Chapter 140 Arrival in Thanh Hoa

Perhaps due to favorable winds and rivers, the colonization fleet maintained a high speed after setting off. It passed the offshore area south of Yazhou at noon that day, and successfully arrived at Yinggezui in the evening. The fleet commander Wang Tom communicated with the radio through the radio

After discussion, the shipping department personnel on the "Business Transport 01" decided to still drive through the night and continue sailing westward, but the speed would have to be slowed down by at least half. If the fleet separated during the night sailing, it would also be an extremely troublesome matter.

, reducing the speed is also to facilitate each ship to maintain the same course in the dark night.

As for how to identify the correct course when sailing at night, with a group of old crew members on the "Speed", this problem is not difficult for the crew. Other ships only need to follow the "Speed". In order to keep the ship

The ships in the fleet can easily identify the pilot ship at night. A large ring-shaped LED light is specially installed on the top of the mast of the "Speed". This light is powered by a solar panel and is turned on after dark. When the weather is fine, the two

It is clearly visible within a distance of 100 kilometers. Strings of lanterns are also hung on the masts and sterns of other Chinese sailing ships to keep other ships in the surrounding area at a reasonable sailing distance and avoid collisions during night sailing. Each ship

There are passers-by with walkie-talkies on the ship, and they are constantly communicating through wireless communication to keep the fleet's night march formation from being too loose.

When Chinese ships went to sea in this era, captains and crews mainly relied on tools such as the "needle book" that recorded various routes and relatively primitive compasses to identify routes. The "needle book" was equivalent to a written version of the navigation guide. In addition to the recorded

In addition to the routes, headings and sailing times between ports, there are also hydrological data such as the ebb and flow times of seawater in each port, the reefs and shoals that need to be avoided on the route, and other hydrological data.

However, the routes recorded in such "needle books" are often limited to a few places known to the maker, and different "needle book" makers may have greatly different descriptions of the same route, and there is no one relative

A relatively objective standard. This was also limited by the navigation technology and social environment at the time. People who relied on the sea to make a living often passed on the family's work from generation to generation, and no one would take out their own food and share it with others. In this way

Even if someone discovers a new overseas route, it will not spread among the people quickly, which will invisibly reduce the enthusiasm of the people to explore unknown waters.

The advantage of Chuan Chuanzhong is that he has mastered more detailed nautical charts and various hydrological data, and has various advanced navigation instruments produced by later generations. He can accurately calculate the route of the ship, and there is no need to record it in a "needle book".

Use the "stargazing method" to identify the navigation direction at night.

That night the fleet maintained an average speed of about three knots and continued to move west-north. After reducing the speed, the crew was divided into two shifts to take turns to rest, but their sleeping place could only be on the deck in case of emergency.

Required. With the shining pilot boat in front, the captains on each ship felt a lot more relaxed. They did not need to spend energy identifying the course in the dark, and they only needed to direct the ships to follow the pilot boat in front.

The next morning, the pilot ship used a sextant to measure the longitude and latitude, and concluded that the distance traveled yesterday night was only about a quarter of the distance between Yingge Tsui and Thanh Hoa. The fleet would not be able to move until daybreak.

It made a temporary stop and transferred several people with severe seasickness from various ships to the "Speed". Compared with the sea-going ships of the same era, the catamaran structure of the "Speed" was indeed much smoother during the voyage at sea.

Many, this is also done to make these unlucky people feel a little more relaxed in the coming time.

In the next day, the fleet moved at full speed, but it only covered less than a hundred nautical miles before dark. Considering that it was still about 40 to 50 nautical miles away from the east coast of Vietnam, the fleet decided to

Stay up one more night so that you can arrive on the east coast of Vietnam for rest the next morning.

The crew had to brace themselves and continue to move forward through the night. The "Speed" was very relaxed. One person was responsible for driving the direction, and two people were responsible for raising and lowering the sail. Only three people could control this 30-meter-long ship very conveniently.

Sailing ship. The six members of the North American gang were divided into two groups and were responsible for driving in shifts. However, those who were not on duty did not mean that they could be idle. They needed to continue making navigation charts in the cabin in order to calculate the voyage.

Shi Diwen yawned greatly, dropped the pencil in his hand and said, "This trip is much more pleasant than the last time I came here. It has been a long time since I have been sailing for more than forty-eight hours in a row in my memory."

"The main reason is because the ship is slow." Wang Tom also felt quite helpless that his ship had to slow down and wait for other ships: "Other ships can't even reach half of our speed. It's not difficult to imagine that

What will happen if they don't have a pilot ship in the future? We think it will take them an extra day to complete the voyage from Qinghua to Yinggetsui."

"It would be great if the speed of these ships could be increased a little, even to about ten knots, so that they could cover this distance in one day and one night, and the crew would not be so tired." Roger also joined in.

during their discussion.

"The ship currently being built by the shipyard is said to have a design speed of more than ten knots." Wang Tom said: "If this route uses ships of more than ten knots for transportation, the entire voyage can be shortened by at least one day.

"

"I went to see the ship in the shipyard. It was a Chinese-style sailing ship, just like the ships in our fleet. Can the average speed of a Chinese-style sailing ship reach more than ten knots?" Roger asked Wang

Tom's statement expressed doubts.

"Yes, they are indeed building a Chinese-style sailboat, but I heard that the Shipping Department has redesigned the sails and rigging. They will probably use the advantages of some Western-style sails to create a product that combines Chinese and Western styles.

"Tom Wang speculated.

"God, I hope they don't create a weirdo who doesn't look like anything else." Shi Diwen sighed.

Although Wang Tom still doesn’t know the details of the Maritime Department’s construction plan, but considering that the Maritime Department had internal discussions for more than half a month before the construction of this ship started, it is certainly impossible to completely copy the old design of the Chinese sailing ship. From

In terms of hull structure, the use of V-shaped hulls and watertight compartments has made Chinese sailing ships far ahead of this era. There is no need for major improvements at the moment. At most, it is just to increase the length-to-width ratio of the hull. Then the most useful

The possible changes are in the design of the mast and sails.

It is well known that Western-style sailboats can sail faster at sea. This has a lot to do with the sails used by Western-style sailboats. By heightening the mast and increasing the number of masts, the wind-receiving area of ​​the sails is increased, thereby increasing the speed. But Chinese-style rigid sailboats are

It is not possible to easily heighten the mast. If the length of the mast exceeds the length of the hull, the ship will capsize. Therefore, compared with its competitors, the sail area of ​​Chinese sailboats is generally limited, which in disguise limits the ship's capabilities.

The maximum speed that can be achieved.

Of course, the shortcomings of Western-style sailboats are also very obvious. Since the mast is raised, a large number of stay ropes must be used to pull the mast. This will greatly limit the rotation angle of the Western-style sail, making it impossible for the ship to effectively utilize crosswinds and headwinds.

As a result, so-called fast sailing ships can only achieve relatively fast speeds when the wind is downwind. At the same time, due to the complexity of sail rigging, the number of operators required on the deck has also greatly increased, which actually reduces the endurance of the ship in disguise.

Ability. Although the sail area of ​​a Chinese-style sailboat is relatively small, it is more convenient to operate. It can be controlled by only a small number of crew members, and the wind from almost all directions can be used. But as for how to combine the two sailing equipment

Putting them together and learning from each other's strong points, Wang Tom, a navigation expert, has no good ideas. After all, this kind of professional knowledge involving ship design and fluid mechanics is not his area of ​​expertise.

After spending the second sleepless night at sea, the piloted "Speed" finally saw the horizon of the east coast of Vietnam through the telescope on the early morning of the third day. After this news was conveyed to other ships through the walkie-talkie, it caused fatigue

The unbearable crew members cheered loudly.

After discussion, a group of people from the colonization team headquarters decided to go to the estuary of the Qinghua River where the last expedition stopped to see how the current refugee situation was there, and then dock for a day to rest before moving on.

The fleet arrived at the coast about ten miles south of the estuary of the Qinghua River, a small fishing village called Censhan. The "Speed" put down its rubber assault boat and landed first to visit the fishing village, but the result was that everyone was confused.

Very surprised. The fishing village here is already deserted. Judging from the clean houses, the residents here have all moved away with their families - perhaps it is more accurate to say that they have fled.

"It seems that the situation here is deteriorating faster than we thought." Wang Tom also felt a little incredible when faced with such a situation. The last time he came here, there were a large number of refugees gathering nearby, and in just over 20 years,

Today, even the residents here have left their homes and become war refugees.

"It's not easy to cross the Qinghua River. If we continue to go north, we should encounter a large number of refugees." Roger suggested.

So the fleet gave up its plan to stop here and continued sailing north. After arriving at the mouth of the Qinghua River, the fleet turned into the river and went upstream not far when Shi Diwen, who was in charge of the lookout, called from the bow of the ship.

He stood up and said, "Look, Roger is right! There are many people on the shore!"

There were more people waiting to cross the river here than when the expedition team arrived last time. It was so dark that there were at least two to three thousand people. When Gu Kai heard Shi Diwen's cry, he also got out of the cabin and came to the deck.

Seeing this situation, my eyes suddenly brightened: "It seems that the working population we need must be available!"
Chapter completed!