Enter the Strait of Lemaire.

The sea breeze blows down the southwesterly strait on the sail, and the rigging tightens the hull and sail. The raging tide hit the battleship's bow beak head-on. The flag fluttered sharply towards the stern of the ship, whirring in the wind. One battleship will be thrown to the crest of the wave, and the other will be at the bottom.

The Strait of Le Maire was 15 nautical miles wide, enough for warships to sail in a zigzag near windward. But the surging tide made it almost impossible for the fleet to move forward.

The hull of the ship tilted sharply to the port side, and Chen Shouxuan was helpless, "Turn around with the wind, let's retreat." ”

The surging tide left Chen Shouxuan helpless, and the fleet retreated behind the rocky hills of Cape San Diego.

Waiting until 9 a.m., when the wind changed to southwesterly and the tide decreased, Chen Shouxu ordered to turn the rudder again and sail into the strait. The fleet flanked the southwest wind and sailed in a southeasterly direction.

At this time, the fog dissipated a little, and the starboard side of the fleet was behind Tierra del Fuego, and in front of the port side was Staten Island. Tierra del Fuego's most striking landmark is a xiaolongbao-shaped hill not far from the coast, southwest of the Le Maire Strait. About 10 nautical miles southwest of Cape Santiago, there is another headland, behind which are three connected hills. The landmarks are so striking that sailors will never miss the Le Maire Strait.

The northern side of Staten Island in the left front has some green vegetation, and the rest of the land is covered with bare rocks. The rocky, rugged landmarks are the deep marks left by glaciers on the earth over thousands of years. And now, the melting snow washes over the island's ravines, leaving patches of rubble behind.

A light rain fell from the sky, drenching the deck.

Soon, the gentle drizzle turned into a storm again. Violent sudden winds and torrential rain mixed with hail struck down on the head and face.

Chen Shouxu stood on the stern tower, the icy rain running down his coat made of cowhide onto the deck.

"Come, the wind and waves of the South Atlantic, the wind is in the direction!"

The rain-soaked rigging was so cold that the sailors didn't know it.

"Boys, run."

A group of sailors, carrying their stout sail ropes on their backs, ran from the foredeck to the aft deck, and under their pull, the booms slowly turned and turned in the direction of the wind.

The helmsman struck the rudder to the end, the stern bores were lowered and tensioned, and the bow slowly turned upwind.

The icy and rain-soaked deck was unusually slippery, the bow of the ship swung sharply after the bow was righted, and a sailor who was sailing did not stand still and fell into the sea.

"Someone falls into the water, put down the lifebuoy!"

The lifebuoy was made of wood and hung from the sail pole of the stern jigsaw sail. The sailors quickly loosened the knots that bound the lifebuoy, which fell into the sea and was carried west by the current.

"Come on!"

Everyone slowed down their work and stared at the movements of the sailors in the sea. I saw him desperately swimming towards the lifebuoy, but the cold sea water made him quickly lose his body temperature, and just when he reached the lifebuoy, the sailor sank and disappeared from everyone's field of vision.

There was silence on the battleship.

"Put away the lifebuoy." Chen Shouxu's face had a hint of sadness, "Everyone should be careful in the future." ”

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the tide rose again, and it rushed down the strait, and the hull of the ship again tilted sharply to starboard.

The tide is like a wall of waves, and after the ship enters the wave area, it is constantly lifted, and the bow mast is inserted into the sea again and again.

"Captain ......"

"Commander......

These tired sailors didn't say anything, and all kinds of eyes were fixed on Chen Shouxu. Wrapped in these complex emotions, Chen Shouxu was shaken.

Chen Shouxu was about to order the wind to be redirected, no longer stiff with the roaring west wind and tide.

Harris pointed ahead and said to Chen Shouxu, "Commander, there is a bay not far ahead, we may be able to go in and anchor for a while." ”

Chen Shouxu's spirit perked up, he pulled out the binoculars, there was no time to hesitate, he gritted his teeth, "Let's lean over." ”

The fleet sailed to a bay southwest of Cape San Diego, where the bottom of the sea was all hard rock, and the water depth was 12 to 25 fathoms.

The battleship stopped sailing against the wind, and Chen Shouxu called the chief navigator, "Harris, you can't anchor here for a long time." I'll give you a longboat, and I'll look further east, and I've just seen a hidden bay there. If we don't want to withdraw from the strait, we must find a suitable anchorage for the fleet. ”

Harris did not hesitate and immediately took the order to leave with the longboat.

Chen Shouxu watched the captain's longship sail into the wind and waves, and he should feel glad that the entire fleet was like Harris. Acton is such a brave man who fights the sea.

A few hours later, the navigator returned.

"Captain, I have searched the bay you are talking about. The sailors there are 8 to 9 fathoms, and the bottom of the sea is good. But there are some seagrass-covered reefs on the shore of the bay, and there are only 4 fathoms close to the reef, and I am worried that anchoring will be risky. ”

Chen Shouxu's face couldn't hold back the expression of disappointment, could he only withdraw from the Le Maire Strait like this? Looking at the tired looks of the sailors, the blow to morale from withdrawing was simply devastating.

There was a smile on Harris's lips, "Captain." After I found that the bay was not suitable for anchoring, I looked to the east of the headland, where there was also a bay with black cliffs blocking the sea breeze, the water depth was 8 to 9 fathoms, and the bottom was full of silt and sand, which was perfect for anchoring. ”

Acton was so soaked that he couldn't tell the difference between the sea and the rain.

Chen Shouxu looked at the Navigator's frozen purple lips, "Harris......"

"Commander."

"You're doing a great job."

The sailors carried the pathfinders into the cabin, and the Andean brandy was ready for them.

Chen Shouxu's fleet was basically based on the establishment of the British Navy in terms of duties and ranks. In the British Navy, officers above the rank of lieutenant were officers, and officers had command over the battleship. And there will be a lot of technicians on the battleship, these technicians include the chief navigator and the weapons officer, who are in the middle of the class of non-commissioned officers and officers, although they are not officers, they have a high status on the battleship.

The pirate fleet was not yet organized into such a complex class, that is, officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, and the captain's combat command line was also between officers and non-commissioned officers, and this position belonged to the newly graduated officer cadets as a transitional position before they were promoted to officers.

If he passed the exam arranged by Chen Shouxu, the navigator could be transferred to the officer of the fleet. The situation of the flagship was special, and Chen Shouxu had to focus most of his time on commanding the fleet, and much of the command of the ship was handed over to the chief navigator. Harris now actually takes on the duties of not just the average captain of the sea, his role is increasingly like that of the second captain of the flagship. In the case of a regular navy, the first captain of the flagship under the command of the fleet is actually the chief of staff of the fleet, and the second captain is the real captain of the flagship.

The shortage of officers in the fleet is so serious, according to Harris. Acton's growth rate, and it won't be long before he can be qualified as a deputy on a ship.

-------

The fleet turned around and sailed into the bay of which the navigator had spoken, following the west wind and current. The southern corner of the bay is in the southeast, and the northern corner is in the northeast east. It was only in the early hours of the morning that the whole fleet found a suitable berth, lowered the anchor and fixed the ship.

For the whole day, the sailors were exhausted, but Chen estimated that they had only walked three or four nautical miles west. The two tides hurt the whole fleet, and there were cases of sacrifice. Fortunately, now the entire fleet is still together, and not a single ship is missing.

After daybreak, the pirate fleet took a closer look at the bay. The entrance to the bay is 1 nautical mile wide, and the depth is 4 nautical miles long, and the inner bay is wide, and the bay is full of good anchorages, the water depth is 7 to 10 fathoms, and the bottom of the sea is very clean.

Considering the current situation of the fleet, Chen Shouxuan decided to rest in the bay for a few days. The nautical diaries of Swanten and Le Maire in 1616, and the journal of Jacob in 1624. Hermit & Jean. None of the records of the voyages of the Nassau fleet under Shabenhan around Cape Horn show the existence of this bay. And Drake, although the Drake Strait further south is named after him, but in fact Drake reached the Pacific Ocean from the Strait of Magellan, and he never sailed so far south.

Chen Shouxu's voyage also recorded a large amount of navigation information. Landmarks and the latitude and longitude of the strait, the location of the bay, the prevailing winds and tides are described in detail, and this information is recorded in the ship's logbook and his own diary. Chen Shouxu decided to name the bay Harris Harbor after the Navigator.

The fleet docked at the southern corner of Harris Harbor, which provided maximum shelter from prevailing winds. There is a land marker near the South Point, which runs like a road from the sea into the interior. You can see that there are some small streams on the land that flow into the sea, and there are some woods growing along the streams, which look like beech trees from a distance, but they are not the same as the beech that Chen Shouxu has seen.

There were no fish in the bay, but some mussels and limpets could be found. The battleship lowered the boat, and the sailors lowered the seashells and stewed several large pots of seashells and kelp soup. In the humid and cold weather, the hot seashell soup made everyone drink happily.

Since he had to rest for a few days, Chen Shouxu decided to personally lead an expedition to the island. The fleet volunteered, and Coutinho and Allemand were also interested in Tierra del Fuego, where Magellan had discovered, and joined the expedition. He was accompanied by several teachers from the Jesuit College in Buenos Aires who had been "invited" by pirates to board the ship. These intellectuals, who have endured hardships along the way, have also adapted to some of the hardships of life in the ocean after a long voyage. And this mysterious island, the attraction of intellectuals is fatal, and then they are no longer seen scolding the pirates, carrying measuring instruments and following the pirate team to Tierra del Fuego.

The weather wasn't good, with sleet and occasional hail falling around Harris Harris. In the distance, Xiaolongbao Mountain is covered with snowflakes, and according to the observation of teachers at the Jesuit college, they say that Tierra del Fuego, like Staten Island, has snow inland, and the coastal areas are warmer and sleet. In such weather, the inland areas must be cold and barren and cannot be cultivated.

A team of more than 40 people headed inland as teachers collected plants from the island and prepared to take them back to make specimens.

Vasak. Concelus, the leader of the teachers, suddenly walked up to a field of plants, crouched down and took a closer look.

Chen Shouxu walked up to him, "Mr. Concelos, what did you find?" ”

There was some joy on the teacher's face, "This is wild celery, which is good for curing scurvy." ”

When Chen Shouxu heard this, he immediately called the captain of the sailors, "You stay, cut all this grass, and transport it back to the fleet." Send some to each battleship, try it with sheep, and immediately make soup for the whole fleet if there is no problem. ”

Clear streams flow from the feet to the sea, and the bay is rich in fresh water.

Chen Shouxu led the expedition on its way ashore, and at the end of the bay, they met the island's natives, the natives who had guided Magellan's course with bonfires and pillars of smoke.

The aborigines carried bows and arrows, which were made of fine workmanship, and the arrows were polished from stone.

The soldiers were nervous and raised their weapons one after another.

The natives took a few steps back, seemingly frightened.

Allem whispered to Chen Shouxu, "They know our weapons. ”

Chen Shouxu waved his hand downward, "The muzzle of the gun is pointing down." ”

The aborigines were a little bolder, and they stepped forward. The men had copper-colored skin and long, black hair painted with red and black stripes. The clothes are the skins of wild South American camels or seals, as if they had just been peeled off the animals.

As they got closer, they could see that the aborigines had some buckles and metal rings on them. Since Magellan, several waves of European explorers have arrived on Tierra del Fuego, indicating that the exchange of goods has penetrated into all corners of the Americas, even in the distant island of Tierra del Fuego.

The two sides do not understand each other at all, and can only communicate through eye contact and gestures.

The aborigines were not interested in the food and wine brought out by the sailors, and the women seemed to be very fond of red beads, each of whom wore beads made of shells and bones around their necks.

The man stroked the soldier's arquebus, screaming as he stroked it, as if he understood how to use it. Chen Shouxu asked the soldiers to hand over a gun. The aborigines grabbed the soldiers and pointed in a direction, and Chen Shouxu roughly understood, and followed the men towards there.

When I arrived, I found out that it was actually a bay full of seals. The natives raised the muzzles of their soldiers' guns and pointed at the seals and shouted something.

This did not require a verbal exchange, and the soldiers, who had not eaten fresh meat for a long time, immediately understood. They found the position of their guns, and a hunt began.

……

The fully loaded expedition returned to the captain and sent fresh meat to the cheers of the fleet.

The natives were not at all afraid of these pirates, armed to the teeth, and four or five people followed the sailors on board.

Push this book of Jinjiang: "Wear Lonely Loyalty"

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The author is Yue Fei, one of my sisters. He is also the former owner of the Yue Fei Forum. So please rest assured in terms of the quality of historical materials.