 23 years old this year, but he is considered a veteran in the navy.He has been following Li Yi for so many years, and has been his deputy since the frigate "Red Trout", and the cooperation between the two is quite tacit.

"Sir, I just measured it with a sextant. We should be at about 32 degrees south latitude and 30 degrees east of south. The speed should be around 6-7 knots. Of course, if you need more accurate data , I will arrange for someone to measure it in a while."

"No need to measure!" Li Yi waved his hand and said seriously: "Continue to go south! To sail to the south, we need greater ocean currents and wind power! Otherwise, at the same speed as a snail now, we will need more than half a month. It is possible to reach near the west coast of the Australian mainland."

"Sir, I have to say..." Johnson hesitated for a moment, but still dissuaded him: "If you go further south, the ocean current and wind speed will indeed increase, but the wind and waves will also increase. There will be floating icebergs or cyclones, but the waves will be much larger. Especially with our clipper hull, the side to side rolling of the ship may continue to increase. The most critical point is that we are likely to miss the Australian mainland— —If that continent really exists. Because if we sail to about 35 degrees south latitude, according to the numbers marked on the chart, it is already south of the Australian mainland. You know, we can't measure the longitude at present. "

"Stop talking nonsense, Johnson, execute my order." Li Yi said without doubt, "Continue to sail south, sail to the 35-degree sea area, then turn to the east, and measure the speed. If our ship's speed still does not reach 12 knots Then continue south until the boat reaches 12 knots, or the ship is listed more than 20 degrees side to side. Got it?"

"Understood, sir, I will do it." Sergeant Johnson saluted, and then went down to make arrangements.Soon, the following flag was hoisted on the mast of the "Chopper", and the two expedition ships continued to head south one after the other.

On March 3, the wind and waves at sea gradually increased. Sergeant Johnson stood on the deck and looked at the sea surface with some concern.This place has obviously crossed 28 degrees south latitude, and is about 35 degrees. In theory, this place has not even entered the "roaring westerly belt", at best it is only a peripheral area.But it is this peripheral area, its power is already very extraordinary.

Today, the southwest wind is blowing, about level 5-6. The sea breeze rolls the sea water, forming huge swells.From time to time, a swell slammed hard on the sea surface, making a huge bang, and at the same time formed a large area of ​​white foam on the sea surface.The two ships with a full load displacement of only 850 tons undulated on the sea like two helpless fallen leaves. The waves that hit the sea from time to time even wet Sergeant Johnson's navy uniform.

The drain holes on the ship have all been opened, and the seawater that has entered the deck has begun to discharge.The sea wind on the sea continued to howl, and the flag on the mast was blown loudly. The watchman in the observation cabin had already descended to the deck, because if he stayed on it, he would probably be thrown into the sea. Even the gods can't save him.

Li Yi also sat on the chair in the captain's room and looked at the sea in the distance.The glass windows of the cabin were covered with fine splashes of water, the effect of some passing wave.Today's wind and waves are really not small, and the sky is not very clear, maybe it will rain for a while, um, maybe it can give us some fresh water.

Another huge wave hit, and with a bang, an oil painting hanging on the wall of the captain's cabin fell to the ground, and the glass frame outside was smashed to pieces.The orderly moved over from the door with difficulty, and Li Yi waved him back.

The shaking range of the ship has reached 4 or [-] degrees, and the swell is often more than [-] meters high, which looks very scary.Further south, the wind and waves should be even more violent. I don't know if my thin hull can withstand this harsh sea condition.In fact, Li Yi was a little lucky at this time that he was sailing along the ocean current and wind direction. I really don’t know how those Antarctic scientific research ships and whaling ships that went straight south and crossed the westerly belt in later generations fought against the westerly belt. It must be thrilling.

After thinking about it, Li Yi stood up quickly, then put on his poncho and walked onto the deck, found Sergeant Johnson who was busy directing the sailors to sail, and asked, "How is the speed?"

"Sir, the speed has reached more than 11 knots, and it is almost approaching 12 knots." Johnson's clothes were completely wet by the sea water, and he wiped the water drops on his forehead, and continued: "I suggest not to fly again." Going south, it's dangerous. If we go beyond 40 degrees south latitude, maybe we will encounter some floating icebergs, and maybe some cyclonic storms, and we will be miserable."

"I agree with you, Sergeant Johnson." Li Yi nodded, and said with a serious face: "The weather is bad now, and you can't see the sun at all. So you have to pay attention, keep this latitude, and don't go That's off. Another sail... well, another week's sail or so. Then we'll turn and sail north, and the mainland of Australia should be within a day's sail of us."

"Yes, sir." Johnson nodded vigorously.The weather outside is very bad, and there is no sunlight at all, so it is impossible to accurately measure the latitude of the ship at any time, so we must be more careful.If you get lost and walk into the roaring westerly belt unknowingly, it will be a lot of fun. Staff Sergeant Johnson is not sure whether his ship will be smashed to pieces by those huge waves.

(End of this chapter)