On July 16, the Jackdaw, remodeled in its cargo hold, loaded with guns that smelled of engine oil, set sail for Baltimore for the second time.

This means that the Jackdaw, which is already lacking in firepower and only has speed to boast of, is even more stretched in terms of combat effectiveness.

But that can't be helped.

Packed rifles take up space, and light guns that do not go to the ground take up even more space, and only 200 rifles/400 pistols/2 light guns can be loaded in one cargo hold.

The Jackdaw originally had 7 cargo holds, and the old contract for a total of 10 cargo in two trips was naturally more than enough, but it was completely wishful thinking to complete the new contract for 21 cabins in the same round.

Transformation became a necessity.

Lorraine and Clen discussed for a long time, removed the upper deck of the Jackdaw, a total of 8 9 pounds, vacated 2 cabins, and removed the gun holds closest to the bow of the ship, a total of 4 12 pounds, and vacated 1 cabin, and finally squeezed out 1 of the 6 fresh water tanks, and barely managed to make up 11 cargo holds, which was considered to meet the needs of the new contract.

However, as a result, the Jackdaw was reduced to only 8 twelve-pounder guns per side of fire, and the ship's draft water reserve was dropped from 30 days to 25 days. Endurance may not have much impact, but the strength of artillery combat has degenerated to the point of misery.

For the sake of money, Lorraine can only comfort himself that the artillery battle of the Jackdaw originally belonged to a young boy with a sledgehammer, and the whole battle accidentally injured the hero. Now it's just down from a toddler to a baby, and as long as the sledgehammer is still there, the actual effect is not much different.

In short, the young child holding the sledgehammer finally ran to the well-off with high spirits.

Considering that smuggling takes a long time and he may encounter the affairs of the Chamber of Commerce at any time, Lorraine began his internship as a reserve captain early.

The captain on duty on this trip was Caterina, referring to Lorraine's "Brother's Treasure", and all the calculations and orders along the way were carried out by her.

But they soon discovered that command and planning were not Lorraine's only core values on board, and that the position of navigator was more serious than the captain's position.

The navigator, the ocean guide of this era, was mainly responsible for nautical chart operations, navigation orientation, and ship positioning.

They tend to be good at mathematics and drawing, and are proficient in the use of professional tools such as sextants, compasses, compasses, and pencils, and those who excel in them can also correct or produce professional charts with limited coordinates and observations.

It is their duty to translate the captain's wishes into the route on the map, and it is also their duty to correct the course during the voyage and ensure that the ship does not get lost in the open sea.

The navigator is the position that relies most on professional knowledge in the entire ship, and it is also the position with the highest entry barrier.

Lorraine's ship was always short of navigators.

For a long time, Lorraine was the only option at the professional level, with the recent addition of Bale.

The rest of them, such as Katerina, Acharin, Karen, and Pierce, all of them were severely lacking in skill systems and talents, and were not even amateurs, and could only barely ensure that the ships did not deviate too much from course during the voyage.

That's why in the sea of fog in Hebasi, it was clear that the Butterfly Flower had left a lot earlier, but in the end, it still relied on manpower to swim in the water, and Lorraine, who dragged Henna, to the shore earlier.

It's just that the environment of the sea of fog is special after all, and besides that, Lorraine has never had a problem in unfamiliar waters, so that after several years of being in a group, the people on the ship have completely ignored this problem.

And this time, the problem finally came out.

In line with the basic premise of solving the problem without Lorraine, the three alternate smuggling captains got together and invited Lorraine to listen and discuss the plan.

In the ship's dining room, looking at Lorraine, who couldn't stop snickering, Bell scratched his scalp in frustration.

"As it stands, it is impossible for me and the captain to leave the Jackdaw at the same time. But my main responsibility is on the handwheel, especially when it comes to cutting the wind at super high speeds, and I can't find a good replacement for my helmsman on board. ”

Clen knocked on the table irritably: "The only navigator is you, and the only helmsman who can perform ultra-high-speed wind cutting is also you, can't you have your energy at the same time?" ”

Bell shrugged: "If there is a coast to refer to, I only need to focus on the compass, yes." If there is no corresponding reference in the open sea environment, no. ”

"That means there must be no mistakes in the calculations, and we can't alarm any Englishmen at any other time except for the part of the way into the mouth of the bay, right?" Caterina tried to summarize.

Clen and Bell thought for a moment and nodded heavily.

"Then the problem is solved." Katerina clapped her hands, "From today onwards, Judea will only be responsible for taking the helm at the super-high speed, and the rest of the time will be dominated by the position of navigator, and there will be no substitutes. In addition......"

She paused, turned to Lorraine, and solemnly suggested in her capacity as captain of this voyage: "Mr. President, in view of the fact that Bell. Both of Judea's duties are irreplaceable, and I propose that he be formally transferred out of the rotation of captain's duties. ”

Karen and Bell looked at each other and said in unison, "Second." ”

"Since the three captain's substitutes are on the same page......" Lorraine shrugged indifferently, "I'm fine. ”

The Jackdaw's command sequence adjustment has ended.

Bell was transferred to the captain's rotation, and at the same time in the captain's trainee round was adjusted to the first navigator and second helmsman, Henna was downgraded from lookout to first helmsman, and Pierce was replaced as first lookout.

After completing the job change, the ship set sail again, but the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

After all, this is also Lorraine's flagship, and most of the ship's sailors, from seafarers to key sailors, are adults with enough common sense and know how to be optimistic and anticipate the worst-case scenario.

Anything that happens with probability will eventually happen, and that's everyone's consensus.

Therefore, Lorraine may leave the ship for a short time at any time for some reason, and the smuggling cannot be stopped, and at that time, they can only rely on themselves.

Everyone treated the internship round as a real battle, as if Lorraine was really not on the ship.

Unfamiliar with the dynamics of the circle, Caterina repeatedly calculated, and when it was really difficult to judge, Bell demarcated the route and detoured from the outside of the circle.

With caution and solidarity, they managed to reach the point of attack at the center of the sixth circle on the morning of the seventh day, only one day later than Lorraine had planned, and much more than Lorraine had expected.

Then, while waiting for the night, Caterina handed in good luck.

……

On the booms on both sides of the mainmast, Lorraine, Katerina, Karen, and Bell stood side by side, like a group of homely sparrows, holding the goggles one by one, motionless and looking at the sail shadows in the distance.

There are three ships in the telescope, one large and two small, slowly moving in a zigzag shape.

The big ship was a Galen-type destroyer of the same class as the Golden Deer, and the two small ships were unified Brigentine, and the whole combination did not conform to the mainstream formation principle, so it looked somewhat strange.

They had come into view of the Jackdaw four hours earlier, cutting across the entire sixth circle from east to west, from the depths of the Atlantic, in a near-straight trajectory toward the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

It stands to reason that they should have spotted the Jackdaw, which was hiding in the middle of the ocean.

However, the Jackdaw's mainmast is slightly taller than the fifth-class galen of this type, and the current captain has been instigating it all the way, and he is reluctant to encounter strange formations at sea.

So, as the navigator and helmsman, Bell drove big without hesitation.

With the help of Henna and Pierce, he drove the Jackdaw to perform a two-way evasion on the sea surface with a classic round dance maneuver, that is, using the two moving formations as a reference at the same time, by constantly estimating the opponent's field of vision to make a continuous arc, and successfully circled behind the mysterious formation without alarming anyone.

It was also during this process that Caterina recognized the other party's flagship.

Lorraine decisively broke the restriction of not participating in the decision-making of the voyage, and his brow furrowed.

"Katarina, are you sure? Is she the Bloody Mary? ”

"She didn't fly the pirate flag, but with the 1740 fifth-class French galen, the blue and white stern sail, and the red goddess bow statue, I'm sure she's a Bloody Mary."

"It's really a Bloody Mary...... Lorraine let out a long sigh, "the pirate king of the Caribbean, Cotton Jack, even he has taken a fancy to the huge profits of this smuggling?" ”