Lin Chuanqing decided to abandon the ship and everyone went ashore to take shelter from the wind - he was an old fisherman and knew the severity of typhoons. Fishing boats sheltering in the port would be destroyed when hit by a strong typhoon, so he followed the rules and took shelter.
At that time, no one was left on the ship.
"Everyone abandon ship? Isn't it too dangerous without anyone on board?" Zhou Weisen became anxious when he heard this.
"My brother Zhou, if the typhoon really sweeps over our heads, it will be good if we can save our lives. Do you still want a boat?" Lin Chuan took a few puffs on a cigarette.
"Haven't we already entered the sheltered anchorage..."
"You don't know much about typhoons." Lin Chuanqing shook his head repeatedly. Zhou Weisen did not argue anymore - after all, the other party was the formation commander and an old sea dog, so he was right.
Lin Chuanqing immediately ordered some personnel to carry tools and materials to land immediately and set up a temporary camp on Samar Island. At the same time, the boats, small weapons, radio stations, various controlled materials and many supplies and equipment were moved to the shore and prepared.
Complete preparations. Under the command of Lin Chuanqing, another group of people were making preparations on the ship. They turned off the boiler, closed all the watertight hatches, and put all the sails and all the scattered items on the deck into the cabin. They could not be put into the cabin.
The items were bundled securely. Finally, Lin Chuanqing ordered the bottom tank to be filled with water to increase the draft and stabilize the center of gravity.
Lin Chuanqing was very worried about the Feiyun. The Feiyun's full load displacement was only more than a hundred tons, and it might not survive the typhoon. He suggested that the Feiyun be simply pulled ashore, so the crew began to unload part of the Tidemaker together.
Materials were collected and a temporary slipway was built. The mast and sails of the Feiyun were all removed, and the hull was pulled onto the beach and transported to a sheltered place on the shore. It was fixed with ropes and anchor chains.
It was getting dark. A fire was lit at the camp on the shore. Zhou Weisen and Lin Chuanqing stood side by side at the seaside camp, looking worriedly at the restless sea.
"I think we shouldn't sleep tonight, everyone has to take turns on duty."
"You go to rest first, and you will be on duty in the second half of the night." Zhou Weisen said, "I couldn't sleep in the first half of the night."
At this time, a disaster is approaching the travelers east of Mindanao, 400 kilometers south-west. No one knows what time of year this typhoon, often called the "Butterfly Storm of the Philippine Sea" in later generations, is.
A sub-typhoon. At this time, it is moving rapidly northward along the east side of the Philippine Islands at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour. The radius of this typhoon's Category 10 wind circle reaches 100 kilometers, while the radius of the Category 7 wind circle is 300 kilometers. For Manila
For the Spaniards, they just brushed against the edge of a Category 7 wind circle. In the Philippines, which is often hit by typhoons, it is not a big deal, so there is no special record. It is precisely for this reason that in the materials of the Grand Library,
There is no word about this typhoon. However, for Samar Island, it has destructive power.
Qian Shuiting was suddenly awakened. The wind was whistling in his ears, and the heavy raindrops made his body ache. The temporary straw shed had flown to nowhere. He got up in a daze and found that the wind was strong.
It was so big that it was almost impossible to stand, the fire had been extinguished long ago, and in the dark night, only occasionally when there was lightning could one see the shadowy shadows of the swaying trees and a few half-prone figures. Even if he shouted loudly, he was still
The sound of the wind was covered up. He could roughly feel that the wind was almost due north, blowing from the sea to the shore. Fortunately, the camp was relatively high and had not been hit by the waves.
The rain washed against his cheeks, and he could hardly open his eyes. He could only hear himself subconsciously saying "It's over, it's all over" - the power of nature was too powerful.
Suddenly, a particularly bright bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck directly at the sea. It was so bright that one's eyes instantly lost sight, but it soon returned to darkness, while the rumbling thunder continued for more than ten seconds.
The wind and rain continued until the next morning - although the time on the watch was already past six o'clock in the morning, the sky was still very dark, the wind and rain were still strong, and the visibility was very poor. The wind was blowing straight towards the coast, and rows of gray waves came from a distance.
It kept coming, getting higher and higher, and finally formed a nearly ten-meter-high shore wave that crashed on the coral reefs along the coast and surged up to the coast.
There is no longer a ship visible where the Tidemaker anchored, and on the beach along the coast, there are scattered pieces of wood and torn canvas. Zhou Weisen's heart was pounding - looking at this, he knew that the Tidemaker was in danger.
not enough!
Although the Senate had not lost ships before, this was the first time they had lost an almost new steam-powered warship in the tide! This alone made their actions eclipse. He couldn't help but secretly regret why he didn't just go directly to the tide.
Return to the voyage and have a happy ending. You have to be greedy for credit and make this happen.
Hundreds of sailors and sailors gathered in a torn camp that was devastated by the violent storm. They were tired and hungry, and had almost no ability to move in the tenth level wind. Although Zhou Weisen and Lin Chuanqing were anxious, there was really nothing they could do in this situation.
.In the mess, I only found some dry military rations and the like, which I could barely fill my stomach with.
After noon, the wind and waves gradually subsided, and Lin Chuanqing estimated that the area had entered the eye of the typhoon. He immediately ordered everyone to take a roll call, and found that 11 people were missing in last night's storm. Lin Chuanqing ordered people to seize the time to cook and clean up the camp, while organizing people to go to the water
While checking the situation, we will find out the status of the Tideboat and see if we can find the missing person.
At this time, the rain had subsided and the visibility was better. Zhou Weisen led the expedition team and walked less than 200 meters along the coast when they saw the Tide Maker. The 901 gunboat had capsized, rolled over and ran aground more than 100 meters away from the coast.
On the coral reef, the mast and chimney were all broken.
A 130mm main gun fell from the deck and was deeply embedded in the reef, with only the muzzle exposed. The remains of a typewriter sank into the beach, and the barrel had been twisted into a pile of grotesque steel tentacles.
.
The expedition team searched along the coastline and found several broken corpses in addition to broken wood and debris from various ships. Some people could still identify the uniforms of sailors. These people should have been caught in a storm in the middle of the night.
The person was accidentally swept into the sea by the wind and waves - the person was thrown directly to the coast by the huge waves, and hit the rugged and hard coral reefs on the shore, with almost no hope of survival.
Zhou Weisen went to check on the Feiyun again - the Feiyun suffered no damage on land, although its hull also moved in the strong wind. Mendoza was in shock all night and had been hiding in the tent to pray. This time he saw
When Zhou Weisen came back, he jumped into his arms like a bird returning to its nest, and poured out a lot of Spanish like a tide. As he spoke, he held his face and chewed it wildly.
Zhou Weisen had to try his best to comfort his wife, thinking that this Latin American horse was very neurotic...
At the second roll call in the afternoon, the number of missing people dropped to 6. The others lost their way at night and returned to the team one after another after dawn.
It wasn't until another morning came that the wind and waves basically calmed down. Taking advantage of the low tide, they rowed a small boat to the Tide Maker to inspect the damage to the hull.
The Tidemaker rolled sideways on the reef, with many parts of the hull soaked in water. Everything on the deck was swept to pieces. Repairing it is probably a big project - just righting it and getting out of trouble is a big project.
, not to mention that they still don’t know the damage to the hull and the deformation of the keel. They are completely powerless against a ship that has rolled over.
"Now, we have become Robinson Crusoe." Zhou Weisen said dejectedly.
"Fortunately, we have a lot of people with complete weapons and equipment and a radio station. We can temporarily be the owner of the island here. We don't have to wait long, the navy will come to rescue." Lin Chuanqing disagreed, "Besides, the Feiyun is intact. As long as the hand is
Don’t be afraid if there is a boat inside.”
"We immediately sent electricity back and asked them to send a ship to rescue them as soon as possible."
Then, they called together officers and non-commissioned officers at all levels to discuss how to persevere. Then they allocated manpower, some of them rebuilt the camp, some of them went to the wreckage of the Tidemaker to see if they could recover some supplies, and some of them went to the island to log wood.
Some of the wood was used as building materials and fuel. The remaining people searched for the missing people on the coast, collected the bodies and buried them at sea. As for the broken wood, they were collected and dried on the shore to prepare for making fires.
At the same time, the atmosphere of the Executive Committee in Lingao was like the eye of a typhoon, seemingly calm but extremely depressing. Members of the Executive Committee and Chen Haiyang of the Navy were all anxiously waiting for news here. Since the Feiyun was received in the afternoon of July 16
After sending the telegram to return to shelter in advance, the people from the Executive Committee and the Naval Command have been waiting for the telegram at the Lingao Headquarters. However, they have not waited for any telegrams from Feiyun and 854 Kai, and only two ships have returned.
Still reporting their journey, they have passed through the Balintang Strait.
They waited until the morning of July 17th, and they could wait no longer.
"It seems something has really gone wrong, and it's a big deal. Otherwise, there would be no news from both ships. Is it really a typhoon?"
No one answered this possibility that everyone was unwilling to mention before, until Ma Qianzhu broke the silence: "Old Chen, can you send a rescue team? Otherwise, wait for Shuang to return or send 8154 directly."
"The self-sustaining power of 901 is not enough, so they cannot go back to check the situation. Besides, without the escort of Dai Shuang, it will be very dangerous for Haifeng to tow a Galen. The 8154 fishing boat does not have enough fuel, and it cannot run so far.
.”
"The Haitian is waiting for maintenance in Hong Kong. It is better to suspend the maintenance and go to the Philippines first." Chen Haiyang said, "The Haitian is not used intensively, and the maintenance needs are not particularly urgent."
He Ming said: "Bei Wei is leading a detachment for training and activities in Xiangshan'ao. They can be transferred to the ship to prepare for unexpected situations."
"But they are not familiar with the sea channels and conditions."