At the same time, Gao Chuang himself was thinking whether to continue hiding behind the iceberg to avoid the wind, or to lead the entire fleet to set sail and fight the wind during the voyage.
Storms in Antarctica are frequent and strong.
After research, scientists discovered that the central plateau of the Antarctic ice sheet and the surrounding coastal areas form a steep slope terrain. The air on the inland plateau contracts when it gets cold and its density increases. This cold and heavy air flow slides rapidly from the ice sheet plateau along the steep slope of the ice surface to the surrounding areas.
After reaching the coastal area, the terrain of Antarctica drops suddenly, causing the cold air flow to descend faster, thus forming a downdraft with powerful destructive power.
On the other hand, affected by the rotation of the earth, the air flowing northward always deflects to the left, so strong easterly winds can easily form in the coastal areas of the Antarctic continent.
Although Antarctic storms are very harmful, if they are used properly, they can also serve Antarctic scientific expeditions.
At present, more than 20 countries have used wind power generation in Antarctic scientific research stations, and my country has installed a complete set of wind power generation equipment at Zhongshan Station in Antarctica.
Seeing Xiang Yang and Gao Chuang finished their conversation, Xu Fang quickly asked, "Captain, what should we do now?"
Xiang Yang frowned.
At present, most of my country's civilian ships do not have wind resistance ratings marked even if they meet the regulatory requirements. Xiang Yang's ship is no exception, although when it was purchased, the shipyard promised that it could easily withstand a force 10 gale, and could sail against a force 11 or even a force 12 gale.
But Xiang Yang knew that his thousand-ton ship would definitely not be able to withstand a force 12 gale.
"Mr. Gao said that the snowstorm outside is less than level 10," Xiang Yang said.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible. We are on a thousand-ton ship. A wind below level 10 cannot possibly make our ship shake like this. This is at least a level 10 or even level 11 gale." Xu Fang immediately denied it.
"In fact, I am more inclined to believe that this is a force 11 gale."
"But now, we really can't sail." Xiang Yang said helplessly.
"Why?" Xu Fang asked immediately.
Xiang Yang shook his head. "Because I'm not sure whether this blizzard has reached its limit. If this is the limit of this blizzard, then we can indeed resist this blizzard by sailing."
When a fishing boat is sailing, it has huge power, so its ability to resist wind is stronger than when it is stationary.
But it can't be much stronger.
If this blizzard gets a little stronger and reaches the level of a Category 12 storm, and Xiang Yang drives the boat into deep water, he will immediately have to leave everything to fate.
"Then what should we do now? Just wait here?" Xu Fang asked anxiously.
Xiang Yang pondered for a moment, then said, "How about this, when Chen Qingsheng comes back, you can distribute the diving equipment and life-saving equipment on the ship, have the crew wear diving suits, and then put on life jackets over the diving suits, and finally put some chocolate in each person's net bag."
"What?" Xu Fang's face turned pale in an instant.
Xiang Yang knew what Xu Fang was thinking immediately, and he comforted him: "Don't think too much, I am just preparing for the worst. Judging from the shaking of our ship, we can definitely survive a blizzard of this size. Even if the storm gets bigger, we still have a chance to survive. This is just preparing for the worst."
When Xu Fang heard this, he nodded vigorously, "Okay, I'll arrange it right away."
Soon, Xu Fang came towards Xiang Yang with a diving suit, "Captain, the crew has been arranged, you should put on this one too."
Xiang Yang shook his head. "I don't need it. You wear it."
In order to ensure the enthusiasm of the crew members on board to go into the water, Xiang Yang has not provided everyone with a set of diving equipment on board.
Xiang Yang noticed that Xu Fang was only wearing a life jacket and no diving equipment, and immediately knew that Xu Fang had given the diving equipment to someone else.
Given the temperature outside the cabin, once a human falls into the water, it would be the same whether he or she wears an immersion suit or not.
"Captain, I don't need it, I..."
Before Xu Fang finished speaking, Xiang Yang interrupted him and said, "Put it on if I tell you to."
"These are the captain's orders."
When Xu Fang heard this, his nose felt sore and the grown man almost burst into tears on the spot.
No matter how you listen to Xiang Yang's words, it sounds like he is issuing the final order.
Xu Fang wanted to refuse again.
Suddenly, Chen Qingsheng's loud voice came from not far away, "Captain, Captain, something bad has happened."
Xu Fang's attention was immediately drawn to Chen Qingsheng's loud voice.
Xiang Yang frowned and said in a deep voice: "Didn't I tell you that no matter what happens, you must not panic?"
Chen Qingsheng panted and said in panic, "Captain, please look out the window first."
Xiang Yang frowned and looked out the window in confusion.
After just one glance, Xiang Yang stood up and said in a low voice, "Not good."
Outside the window, I saw the three relatively small cargo ships in the fleet floating on the water not far away.
On one of the ships, the edge of the deck was even close to the sea surface due to the swaying of the waves.
"How could this happen? Does Mr. Gao know the situation of those three cargo ships?" Xiang Yang shouted immediately.
"I don't know. We haven't contacted Mr. Gao. This scene was just seen by our crew members at the window." Chen Qingsheng said immediately.
Xiang Yang heard this and immediately gave the order without hesitation: "Set sail and drive the fishing boats behind the three cargo ships."
Chen Qingsheng's expression changed slightly when he heard this. "Captain, we can't even protect ourselves anymore."
The direction Xiang Yang mentioned was exactly the direction of the blizzard. Xiang Yang gave the order at this time to let the fishing boats sail in that direction. It was no wonder that Chen Qingsheng was worried.
Xiang Yang was about to say something.
But Xu Fang spoke up at this time, "No, Captain, Lao Chen, look out the window."
Xiang Yang was stunned when he heard this, "Huh? I'm staring out the window now."
Chen Qingsheng also asked in confusion: "Is there anything wrong outside the window?"
"Visibility, the visibility outside has improved. Although it is still white outside, the sky is not so dark anymore. It is starting to clear up." Xu Fang said excitedly.
Upon hearing this, Xiang Yang immediately looked in other directions outside the window.
Sure enough, the sky began to slowly brighten, and although it was still a little gloomy around, it was beginning to get brighter.
"It seems that the snow has become smaller. Listen, the sound of snow and sand hitting the window outside is not as dense." Chen Qingsheng said excitedly.
"But the wind hasn't died down yet. The three cargo ships are in danger. Xu Fang, drive the boat immediately and move the fishing boat behind the three cargo ships to block some of the wind and snow for them." Xiang Yang gave the order again.