When Marin was thinking about going to the Ming Empire in the future, the American he was expecting, also led four ships around a large circle, passing through the southern tip of South America, coming to the Pacific Ocean, and all the way north, finally arriving at Panama City under construction.

At this time, Panama City was still just a castle with a simple port area, and the port area had only a few simple manually excavated docks. And the small river on the edge of Panama City was also named the Panama River by the bald head of the temporary governor of Panama City.

When Americago's four new 250 armed merchant ships arrived at the mouth of the Panama River, they were in no hurry to enter the Panama River. This is because in the estuary part of the Panama River, a few of Arben's boats were parked, and some of their four boats could not squeeze in.

The bald Ben saw that this was not good. If the long-term sailing ship does not enter the Tamsui River to trim and remove sea maggots, then it must not be eroded through the bottom?

However, Amerigo did not wait for Ben to clear his mooring, but directly anchored at the seashore and landed directly.

"Teacher, why don't you park the boat in Hanoi? You can't get rid of sea maggots in saltwater! Wait a minute, I will order to free up berths for your fleet! Ben asked, confused.

At the Captain's School, Columbus and Amerigo were two of the most important professorial teachers. And Ben was the first batch of students of the captain's school, and when he saw Amerigo, he naturally called him a teacher.

But Amerigo laughed and refused:

"No need, Ben, teacher, these four ships are not afraid of sea maggots. You don't even need to overhaul it! ”

"What?" Ben's face was shocked. As one of the first outstanding cadets of the East Friesian Captains' School, Ben knew the hardships of sailing. After each voyage, overhauls were almost necessary because of the maggots' erosion of the bottom of the ship, as well as the lapping of the waves and some bumps along the way. The main content of the overhaul is to replace a few badly corroded or damaged planks under the waterline of the bottom of the ship. This requires a professional dewaterable dock to facilitate repairs and maintenance by craftsmen. Therefore, Amerigo said that his ship did not need major repairs, and Ben was surprised. After all, Americago's fleet had sailed around the Americas. To say that the bottom of the ship did not need to be overhauled, Ben obviously did not believe it. However, Amerigo was, after all, the vice-principal of the Captain's School and a professor of navigation. He said that there was no need for major repairs, and obviously he would not be wrong.

"Could it be that you've repaired it elsewhere, teacher?" Ben could only guess like this. After all, on the island of Santa Maria, off the coast of Chile, there also seems to be a small stronghold. Could it be that the small stronghold also has a new repair dock?

Amerigo shook his head and said:

"No, no, no, Ben, you misunderstood. The bottom of the teacher's four boats is wrapped with special iron sheets, which are not afraid of sea maggot erosion, nor are they afraid of minor collisions and damage. As long as you don't hit a big reef, there is almost no need for major repairs! ”

"Ironhide?" The bald Aben was taken aback, and then worried:

"But, teacher, the iron can't support it for long, right? It's easy to be rusted by the sea! Don't...... Is it white iron? Ben remembered the last time he returned to China, and he seemed to have heard that there was a white iron sheet in China that was not afraid of rust. However, last time he seemed to have heard that if the outer skin of tinplate is bumped, it is easy to rust...... And the process of sailing, especially the process of exploring new routes, will inevitably bump and bump, and the white iron sheet will not be a problem......

The navigation regulations of the North Sea Country are very strict, and the first voyage is usually led by experienced sailors like Columbus and America. They then record the coordinates along the way, as well as mark which sections of the sea will have reefs, which needs special attention.

Moreover, at the bow of each ship, Marin also specially built an observation room, arranged sailors to be on duty to observe non-stop, and used low-powered telescopes to observe whether there was a reef on the sea not far ahead, so as not to run aground.

Of course, this kind of observation is generally used for the first time to explore the route. And with the success of the first exploration route, the leader's logbook will clearly inform the future generations which section is dangerous.

Therefore, under such strict nautical regulations, as long as the subsequent captain sailed strictly according to the coordinates provided by the previous logbook, there was almost no danger. Unless, unfortunately, there is a hurricane or typhoon. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the voyage to have an accident. Amerigo also sailed all the way to the end of the voyage according to the logbook provided by Ben Ben earlier. Even the dangerous Strait of Magellan, they crossed safely. When Ben's fleet first passed through the Strait of Magellan, it almost lost two ships. If it weren't for the help of fellow ships, it might have been over.

Amerigo naturally saw Ben's doubts, and happily told Ben that the Grand Duke had made a new kind of white iron sheet (Marin didn't tell them that it was nickel iron sheet, anyway, they didn't know what nickel was, just told them that it was a new white iron sheet), and he was not afraid of sea corrosion. Moreover, after the bottom of the ship is wrapped in white iron sheets, ordinary collisions cannot hurt the ship at all. Unless, straight up against a sharp reef. However, for navigators of the caliber of Columbus and America, that was rare.

Ben suddenly realized, and then warmly entertained Amerigo and his party. Today, while the concrete road connecting the Gulf of Colón to Panama City on the Caribbean side has not yet been repaired, the overland road has been opened. As long as it wasn't raining, the port of Colon could already send some supplies to Panama City. In addition, Ben will also exchange some sweet potatoes, peanuts and peppers from some nearby natives to eat. In addition, Ben sometimes sends boats out to sea to fish. For example, in addition to regular foods such as bread and bacon, there are also fresh fish, as well as dishes such as roasted sweet potatoes and fried peanuts, which made Amerigo and his party, who have been sailing on the sea for several months, eat very refreshingly.

After the reception, Ben began to order Amerigo and his party to prepare fresh water for the voyage.

The preparation method is very simple, that is, to use the method of simulating steaming cans invented by Marin, put the whole bucket of fresh water, put it in a large pot filled with water (it is also possible to overflow the barrel mouth), close it and steam it until it boils. In this way, the fresh water in the barrel becomes boiling water, which is absolutely sterile. Then, the sailors put on their gloves and used tools to scoop up the buckets while they were hot, quickly plugged them into wooden corks and sealed with mud, and then took them out to dry. When the exterior of the barrel and the sealing mud are dry, a sealed bucket of fresh water that can be stored for several months is ready.

According to Marin's prediction, this time Americago's fleet crossed the Pacific Ocean, because of the smooth wind, it will only take about 3 months. So, it is not difficult to prepare enough fresh water. Moreover, fresh water will never spoil within 3 months.

Other than that, it's just to help prepare some food. For example, Ben sent a lot of peanuts and sweet potatoes to Amerigo to eat on the voyage. Anyway, peanuts and sweet potatoes are also vegetables, which also contain vitamins and are relatively shelf-stable. Of course, Ben doesn't understand this. All he knew was that Marin had said that it was right to eat more vegetables during the voyage. Moreover, he was also right, sweet potatoes have a high vitamin C content. As long as they are stored properly, fresh sweet potatoes can last for three or four months, and they can survive this voyage.

After preparing enough fresh water and food, Amerigo and the others got ready to board the ship again, leaving Panama City, all the way west, chopping waves in the direction of Keelung, the island of Taiwan of the Ming Empire, preparing to cross the Pacific Ocean......