"Did you find anything underwater?" Xiang Yang asked.
Chen Qingsheng shook his head and said, "The water is too deep. We can't reach the bottom of the sea at all. In the sea water, except for some fast-swimming middle-layer fish and Antarctic krill that can be seen everywhere, we found nothing."
Xiang Yang nodded. This result was almost what Xiang Yang expected.
After that, no one, including Xiang Yang, went into the water again.
Although the crew members on Xiang Yang's ship all like to work underwater and rush to go into the water every time they dive to fish, the water here is deep and they can't reach the bottom even if they go down, so the crew members' enthusiasm naturally disappears.
"Captain, when do we set sail?" Chen Qingsheng asked.
"If my guess is correct, the fleet will not sail today." Xiang Yang shook his head.
"Captain, didn't you tell us last night to rest early? The fleet will set off early this morning?" Chen Qingsheng asked in confusion.
"If I hadn't said that last night, would you have gone to bed so early?" Xiang Yang asked back.
Chen Qingsheng was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and shook his head, "No."
Everyone got drunk at the banquet last night. If Xiang Yang hadn't said that the fleet would set sail this morning, not only would the crew not be able to sleep peacefully so early, but some of them might even get drunk and go crazy.
"So what are we going to do today?" Chen Qingsheng asked.
Xiang Yang rubbed his head. "The wind and waves we encountered yesterday were too strong. In addition to losing a large amount of fish, many ships in the fleet also suffered some damage. Each ship will definitely not continue to sail without a detailed inspection of the engine and gear assembly. If any problem is found, we will repair it on the spot for several days. It's normal."
Chen Qingsheng was shocked. "Captain, do we need to inspect our ship as well?"
"Of course." Xiang Yang nodded and said, "Although our fishing boat is new, its windproof effect is actually similar to those old boats. I won't feel at ease unless I check it in detail."
Chen Qingsheng said quickly: "Captain, I will take people down to the water to check the bottom of the ship now."
"Need not."
Xiang Yang stopped Chen Qingsheng and said, "It's impossible for the bottom of the ship to have any problems. It mainly depends on whether there are any problems with the various equipment and instruments on the deck."
Although the wind and waves were strong yesterday, the hull and cabin would not be affected.
Besides, if there was a problem with the bottom of the ship, the ship would have sunk long ago.
"Then I'll go and wake up Old Xu now." Chen Qingsheng said.
"No need. It's not certain whether it can be repaired or not. Wait for the news from General Gao first. Now you have time, and you can take people to clean up the lower deck." Xiang Yang said.
Chen Qingsheng nodded quickly. After the banquet last night, although Chen Qingsheng had taken people to clean the deck, a lot of the snow melted and solidified on the deck, turning into ice cubes that stuck firmly to the deck. These ice cubes were extremely difficult to clean, but they had to be cleaned as it would easily cause slipping.
Chen Qingsheng called on people, took tools, and started to clear the broken ice bit by bit from the bow to the stern.
Xiang Yang began to wash and brush his teeth, then ate breakfast while waiting for news from Gao Chuang.
Sure enough, Xiang Yang had just finished his breakfast when Gao Chuang sent someone to convey Gao Chuang's intention.
It was similar to what Xiang Yang guessed. The fleet decided to stay in place for a day to repair. The captains and chief engineers of each ship carefully checked all the facilities and equipment on the ship, including the bottom and hull.
Although Xiang Yang felt that checking the bottom and hull of the ship was a bit unnecessary, people on other ships were checking, and since they had nothing to do anyway, he personally took a few people and went underwater.
Speaking of which, this was Xiang Yang's first time inspecting the hull and bottom of the ship.
As soon as Xiang Yang dived to the bottom of the boat, he immediately found a large number of cylindrical barnacles on the bottom of the fishing boat.
Although barnacles are a delicious seafood, Xiang Yang was not happy at all when he saw so many barnacles stuck to the bottom of his fishing boat.
Barnacles on the hull not only affect the sailing speed of fishing boats, but are also poisonous and cannot be eaten at all.
There are always various aquatic organisms including barnacles attached to the bottom of many ships. These organisms increase the weight of the hull and the resistance of the fishing boat when it is sailing. Sometimes they also block the water inlets of some equipment on the bottom of the ship, affecting the normal operation of the ship. Therefore, the bottom of many fishing boats needs to be cleaned every once in a while.
Xiang Yang's ocean-going fishing boat is a new ship with a shiny hull.
If Xiang Yang had not dived into the sea this time and made a special trip to check the bottom of the boat, he would not have known that the bottom of his fishing boat was actually covered with barnacles.
Xiang Yang discovered that there were not one but two types of barnacles firmly stuck to the bottom of the ship.
One is the cylindrical barnacle that Xiang Yang often sees on the reefs by the sea.
The other is the sea Buddha's hand barnacle.
These barnacles may have been immersed in seawater for a long time, so they look very large.
“Wow.”
Xiang Yang emerged from the sea with a rather gloomy expression.
Chen Qingsheng, who was on the deck, was shocked when he saw Xiang Yang's face and asked quickly, "Captain, is there a problem with the bottom of the ship?"
Xiang Yang shook his head, "No, everything is normal on the bottom of the boat."
"What about your expression, Captain?" Chen Qingsheng asked tentatively.
"I saw a large area of barnacles under the boat." Xiang Yang said helplessly.
"What? Barnacles? A large number of them?" Fang Youqun, who was squatting at the stern of the deck smoking, stood up suddenly when he heard this and looked at Xiang Yang with shining eyes.
Xiang Yang rolled his eyes. He already knew what was in Fang Youqun's mind.
"Those barnacles on the bottom of the ship are inedible and are poisonous." Xiang Yang said directly.
Fang Youqun scratched his head in confusion, "Why, do barnacles have different origins?"
Xiang Yang nodded. "Those barnacles growing on the reefs are a great delicacy, but these barnacles attached to the bottom of the ship will only be despised."
Chen Qingsheng frowned, "Captain, our ship has only been launched for a short time, right? How come there are so many barnacles on the bottom of the ship so soon?"
Xiang Yang nodded, "It's absolutely true. Let's go back and ask someone to clean the bottom of the boat."
"It's time to clean it up. They have settled down and multiplied on the bottom of the ship so quickly. These barnacles are quite scary." Chen Qingsheng agreed.
Fang Youqun, however, looked nonchalant. "Brother Yang, Brother Qing, you two are making a big fuss. Aren't they just some barnacles? Even if they are poisonous, we just don't eat them. What's so scary about that?"
Xiang Yang glanced at Fang Youqun and said, "Master Chen is right. Don't underestimate barnacles. They are really disgusting and scary. Countless animals, including whales and sea turtles, are terrified of them."
Many marine animals die because of the presence of barnacles. Even shipping companies are helpless against barnacles. At least Xiang Yang has no way to deal with the barnacles on the bottom of the ship.