Church's Diary XIII

Originally, we had already decided to sail north, because putting aside all kinds of unreliable assumptions, we were still in the same place is the most scientific understanding, and the voyage to the north in less than two days is the Tubuai Islands. In any case, we have a higher probability of encountering land in the north, and the worst outcome is that we miss the Southern Islands and the Hawaiian Islands along the way, and to the Aleutian Islands, which is better than encountering icebergs in Antarctica. Along the way, if we come across a larger island, we can determine the location based on the chart, then adjust the course and eventually find an inhabited continent.

However, after a few hours of sailing, I found out the problem - we were going around in circles.

The problem is with the compass. The pointer's pole pointing seems to be fine, but after the ship has traveled some distance, it will deflect slightly, and it will turn with the Discovery.

This slight change of direction is not very recognizable to the naked eye, but as an experienced helmsman, I quickly noticed that something was wrong. Not only me, but many of my first mates, second mates, and sailors noticed the problem, and we all saw that the Discovery was circling the sea, and the compass was pointing at a fixed point in the vast sea.

I told Mr. Robbins about the situation. He said that there may be an extremely strong magnetic field somewhere on the ocean floor, which may be the source of a series of strange things we have encountered recently, and the source of the magnetic field is probably related to the pyramid we are looking for.

This speculation is exciting. We drove in the direction indicated by the pointer, hoping to reach the top of the center of the magnetic field. But strangely, the compass never seems to be able to bring us to the center of that point, probably due to the double influence of the Earth's magnetic poles, which always keep correcting direction along the tangent of the circle at the edge of the magnetic field.

If I couldn't even use a compass, the Discovery would have really become blind in the vast Pacific Ocean. Do you want me to sail like an old pirate ship, with the direction of the wind and the way I feel? But that's too dangerous.

Robbins asked me if I could find the center of the magnetic field empirically, and it didn't have to be very accurate, as long as it was close to it, we could go down to the sea and see it. It's just that the communication on the ship is out of order, and the other equipment is still fine.

I said it was too late, I'll try again tomorrow.

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Church's Diary XIV

Fortunately, when I was younger, technology was not developed enough when I sailed with the old captain, and the most relied on technology and navigation systems was not the technology and navigation system, but the human eye and experience.

If it hadn't been for that, I don't think I would have been able to find the center of that strange magnetic field today.

I first drove the boat around the magnetic field a few times according to the instructions of the compass, and then judged the direction and distance of the center of the circle based on experience, and turned the bow of the boat to sail away. During this process, the magnetic needle of the compass has been shaking wildly.

After about forty minutes, I felt like I was there, so I stopped the boat. At this time, the magnetic needle regained its calm, and judging by the position of the sun, it pointed to the north and south poles again, as if the strong magnetic field on the ocean floor had disappeared. I guess this magnetic field may have a hollow area like the eye of a hurricane, with a strong magnetic field around it, but the center point is empty.

I suddenly noticed that the GPS had a signal. This is really exciting news, more than the joy of sailing with my just perfect experience. I immediately wanted to tell Robbins the news, and as I ran to the cabin, I almost collided with the communicator in charge of liaising with the ground command center at the aisle.

He was also about to go to Robbins, as all the communication equipment had been restored. And when the equipment was restored, it was very strange to continue the command before the loss of contact, and sent a request report to the ground to "arrive at the destination, prepare to anchor, and request satellite angle calibration".

However, before we could find Robbins, we heard a sailor at the bow shouting: Tsunami! Get back to the cabin! Tsunami!

I looked back, and not far in front of us, there was a white column of smoke rising into the sky, and then huge waves surged around the column of smoke to form a high gray wall of waves, and then there was a loud noise, and a strong wind blew in my face, and the ship shook visibly.

When I saw this scene, I first thought of a nuclear explosion under the sea. But who would conduct a nuclear test under this Pacific Ocean? If the United States wants to do it, it will at least notify it in advance and block the sea area.

Thinking about it, I ran back to the captain's room screaming, and quickly gave instructions to the crew to take their positions and prepare for the next big wave.

I adjusted the direction of the bow of the boat, because before the big waves came, we had to face them head-on in a vertical direction, and if the hull of the boat was slightly tilted, there was a possibility that it would be overturned by the waves.

The dozens of meters high wall of waves quickly swelled up, and I felt the hull of the boat shake violently. The sound of the waves crashing against the bow deck drowned out the cries of the sailors, and the misty vapor blocked my view.

Most of the young sailors have never experienced such sudden changes and dangers, and such an experience is sure to be unforgettable for the rest of their lives. After this battle, I think they will all become more mature.

The bow of the ship was lifted again and again by huge waves, and while I took the helm myself, I kept shouting and giving all kinds of commands, and at the same time I prayed to God and the god of the sea. I heard a loud thud and I don't know what hit the side of the ship.

After a century of hardship, the ship finally calmed down and the sea was calm again.

Shocked, I rubbed my hips, which I had almost fallen down and hurt, a few times, and then walked on my trembling legs to check on the others.

Anderson was reassuring our young sailors, and he said Church, go and see the intellectuals, I'll leave it to me.

I walked to the cabin. The incident happened in a hurry just now, and those people have no experience, so they must not have time to make the right actions to protect themselves.

Sure enough, quite a few people in the cabin were injured, and several of them may have broken bones.

Mrs. Larry had her head broken and her face was covered in blood, but she stubbornly didn't want anyone's help, took a first-aid kit and bandaged herself and went to help others.

Robbins was tending to Pardic, who had fallen to the ground, when a heavy machine weighed on him. Alice cries next to her, saying that he has been hit hard to protect her.

I went over to take a look and saw that Pardick was breathing weakly, and in addition to being crushed by the machine, he also seemed to have been hit on the head.

The condition of the sailors was also not optimistic, four were missing, and more than a dozen were wounded, but the injuries were not serious.

The cabin was flooded, and the port side was hit by something and dented in a large piece. Almost all of the equipment on board was broken, and upon inspection, it was found that it may have been hit by an electromagnetic pulse explosion, all electronic equipment was not functioning properly, and the electrical circuits were also malfunctioning. Luckily our ships have diesel engines, and if we burn gasoline like a car, the ignition controller will definitely break.

After an intense emergency repair, we were able to barely restore the ship's power supply. Fortunately, the ship was able to drive without irreparable damage, and the only thing to worry about was the injuries of the crew. The ship's doctor examined Pardik and said that he had broken two ribs and suffered a concussion in his brain, wondering if there would be sequelae.

God willing, all will be well.