Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 693 Across the Ocean ([-])

Today's sky is very bright and clear, which makes Zhang Jinhua, who just woke up, heaved a sigh of relief.This is the Pacific Ocean at about 10 degrees south latitude. Today is May 5, and it has been more than 30 days since the anchor was pulled out of Jinshan Port.

"The weather is calm and the sea is warm, and the sun is very warm, but it is a little farther from the shore, and you can't even see a seagull. Lieutenant Ji Wen, where are we now?" Zhang Jinhua took out his glass water bottle from his waist, and slammed it into his mouth. After taking two sips of West Lake beer, he asked.

Due to the promotion of the Ministry of Health, officers and soldiers on many ships of the navy have switched to glass kettles—a drinking utensil with a glass jug inside and a cushion on the outside.The reason why they abandoned the cowhide water bladders still in use by the army was the extremely worrying sanitary conditions inside the cowhide water bladders.Especially in summer, bacteria breed in large numbers, and the water quality is easily corrupted, which affects the health of drinkers. Therefore, the Navy has ordered to gradually switch to glass kettles.

It has been more than 20 days since I went to sea, and the fresh water loaded at the time of departure has already deteriorated, and there are a lot of suspicious green suspended matter that can be seen with the naked eye.This disgusting fresh water, in Zhang Jinhua's opinion, is not very appropriate for people to drink even if it is boiled, so now he usually quenches his thirst by drinking beer and red wine.If you really want to drink boiled water, some distilled water will be collected regularly in the boiler room in the bilge—this is the privilege of Zhang Jinhua, Captain Ji Wen and others. Green, smelly fresh water is much stronger.

Of course, soldiers can also drink beer to quench their thirst, but there is a daily limit on the amount. About half of the drinking water barrels on the "Discovery" are filled with beer, and the other half are filled with fresh water.This is learned from the British Captain Cook of later generations. After all, the shelf life of beer is much longer than that of fresh water.Of course, there is also a small seawater desalination device on board, which is everyone's last talisman, and they will not waste precious coal for use unless it is absolutely necessary.

"Sir, to be honest, I don't know where it is." Ji Wen said with a blushing face, "But it should not be far from Tahiti Island. According to the longitude and latitude calculated a few days ago, if there are no accidents, it is probably within [-] minutes. It will take about four to five days of voyage."

"Navigation is a very serious matter. Don't say uncertain words such as 'should' and 'probably'." Zhang Jinhua patted the young Irishman on the shoulder, then flicked his sleeves, revealing the Gela on his wrist. Suti then looked at the sky again and said, "It's very close to noon now, and it's 5 minutes earlier than yesterday's time. This means that one longitude has passed."

Second Lieutenant Ji Wen nodded, but did not speak.Before the voyage, the superior sent him a top-secret document, which contained the location of Tahiti Island, which was 17°32′ south latitude and 149°34′ west longitude.Such a precise positioning made Second Lieutenant Ji Wen, the first graduate of the nautical school, feel a little startled. By God, how did they know that such an island existed in the vast sea.To be honest, if it weren’t for the highly classified document stored there—and past facts have proved that the accuracy of such documents is 100%—it would be hard for Ji Wen to believe this desolate and lonely sea. There will be a small island.

From Australia to the east, the sea has fallen into a dead silence. There are no seabirds, no catches (the fish are basically only near the offshore continental shelf), and there is no movement.What everyone sees is sea water except for a pool of emerald green water. At this time, the ships sailing on the sea are basically like camel caravans entering the hinterland of the desert, so helpless and so insignificant.In the face of nature, human beings are really too small.

At this time, everyone’s psychological pressure is generally very high. In order to relieve this pressure, the restrictions on drinking alcohol on board are also relaxed. At the same time, everyone is organized to use trawling or longline fishing, even if they can only fish for a day. A few fish can also boost everyone's morale.

"After a while, we will turn east by south, adjust our course to around 17 degrees 42' south latitude, and then sail straight east." After Zhang Jinhua said this, he looked up at the two swords flying on the top of the mast. The eagle pennant, the lookout who was doing nothing on the mast tower, saw Zhang Jinhua looking this way, and immediately used the semaphore to display today's wind direction: northwest wind, force five.

Zhang Jinhua nodded, and then continued to say to Ji Wen: "Be calm! We are heading in the right direction. As for not encountering any islands, it is just bad luck. I reviewed our ship's sailing these days last night. Track, found that the two ensuing tropical cyclones made us deviate from the course a few days ago, but this was only temporary, and we are back on track these days. In just five days, we can sail to our destination Well, then we can have a good rest."

"Yes, sir." Ji Wen stood up straight and said, "I will order the navigator to adjust the course. It's just...do we need to turn on the steam engine? After all, the speed is a bit slow now. If the two propellers at the stern are also activated If so, our speed can go up to 8 knots, which is much faster. Besides, it hasn’t rained for many days, and the clean drinking water for the officers is not very sufficient. I think it may be necessary to provide some from the boiler room, and some sick people on board Clean water is also needed."

"Then start the steam engine." Zhang Jinhua agreed after only a little thought. The four-masted sailboat "Explorer" didn't bring much other things, but it had enough coal in Tacheng Port, and the bilge was full at present, making the draft of the ship very deep.What's more, after arriving at Jinshan Port in Australia, they added some locally produced lignite. Although the quality is not very good, it can be used as fuel for a while after all.

"Try to burn as much Australian lignite as possible." Zhang Jinhua added.The coal quality near Jinshan Port is notoriously poor. The captains of the immigration ships from Heishui to Jinshan have been scolding, but the main component of the coal mines in that place is lignite, so they can only make do with it.When departing from Jinshan Port this time, the "Explorer" also loaded a large amount of lignite into the cabin in case of emergencies, and it happened to be used now.

It's the end of May, and it's the time when the wind changes direction.At this time, the point of direct sunlight begins to move northward, and the southeast trade wind belt that was originally suppressed by the south will gradually move northward as a whole. By then, the "Explorer" will be shrouded in the influence range of the southeast trade wind belt.In this way, everyone is headed against the wind and the current. Although there is a steam propulsion system to assist, the speed will drop to the same level as a turtle crawling, which is definitely what everyone does not want to see.

When sailing in the sailing age, knowledge of meteorology, hydrology, ocean currents, wind direction, astronomy and other knowledge is indispensable, otherwise you will get into great trouble.Back then, Columbus and Dias sailed purely by accident, so it was simply luck that the ship did not crash and no one died.Of course, it is impossible for people on the east coast to sail around the world in a small boat of more than 100 tons like them. Their equipment is much more advanced than that of Columbus, and their knowledge reserves are also more abundant. Pick again.For example, the route they set out to find Tahiti this time was chosen by Zhang Jinhua and others after careful study and demonstration. Sailing with the help of some northwest winds, although it is a bit against the current (Southern Equatorial Warm Current), it is already the best and most suitable time to sail.

The speed of the ship was much faster after the steam engine was started.After the sailing was stable, some sailors measured the speed, and it was about 6-7 knots. This speed is quite good for ocean voyages.After all, you can't expect ships to always be sailing at high speed. In fact, the average speed of most ocean-going ships in Europe in this era is less than 4 knots, which shows that sea navigation is not so easy.

When Zhang Jinhua didn't understand at first, he always liked to measure the distance between two ports on the map, and then draw a straight line to sail.Only later did he realize how ridiculous this behavior was.The choice of routes between two ports is a very serious matter. Seasons, weather, wind direction, and ocean currents need to be considered. Different seasons may have completely different routes. Sometimes the wind direction and currents may be suitable, but the sea conditions are bad, so that is not the case. course.In short, navigation is a complex system engineering. Without advanced technology, rich knowledge and a certain amount of luck, navigation cannot be successful.

What they are exploring now is an unfamiliar route. Although there are advanced tools (sextant, mechanical watch), ships with strong survivability and experienced sailors, it is still a matter of luck in the final analysis. The probability of finding and not being found is basically between six and four. Gein has too many things that can affect the positioning of a ship: deviations caused by measurement errors, bad weather and other factors have always been common in navigation.

Fortunately, Zhang Jinhua's luck was not too bad. After wandering around the waters of the island of Tahiti for several days, the watchman on the mast tower finally found a dark gray land outline on the distant sea level.The news made the whole ship boil immediately. The sailors changed their laziness before, adjusted the yards under the command of the navigator and boatswain, and started to sail towards the land they found.

At the same time, the gunner also armed a group of strong sailors on board to avoid any emergencies after landing.And Zhang Jinhua also went back to the captain's cabin to change into new clothes, and then called his expedition team members up from the bilge, each carrying some small commodities, which were used for trading with the natives.Of course, they did not forget to bring weapons for themselves. For example, Zhang Jinhua put on a breastplate for himself despite the hot weather, and at the same time hung two 1633 flintlock pistols with good ammunition on his waist.

(End of this chapter)