The roasted garlic vermicelli scallops tasted very fresh, and with the aroma of garlic, it was so delicious and fragrant that Xiang Yang couldn't help but eat more than ten in one breath.
After lunch, Xiang Yang stretched on the deck.
"There are more and more floating ice on the sea." Xiang Yang said with emotion.
"Of course, this is the southernmost part of the Atlantic Ocean." Chen Qingsheng said with a smile.
Xiang Yang tapped his fingers lightly on the railing, "The southernmost part of the Atlantic Ocean. So, we have reached the Devil's Sea."
In most people's minds, the Devil's Sea generally refers specifically to the Bermuda Triangle.
The Bermuda Triangle has been the most feared sea area for sailors since ancient times. To this day, scientists still do not know how to answer the question of why so many ships and planes are swallowed by the waters of the Bermuda Triangle.
But in fact, for fishermen, the Bermuda Triangle is not scary at all, because ordinary fishing boats will not commit suicide in the Bermuda Triangle.
For fishermen, the real Devil's Sea is actually the Weddell Sea.
The Weddell Sea is located in the South Atlantic Ocean. To the south of the Weddell Sea is the Antarctic Peninsula, and to the east of the Weddell Sea is Coats Land.
On February 20, 1823, British explorers and seal hunters set out from the South Orkney Islands on the sailing ship "Jenny" and headed southeast. The seal hunter Weddell discovered this sea area, and people named it after him.
"Yes, the Devil's Sea is ahead." Chen Qingsheng said in a low voice.
"Captain, we can't continue to move forward with the fleet. There are a lot of ice floes in the water. It is difficult for us to predict when the ice floes will gather together when sailing here. If the ice floes block our ship's way forward, our ship will be trapped in the Weddell Sea." Chen Qingsheng whispered.
"Are you scared?" Xiang Yang said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Chen Qingsheng immediately became anxious, "Captain, I'm not afraid. Look at the water yourself. Does this look like a navigable channel?"
Xiang Yang looked toward the water.
I saw large pieces of drifting ice on the sea surface ahead. These icebergs were connected end to end, and some were gathered into blocks, just like a wall built on the sea surface.
In addition, there are a large number of icebergs floating in the sea, some of which are even one or two hundred meters high. It is extremely easy for icebergs to collide with each other, and loud "boom" noises are emitted from time to time.
Even though Xiang Yang was sitting on a large ocean-going fishing boat, the boat still looked very small when it was sailing between icebergs.
At the same time, the loud noise caused by the collision of the icebergs was so terrifying that even Xiang Yang was worried, let alone others.
"Brother Yang, look over there, it's a killer whale." Fang Youqun suddenly shouted in surprise.
Xiang Yang raised his eyes and looked in that direction.
As expected, there was a large amount of drift ice gathered over there.
In addition to penguins, seals, petrels and other animals living on those ice floes, there is also a group of ruthless killers living under the ice floes - killer whales.
Xiang Yang's expression was not very good. "That's a killer whale."
The killer whales in Antarctica are very different from those in other waters.
In other waters, killer whales generally do not attack humans.
Before the popularization of self-media, there was only one recorded case of killer whales attacking humans.
After the popularization of self-media, Xiang Yang has seen several videos of killer whales attacking humans on the Internet, but these videos have not been officially certified and may not be accurate.
But Antarctic killer whales are different.
Killer whales often appear in groups in the Weddell Sea. When there are no people around, they like to play and frolic in the water. However, if they find people, they will suddenly break through the ice from the sea and swallow everything on the ice.
If someone is trapped on the ice due to drifting ice, they are generally threatened by killer whales.
So if you are unfortunately trapped in the Weddell Sea, you must never mistake the killer whales you see as close relatives of dolphins. They are not saviors, but killers.
"Pay attention to the direction of the ice floes." Xiang Yang said to Chen Qingsheng.
The magic of the Weddell Sea lies first in the enormous power of its icebergs.
In the Antarctic summer, there will definitely be large tracts of icebergs in the northern part of the Weddell Sea.
What Xiang Yang saw now looked like white walls, connected end to end, with a few icebergs floating in the middle. These were the notorious icebergs in the Weddell Sea.
In fact, as long as there is no wind, those icebergs are not scary.
What is scary are those icebergs. Some of them are one or two hundred meters high and two or two hundred square kilometers in radius, like a huge ice field.
These ice floes and icebergs collide and squeeze each other, making earth-shaking rumbling sounds that make people terrified.
"Captain, what's the point of paying attention to the direction of those icebergs? It is extremely dangerous for ships to sail in the gaps between icebergs. We may be damaged by the icebergs at any time or run into a dead end, causing the ship to remain in the Antarctic ice sea forever. Why don't we just turn back?" Chen Qingsheng persuaded again in a low voice.
Xiang Yang frowned. Of course, Xiang Yang knew what Chen Qingsheng was talking about.
In 1914, the British expedition ship HMS India was swallowed by the ice floes of the Weddell Sea.
"When sailing in the Weddell Ice Sea, wind direction is crucial to the safety of the ship. When the south wind blows, the icebergs will disperse to the north. At this time, gaps will appear in the icebergs, and the ships can sail safely in the gaps." Xiang Yang comforted Chen Qingsheng.
"What if the north wind blows? If the north wind blows, all the ice floes here will squeeze together and surround our ships. At that time, even if our fishing boats are not sunk by the ice floes, we will definitely not be able to leave this vast ice sea. We will have to stay in the vast ice field of the Weddell Sea for at least a year. It will not be until the summer of the following year that we will be able to break out of the Weddell Sea and escape danger." Chen Qingsheng whispered.
Xiang Yang frowned. In fact, the way of escape that Chen Qingsheng mentioned was only feasible in theory. The actual Weddell Sea was even more terrifying than what Chen Qingsheng said.
The chances of a ship being stuck in the Weddell Sea and then leaving the following year are extremely small.
Due to limited food and fuel throughout the year, especially the raging blizzards in the Weddell Sea in winter, most of the trapped ships find it difficult to leave the Weddell Sea, the magical sea, and can only sleep forever in the ice sea of Antarctica.
"So I say, you pay attention to the wind direction. If it's a south wind, then we'll keep moving forward and try to reach the Antarctic continent. If it's a north wind, then I'll lead you away without saying anything." Xiang Yang said to Chen Qingsheng.