The weather was clear, the northeasterly wind was still strong, and the Cuban coastline loomed in the distance. It's been ten days since the pirate fleet set sail, and the good news for the pirate fleet is that it hasn't encountered a storm, and the bad news is that it's sailing against the wind again.

Second Officer Sterling was on duty today during the day, and he stood by the rudder of the stern tower and observed the sea, his upright figure looking a little restrained. The stressful life at sea is very exercised, and Sterling has already begun to lead the class on the ship to carry out some simple commands. Chen Shouxu stood beside Sterling, and after this voyage, he had already started his shift to help the officer in charge confirm the compass course.

"Changing sides to the wind." This is the most issued order since Sterling began leading classes.

The helmsman struck the rudder, and the sailors loosened the sail ropes and steered the boom of the jib to turn to the wind.

Seeing that the morale of the sailors on the deck was low, Sterling frowned slightly, "The sailors' work is not very interested.

Chen Shouxu was afraid that he would train people, "Sailing against the wind makes everyone very tired, and there is no way to do it." ”

Sterling looked at Chen Shouxu and stopped talking.

Probably because the air below deck was too stuffy, everyone else went to the deck at this time, except for the night shift to catch up on sleep and watch over the sailors who went down to the deck.

The flag of the top mast was still fluttering firmly to the southwest, and Fraser on the deck looked at Chen Shouxu and sighed, "I've been catching the wind, when is this unlucky voyage going to be a head." ”

Chen Shouxu stroked the railing of the stern tower and said to the deck, "We are not only against the wind, but also against the current." ”

Fraser stared at him with wide eyes, "What you said is true?" ”

"Of course," Chen Shouxu pointed to the stars that could not be seen during the day, "after setting sail, the captain found that the distance obtained by measuring the latitude was not the same as the distance calculated from the logbook, and the captain suspected that there was a northwestward current under our ship. So he told us to compare it with the logbook every time we measured latitude, and yesterday we sailed for a day, 10 nautical miles behind what we expected. ”

"Hey!" The sailors who heard Chen Shouxu's words all sighed.

"Don't you sigh, you're almost there." Chen Shouxu clapped his hands, attracting a lot of people's attention.

The charts of this era were not accurate, and ships only had a rough estimate of the voyage, and it was common to stagger by several days. In his later years, Chen Shouxu often played sailing in the Bahamas, and he was quite familiar with the geography of the region.

The pirate fleet's destination, the Windward Strait, is located between Cuba and Hispaniola, where the strong northeast trade winds dominate all year round. After the confluence of the strong North Equatorial Stream and the South Equatorial Stream in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, part of it swells into the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico through the Windward Strait. The other part is blocked out of the Caribbean Sea by a chain of islands from Hispaniola and Cuba, and flows northwest along the wide waterway between Cuba and the Bahamas, where it rejoins the Gulf Stream in the Florida Strait.

The pirate fleet sailed southeast against the second Antillean current. Chen Shouxu knew the general direction of the current in the Caribbean Sea and was mentally prepared for the arduous voyage. But in 1638, neither the European captains nor the natives of the Bahamas had a deep understanding of the current system.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to confirm the latitude, Chen Shouxu calculated in detail the voyage of the fleet since its departure these days.

"Brothers, I have carefully calculated, if the wind direction does not change significantly, at today's speed, we will be able to see the Windward Strait in two days at most."

Over the past few months, Chen Shouxu has proven his excellent navigation computing skills many times. When the sailors heard the news of Chen Shouxu's announcement, although some people were skeptical, many more people were still a little more upbeat than just now.

This was the first time Chen Shouxu had predicted the voyage on the ship, which surprised Sterling a little, and Captain Grover walked to the chart table after hearing the report, and carefully measured it on the chart with a nautical compass, thoughtfully.

Two days later, when the raging Windward Channel appeared on the starboard side of the Blue Banshee, Captain Grover called an all-ship assembly. The captain stood on the stern tower and announced his decision to all the sailors, "For three months, Chen Shouxu has proved that he is a well-educated gentleman and has an excellent service record on this ship. I have decided to appoint him as a midshipman on this ship. ”

Chen Shouxu, who was standing on the deck, secretly clenched his fists, and strode towards the captain with some excitement, and after saluting, he took the short sword ordered by the captain to symbolize the identity of the officer on the Blue Banshee.

"Say a few words." Captain Grover did not hide his admiration for Chen Shouxu.

"Yes, Captain." Chen Shouxu turned to face all the sailors, pulled out the short sword in his hand and raised it high, "I swear by my sword that I will serve the Blue Banshee loyally, obey the captain and my superiors, and defend the honor of this ship with my blood, even at the cost of sacrifice." ”

After Chen Shouxu finished speaking, the sailors on the deck shouted wave after wave.

Looking at the different expressions of the sailors in front of him, this call was not only a congratulation for Chen Shouxu, but also a kind of pressure. There were only five officers on board, and he was going to prove that he was up to the task.

After being promoted to officer, the most direct benefit was that Chen Shouxu had a fixed place to live, the captain readjusted the officer's cabin on the ship, the first mate lived with the chief navigator, and Chen Shouxu and Sterling had a cabin.

After a strenuous voyage against the wind and water, the pirate fleet turned right into the Windward Channel and arrived at the safe haven of Captain Bellamy on Hispaniola.

In this era of information blockage, every famous pirate captain has secret havens and anchorages, and the so-called home advantage is reflected in the mastery of these secret ports, familiarity with the location of the reef and the law of wind direction and other factors. The Pirates of the Caribbean have been able to roam the seas for 200 years, not because the regular navy can't beat them, the key is in this home field advantage.

This information is a core resource in the hands of the pirate captain, and it is no wonder that most pirates are convinced of him by Captain Bellamy when he can share it.

After the fleet entered the harbor and anchored, Bellamy convened a meeting of all the captains, and he first clarified the situation facing the pirates.

The Windward Channel was a good place, and now they anchored between Port-au-Prince, Cuba and Jamaica, guarding the exit from the channel. At this time, the route from Europe to the New World was from the Iberian Peninsula along the Canary Snap to the south, with the towering Mount Teide on the island of Tenerife as a natural navigation marker, and along the warm north-south equatorial current and the trade wind belt across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World. The two treasure fleets of the Kingdom of Spain, the larger one bound for the port of Catanach in the Viceroyalty of Peru and the smaller one bound for the port of Veracruz in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, both had to reach their destination through the Windward Channel.

The strait in front of Chen Shouxu can be said to be the lifeblood of the entire Spanish colonial empire. Spain implemented a shuttle escort system, and when each treasure convoy arrived in the New World, it did not wait for the merchant ships to complete the deal, but went to Havana to join the previous year's treasure fleet waiting there and returned to Europe.