The morning sun shines on the boundless sea. The sea is as clear as the sky. There are no islands in sight, only three sailboats sailing day and night. The sky is as blue as the sea, with no traces of storms and only the occasional seabird.
.This is a vast and unknown deep sea, full of mysterious imagination, and has never been known to the civilized world.
In this boundless sea, everyone is full of fear and expectation, but they don’t know where they are. And only from the navigation records can people get some comfort and know the distance that has been sailed, which is also true.
It’s the escape route when you’re afraid of returning…
"Thursday, September 6th. The expedition fleet sailed away from La Gomera. On this day, the weather was calm. The fleet sailed in the waters of the archipelago without going very far... And we got news from the passing sailboats that three ships
Portuguese galleons are patrolling around the Canary Islands...well, probably to stop us!...Yes, God witnesses! These galleons must be the King of Portugal, knowing the outstanding commander of the expeditionary force and loyal to the great Queen Isabella
, sent here out of jealousy!…”
"Friday, September 7th. On this day, the sea was calm and there was no wind suitable for sailing. It continued to circle around the islands..."
"Saturday, September 8th. At three o'clock in the night, we finally waited for the northwest wind, and the fleet turned to the westward! ... The wind and waves were very strong, and it was impossible to raise the full sail, and we only sailed nine leagues in the middle of the night..."
The flagship Santa Maria has three tall masts with full sails. Both the foremast and topmast are hung with a square sail, and at the top of the mast is a royal flag of the Kingdom of Castile. This
The flag is divided into four grids, and the whole is divided into a shield shape. The upper left and lower right are yellow city-states on a red background, and the lower left and upper right are red lions on a white background.
In the hearts of the Castilian nobles, this flag symbolizes the aristocratic spirit inherited by the kingdom. The shield is the origin of the royal family and the Visigothic heritage that is engraved in the heart. The castle is the power of the monarch, grandeur and nobility, blessing and
Protection. And the lion is the strength of the army, authority and rule, majesty and bravery!…
In the view of the outstanding commander of the expeditionary force, Don Christopher Columbus, the only meaning of this flag is to symbolize the great Queen Isabella and the queen's discerning understanding of this outstanding commander! In addition,
, those so-called aristocratic spirits of the kingdom, to him, a captain from a commercial city-state, are all deceptive bullshit, no, none of them!…
"Well...On September 8th, we only went westward 9 leagues. If we remember less, let's count it as 7!...On September 9th, we sailed westward day and night with the wind, sailing 19 leagues by day. Sailing at night is faster,
The speed is 10 knots, the voyage is 120 nautical miles in one night, and the distance is 40 leagues... The total day and night is 59 leagues. Well, this is the day when we really start heading west! If you want to remember one-fifth less, just remember 47 leagues!..."
In the captain's cabin of the flagship, Columbus lowered his head, holding a quill and writing on two unfolded scrolls at the same time.
The book on the left is the "Navigation Record" written by the captain, which is used to record the daily sailing conditions and itinerary. This record is semi-public and will allow the royal family to stay on the ship. The two spies, the royal butler Pede
Pedro de Gutierrez, and clerk Rodrigo de Escobedo read. Oh, no, those who have the right to read, and the damn second
Captain, original owner of the Santa Maria, Juan de la Cosa!
The one on the right is his own private "Navigation Diary", which will only be seen by himself. In this diary, he records all his great decisions, wise judgments, fearless courage... and
, a “real” sailing itinerary.
"Merda! The "Navigation Record" for these idiots must write down the mileage of the voyage!...Lest these idiots feel that they have sailed too far, and become afraid and dare not go further west...After all, they are still
No courage! Not like the brave me..."
Columbus cursed under his breath, wrote down the deliberately reduced voyage mileage in his voyage record, and wrote down the actual data he estimated in his diary.
In the navigation of this era, 1 league is 3 nautical miles, which is about 5.5 kilometers, or 11 miles. The speed of 1 nautical mile per hour is 1 knot. On the night of September 9, the fleet was completely following the wind, and the ship's speed reached an astonishing 10
knot! Of course, this speed is Columbus’s estimate, and its authenticity is very doubtful. Because according to his estimate, 59 leagues were traveled on September 9, which means that 649 miles were traveled in one day and one night! This is too amazing
Already…
In fact, in the eyes of navigation scholars hundreds of years later, due to errors in estimates and calculations, Columbus' "Navigation Records" with "false accounts" was actually more valuable than his "genuine accounts" with "Navigation Diaries".
It is close to the real situation during navigation.
"Vaffanculo! Damn it! The Santa Maria, the Clark sailboat, is still too slow! The speed of the entire fleet has been dragged down by it... Let me say, it is better to set the flagship on the 'Pingta' and '
On board the Ninya, throw this broken ship away...and throw all these idiots who are getting in the way overboard too!..."
There is no doubt that Columbus, the outstanding commander of the expeditionary force, does not like the current flagship Santa Maria. This is not only because this medium-sized Clark sailboat is slower than the other two light Caravel sailboats. More importantly,
The reason is that as the commander of the expeditionary force and the captain of the flagship, he should have the supreme authority, but he cannot exercise it on this sailing ship at all!
Whether it is the two representative spies installed by the Castilian royal family or the second captain De La Cosa, they all have a decisive influence on the Santa Maria, controlling some of the sailors and power on the flagship! And Columbus can
The only person he truly trusted completely was his lover's cousin, Diego de Arana, the captain of the guard whom he personally appointed.
"On September 10th, I sailed 60 leagues day and night at a speed of 10 knots, which was recorded as 48 leagues... On September 11th, I sailed 40 leagues day and night, and was recorded as 32 leagues. Well, on this day, I found a tree on the sea.
I don’t know where the broken mast came from, and the idiots were a little scared... Bah! What a bunch of cowards!..."
"On September 12th, the wind weakened, and we sailed 33 leagues day and night, recorded as 27 leagues... On September 13th, we continued westward, sailing 33 leagues day and night, recorded as 29 leagues! Let every day look different.
…On this day, the waves turned eastward, and the navigational needle turned northwestward at night. I don’t know why…Idiots were a little scared again, bah! Where is the sea monster? Nothing!…”
"On September 14th, the wind became weaker, and we sailed 20 leagues day and night, recorded as 16 leagues... The sailors of the Ninian said they saw seabirds... Praise the Lord! With seabirds, can the land be far away?
Well, let me do the math..."
Seeing yesterday's diary, Columbus raised his stubborn lips and calculated the itinerary for these days on the paper.
"God bless you! In total, from September 8th to 14th, a total of 254 leagues were traveled, which is 1397 kilometers... Even the record shown to those idiots is 1133 kilometers... In this way, Aris
The Antillia island Dodd mentioned should be in this area!…”
At this point, Columbus smiled, and his stubborn face was full of expectation. Although the fleet did not see any trace of the island, some people saw seabirds, so the island should not be too far away... After all, his Columbus
The calculations will definitely not go wrong! What, you said that there are seabirds that migrate long distances and will not come close to the land?... Nonsense, that is the imagination of an idiot!...
"Holy Mother! Then, what is that?!"
"Ah! Fire! Thunder! Thunder's flame!..."
"Lord bless you! I beg you! Don't send down the terrible fire from heaven, don't send down the doomsday of judgment!..."
"This is punishment! It's the flames of the sea monster! ... We have offended the sea area of 'Uroborus'! No, it is 'Leviathan' (Leviathan)!"
"O Lord! We are in awe of your majesty. You are the greatest and immortal Lord! Please forgive us for our offense!..."
"Huh? What's going on?!"
Hearing the frightened and noisy shouts of the sailors on the ship, Columbus widened his eyes and stood up suddenly. He was about to push the door out, paused slightly, and quietly put away the "Navigation Diary". Then, he walked out of the captain's cabin,
He ran into the head guard Alana, who was running towards him in a panic.
"Merda! Alana, you're so panicked! Call me Commander!...What's going on?"
"Brother-in-law...er...commander!...Look at the sea in the northwest, there is suddenly falling...fire from the sky!..."
"Bah! What the hell..."
Hearing this, Columbus let out a "poof" and turned to look northwest. After a few breaths, the disapproving expression on his face instantly solidified, his knees felt weak, and even his fingers started to tremble...
"Heaven...Sky Fire?!...Blue and white Sky Fire!!..."
