Xiang Yang didn't know how long he had been swinging the iron chisel to dig at the bottom of the boat; his hands were numb from the pain.
After much effort, the dense barnacles on the bottom of the boat were finally cleaned up, leaving a patch of small pits on the bottom of the boat.
When Xiang Yang returned to the deck, he felt his arms were so sore that he couldn't even clench his fists.
This is localized weakness of the body caused by prolonged muscle overload and tension.
After Xiang Yang drank a cup of brown sugar water to replenish his energy, he took out the walkie-talkie and called Gao Chuang without even taking a rest.
"Hello? Who is this?" Gao Chuang's voice sounded a little tired on the other side of the intercom.
"It's me, Xiang Yang." Xiang Yang said.
"Oh, it's Xiang Yang. Is there anything wrong with your ship?" Gao Chuang asked.
"No, what about the other ships in the fleet? Have they been inspected?" Xiang Yang asked.
"We're still checking. There are a lot of minor problems and no major problems have been found yet. The fleet should be able to set sail again soon." Gao Chuang said.
Xiang Yang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.
No major problems have been found so far, which means there are definitely no major problems. This is undoubtedly a good thing for the fleet.
After discussing some follow-up matters with Gao Chuang, Xiang Yang ended the call.
At this time, Fang Youqun walked towards this side with a fishing rod in one hand and a bucket for bathing in the other.
"Do you want to fish?" Xiang Yang asked Fang Youqun.
Fang Youqun shook his head and said, "This is not a fishing rod."
Xiang Yang stared at the fishing rod carefully, and suddenly realized: "This is a bait rod."
The so-called lure rod is a fishing rod without fishing line and fish hook. It is different from ordinary fishing rods. At the end of the rod is not a fishing line, but a multi-layered net cage.
"Brother Yang, do you know about lure rods?" Fang Youqun asked in surprise.
Xiang Yang found it a little funny. How could a professional fisherman not know about lures
"Of course I know about the lure rod, but do you know how to use it?" Xiang Yang joked.
Fang Youqun raised his head and said proudly, "Of course I know. Put a little bit of pig liver in the net cage at the front of the bait rod, and then put the rod in the water."
"And then?" Xiang Yang asked with a smile.
"Yeah, what next?" Fang Youqun touched his head. "How can I fish without a hook on this rod? Brother Yang, do you think I was cheated when I bought the rod?"
Xiang Yang rolled his eyes.
The lure rod for sea fishing is actually used specifically for making bait. It would be a miracle if you can catch fish with just a lure rod.
"Okay, stop fishing. The fleet will set sail soon." Xiang Yang said.
"Didn't you say it would be tomorrow?" asked Chen Qingsheng on the side.
"No hidden dangers were found after the fleet's comprehensive inspection, so we can set sail at any time." Xiang Yang said.
Chen Qingsheng nodded. After being forced here by the blizzard for so long, he actually wanted to set sail a long time ago.
As he was speaking, a long whistle sounded from the side.
“Woo—”
Xiang Yang turned his head and saw that the source of the whistle was the icebreaker leading the fleet. At this moment, it was blowing the whistle while pressurizing the sea water and began to move slowly forward.
"Captain, are we going to set sail?" Chen Qingsheng asked.
Xiang Yang shook his head, "Wait a little longer."
Soon, the icebreaker blew its whistle twice more.
Xiang Yang saw it and gave the order directly: "Set sail and keep moving forward."
This was an agreement between Gao Chuang and everyone else. Three consecutive whistle sounds from the icebreaker were the signal for the fleet to sail.
Chen Qingsheng on the side shouted loudly: "Everyone, get back on the deck and stand still. From now on, no one is allowed to get close to the side of the ship. The ship is about to leave."
Xiang Yang reminded: "Stand firm for a while. Our ship is in a delicate position now. When the pressure is increased, there may be big turbulence."
Xiang Yang's ocean-going fishing boat was leaning against the edge of the iceberg, surrounded by many small pieces of floating ice.
When setting sail, fishing boats are bound to collide with small pieces of floating ice. This collision will not cause any damage to the fishing boats, but for the people on the boat, the impact force is very huge due to inertia.
After hearing this, the crew members hurried back to the middle of the deck and stood there. Some of them even held hands to avoid falling.
Soon, the sea water on the side of the fishing boat close to the iceberg began to roll and a large number of bubbles emerged.
Under the influence of this sea water, the huge ship began to turn slowly.
A small piece of ice that was larger than a bed board was also drifting slowly under the influence of the sea water and was crashing towards the stern of the fishing boat.
At this moment, Xiang Yang's heart almost rose to his throat.
Although Xiang Yang's ocean-going fishing vessel has a certain icebreaking capability, the stern is the weakest part of the entire ship.
If such a large piece of floating ice hits the stern of the ship directly, it may sink the ship.
Fortunately, Xu Fang was the one driving the boat in the cab. He was an experienced driver with many years of driving experience. After he found the ice floe in the cab, he immediately increased the pressure on the side of the fishing boat close to the ice floe, forming a rolling white wave between the boat and the ice floe, which stopped the ice floe from floating towards the stern.
The fishing boat turned around safely and then headed forward quickly.
"We're finally setting sail." Xiang Yang walked slowly to the bow and looked at the vast sea ahead.
"Captain, why don't you go back to the cabin? The wind is too strong here at the bow." Chen Qingsheng walked over and said.
"No rush, my physical fitness is still good. Let me stand here for a while. If I feel cold later, I will go back to the cabin." Xiang Yang said with a smile.
Chen Qingsheng nodded slightly. After this period of training, Xiang Yang's muscles were also hard. Although they were not as terrifying as those old sailors, he was definitely in good physical condition.
Besides, Xiang Yang is wearing a thick winter coat, so even if there is wind, it cannot blow directly on Xiang Yang's skin.
"The current speed is just right for casting a net. Should we cast a net and try it out?" Chen Qingsheng asked.
Xiang Yang looked at the sea water under the side of the ship. This sea area had just experienced the baptism of a snowstorm. After the wind and snow, it was the best time to cast nets to catch fish.
Don't think that all Antarctic fish are not afraid of the cold.
In fact, Antarctic fish are also afraid of the cold. They have just adapted to the extremely cold weather in Antarctica. When a blizzard comes, these cold-water fish will hide in deep water areas.
Now that the snow and wind have ended, it is time for these cold-water fish to float to the middle layer or surface of the sea to hunt and breathe.
Although Xiang Yang did not see any large schools of fish through the water, he saw many individual sea fish swimming back and forth on the seabed, greedily feeding on the Antarctic krill on the seabed.
Among them, Xiang Yang also saw two Antarctic sturgeons that were more than one meter long.