"Twenty degrees starboard."
"Twenty degrees starboard!"
"Twenty to starboard!"
The helmsman turned the wheel with focused precision, his movents betraying a veteran skill.
The searchlight flooded the land with light. Inside the cockpit, the calls were constant, and Captain Harvey's tone reached piercing heights to ensure every command was executed precisely.
Though almost a hundred percent of ships could sail in reverse, regrettably, the route hundreds of ters behind was already frozen over. For safety reasons, the Thesus had to turn around to break free from the ice and join the gray whales in the vast ocean.
Moreover, most pilots would not choose to reverse. The sea collision-avoidance rules almost always recomnd decelerating or steering as asures to avoid collision, resorting to ergency brakes or reversing only when faced with urgent situations or the risk of collision—it's because such actions could damage the machinery.
A correct but unnecessary decision would result in the engineering departnt working overti for days and nights and facing disdain. If even the engineering departnt couldn't solve the problem, the ship would have to be towed to the dockyard for repairs, where a bill of even tens of thousands of Ugly Gold would be considered cheap.
In the worst-case scenario, if they were in the middle of the ocean or ice fields with no help in sight, and tugs couldn't reach them, the over three hundred people on board could only weep.
Here, a turn was essential.
Harvey was well aware that turning the ship on ice was a technical maneuver, highly susceptible to capsizing or damaging the hull. He could not afford any negligence. His pupils fixed on the instrunts and the ice, a rare hint of tension surfaced.
From the day he stepped out of university, Harvey had embarked on long voyages, drifting through the vast oceans, dedicating his youth entirely to the sea.
From second officer to chief officer, from the technical to the managerial level, and now as captain, every step was the testimony of passing ti and hard work.
To outsiders, the profession of a seafarer might seem glamorous—sailing while touring the world. Whenever they returned with bounteous harvests and entered taverns, there would always be a large crowd gathered around to hear tales of their mariti adventures.
But in reality, the seemingly beautiful sea harbors dangers everywhere, especially in the Arctic Ocean.
Icebergs are alive.
That was Captain Harvey's firm belief.
Sotis 99% of one is underwater, with just a tip peeking out above the surface.
Even the regular eye might grow weary of such sights, but encountering them is no laughing matter.
Most of the modern nautical equipnt cannot scan for objects below the waterline at the bow of the ship. You think you can pass by the tip...
Moreover, icebergs unlike other fixed coastal references, move!
Whether it's the ice field or icebergs, they all move. The primary force is the wind, followed by currents.
Affected by wind speed, so even reach movent speeds of up to 44 kiloters per day, capable of transferring objects or even living flora and fauna from their origin to thousands of kiloters away.
Experts in this field can deduce the distribution of glaciers thousands of years ago simply by examining ocean sedints.
In the still of the night, Captain Harvey often slipped into a recurring nightmare: Suddenly surrounded by icebergs on all sides with no way out, and slowly closing in on him. Whether reversing or slowing down was futile. Waking up in desperation, he'd feel utterly terrible.
Later, the Thesus beca an icebreaker, and such nightmares occurred less frequently, for it was now armoured, albeit one must never let their guard down.
One could say, threats were everywhere.
As captain, Harvey was always walking on thin ice, bearing the safety of the entire ship, the lives of dozens of crew mbers, hundreds of passengers, and their families back ho.
Bringing his brothers ho alive was Harvey's sole wish throughout.
We did it!
Nearing sixty, Harvey felt the long-missed rush of blood reignite, his heart pounding with both tension and excitent. He lifted his well-brewed coffee, attempting to ease so of the fatigue from prolonged work.
The navigator beside him handed over an icebox and asked if he wanted ice cubes.
Harvey laughed heartily, "Of course, add them! I love ice cubes. But, I only like those in my cup, not the ones in the ocean."
As a deep-sea sailor, every voyage ant entrusting one's life to the sea.
Struggling against fierce waves and countless dangers.
In the struggle between humans and Nature, the triumph of man over Nature is but a beautiful wish.
Compared to the greatness of Nature, humans' strength is truly minuscule. But regardless, one must harbor awe for Nature and remain indomitable, optimistic, and strong, to survive against all odds and create miracles!
"Captain, we can see them now!"
"Is that the second officer? He's waving at us!"
"Success is within reach, focus, turn the bow, one last ti!"
"Give it all you've got!"
The bright lights of Thesus shone on the clearing, reminding Bi Fang of his first few days in the Arctic. It made him nostalgic for daylight, which now seed like a very distant concept.
A third of the hundred-day mission had passed, and it had been more spectacular than expected.
Gathering his thoughts, Bi Fang ca back to reality and did not continue digging; instead, he expanded the area of the ice cave based on the existing space, making it easier for the whale to breathe.
Generally, the tactical radius for a rapid rudder turn is less than five tis the length of the ship. For ships with smaller length-to-width ratios, it would be even smaller, but on the ice fields, this radius has to be extended to avoid collision of the side hull with the ice layer.
The overall strength of an icebreaker is much higher than that of standard ships, but the toughest part is still the bow. Whatever can be smashed open with the bow should not be encountered by other parts of the ship to prevent displacent.
By the ti Thesus had completely traversed, the distance between the two was less than a hundred ters, almost as if they were right next to each other.
From this distance, the gray whale could also see the huge exploration ship directly, and its rate of breathing increased noticeably, an obvious sign of emotional excitent.
The three gigantic creatures were frighteningly clever.
Thesus, taking a wide turn, quickly maneuvered back on its original course before the sea ice behind it could refreeze.
Everyone sighed in relief. Now it was ti to return the sa way!
The original course had indeed frozen over, but new ice, whether in terms of hardness or thickness, was no match for the old ice. In the pursuit of speed, naturally, the easiest thods were chosen.
For all viewers at the sa longitude, it was a night of no sleep, because tonight was the day the gray whales began to follow Thesus breaking out of the ice!
The collision between steel and solid ice brutally carved out a path of life for the three behemoths.
At ten past one, Thesus returned to its original track.
At half-past one, Thesus had advanced a hundred ters, leaving a sufficient gap between the solid ice and the ocean.
The snow on the ice field was cleared, and several small ice caves served as signal markers. Under Bi Fang's lead, the three large creatures slowly swam under the ice, their huge, broad tails churning tens of tons of seawater, creating enough thrust to follow behind Thesus.
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