Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 110 Excitement

In the age of sail, the speed of a sailboat often depended on the area and shape of the sail.

However, when the wind direction changes, the boat's canvas area is smaller and the wind resistance it encounters is also smaller, so it can respond more quickly to changes in wind direction and can adjust its course and speed very flexibly.

In comparison, large ships have larger canvas areas. Although they can utilize more wind power and receive greater thrust, they are more difficult to adjust when the wind direction changes. If the change is not timely, the speed will sometimes be seriously affected.

In addition, the hull structure and weight of a small boat also give it certain advantages at sea, because its hull is lighter and more easily pushed by the wind, while a large ship has a greater wind resistance due to its large mass, making its short-term speed relatively slow.

That is to say, under the conditions of the same wind strength, short distance and changing wind direction, a small boat can usually run slightly faster than a large boat.

The "Zhengtu" is a Manila galleon with a fully loaded displacement of more than 450 tons. Although the ship is not very large, it is an absolute large ship in the Pacific Ocean.

Normally, it can run at a speed of 4-6 knots at sea, and sometimes, with favorable winds and currents, it can also reach an "ultra-high speed" of 7-8 knots.

However, as it and the "Break the Wave" headed south, they were intercepted by five Spanish armed merchant ships before entering the North Equatorial Current at around 12 degrees north latitude, and had to turn around and flee west.

Affected by the crosswind, the speed of the "Zhengtu" did not increase, although it turned around in time with a tailwind, gained a certain advantage and slightly widened the distance from the pursuers.

However, the other side's five armed merchant ships were all small boats with a displacement of about 250-400 tons. They could adjust their course and speed more quickly. In addition, their lighter weight allowed them to shorten the distance between the two sides in less than three hours.

Looking at the time, it was only two o'clock in the afternoon. With the other party's relentless pursuit, it was very likely that they would be able to kill them before dark.

In terms of size, the standard displacement of the "Breaking Waves" is 1200 tons, and the "Zhengtu" is 450 tons. They can barely fight against five Spanish armed merchant ships with a displacement of around 450 tons.

However, due to the lack of manpower and in order to free up more space, the crews of the two ships were incomplete and there were no dedicated gunners for the artillery.

When encountering minor dangerous situations, sailors are usually asked to work part-time as gunners to cope with the situation.

But if it were to engage in a fierce battle with several fully armed Spanish ships, it would not be enough.

Therefore, after seeing the five Spanish armed merchant ships sailing on the sea from afar, the "Breakthrough" and the "Journey" very wisely chose to turn around and "escape" instead of confronting them head-on.

Besides, even if we defeat the opponent, what can we gain?
It was better to quickly "turn west" and try their best to get rid of the Spanish pursuit so that they could smoothly sail into the North Equatorial Current and immigrate to the Ming Dynasty.

There is really no need to get entangled with Spain too much here!
However, the Spaniards refused to give up, and with their slightly superior speed at sea, they kept closing the distance with their own side, trying to intercept them.

With the speed of the "Wavebreaker", it is easy to shake off these stubborn pursuers.

However, we can't just abandon the slower "Zhengtu", right?

"Signal the 'Zhengtu' and tell it to proceed at full speed. Leave first and don't look back!"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Lower half the sail!" Wei Yingbin weighed the pros and cons for a long time and decided to tow the pursuing Spanish armed merchant ship by himself to cover the evacuation of the "Zhengtu".

"Yes, Captain! ... Lower half sail!"

"Turn south by east."

"Yes, Captain! ... Turn south by east!"

"Artillery crew, position! ... Prepare to meet the enemy head-on!"

"Yes, Captain! ... Gun crews in position!"

"..."

As orders were continuously issued, the speed of the "Wavebreaker" gradually slowed down and began to turn. The slender hull drew a beautiful arc on the sea and headed towards several pursuing Spanish armed merchant ships.

Seeing this, the five Spanish ships also changed their formation, moving a little closer to each other, preparing to use their superior forces to capture the large ship that was left behind.

Faced with the encirclement of five Spanish armed merchant ships, Wei Yingbin, the captain of the "Breaking Waves", gave a decisive order. Relying on its excellent maneuverability, it quickly turned and moved diagonally to the right towards the Spanish armed merchant ships, preventing them from forming an encirclement and slightly creating a distance between them.

It flexibly shuttled across the sea, maneuvering between enemy ships, making it difficult for the Spanish ships to block it from several sides and preventing the enemy from aiming and shooting.

The actions of the "Break the Wave" obviously surprised several Spanish ships.

They didn't expect that such a large ship was even more "smart" than their five small boats. The armed merchant ships advancing on both wings could never cross its front and block it.

Moreover, the opponent relied on their high maneuverability and maneuverability to constantly change direction, like a cat playing with a mouse, and "walked" their five armed merchant ships around in circles.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

In a desperate situation, the two Spanish armed merchant ships opened fire when they were still over 200 meters away. Perhaps the Spanish thought that even if they missed, they could at least intimidate the large ship, hoping that it would panic under the bombardment and do something stupid, which would be taken advantage of.

However, after more than two hours of fighting and several rounds of artillery bombardment, the big ship was not damaged at all, which made the Spaniards a little impatient.

Whenever the Spanish ships tried to approach each other and wanted to board, the big ship could always cleverly use the wind direction, adjust the sails, accelerate instantly, and pass through the gap where several Spanish ships were about to surround it, avoiding their close attacks.

The enemy never launched any counterattack from beginning to end. It was not known whether their gunners were not prepared or there was no chance to fire the artillery while the ship was maneuvering.

"Captain, the Ocotal and the St. Vincent are closing in!" Alvaro Obregon, the San José's first mate, shouted in surprise. "Look, they've got in front of that big ship. ... Oh, God, this is incredible! The Ocotal has finally taken the T-position, and the St. Vincent is cutting in diagonally. They're about to block the other's escape route!"

"Speed ​​up!" Captain Calles shouted. "Get tangled up with it! ... Oh, great, let's capture it intact! ... I have to admit, that ship is really a perfect ship. ... We must capture it!"

On the blue sea, a Spanish armed merchant ship, after many efforts, finally took advantage of the other party's confusion, successfully penetrated in front of it, and turned its hull sideways, facing the bow of the big ship.

Another armed merchant ship, the "St. Vincent", was coming diagonally from the left wing. If the pirate ship wanted to avoid the "Ocotal" opposite it, it could only turn left, and it was very likely to collide with the "St. Vincent" that was rushing diagonally.

Now, it is trapped in a jar!
-
"Drop the bowsprit!"

"Retract the bowsprit!"

"Everyone, be alert and be prepared for collision!"

"accelerate!"

"Captain..." The helmsman looked at Wei Yingbin in astonishment.

"Execute the order!" Wei Yingbin glared at him. "Don't change course, the target is right in front of you!... Accelerate and hit it!"

"Don't forget, although we are a sailing ship, we are also a steel battleship!"

"Hmph... I want to see if the Spanish wooden sailboat can withstand the collision of a steel warship!"

Wei Yingbin's face was grim, his hands tightly grasping the iron handles in the cabin, his eyes fixed on the Spanish armed merchant ship that was blocking the front of the "Breaking Waves".

The entire ship is only twenty-six or twenty-seven meters long and six or seven meters wide, with a displacement of about 250 to 300 tons. In front of the huge "Wavebreaker", it is like a young child, daring to cross in front of it in an attempt to block its way.

It is estimated that the Spaniards were certain that the "Breaker" would not dare to collide with them, so as to avoid suffering unpredictable losses.

Although the intercepted Spanish armed merchant ship was of smaller tonnage, it would certainly be in danger of capsizing or breaking when facing a collision with a ship several times its size. However, the opponent's large ship would also inevitably be seriously damaged, and might even lose power and become a lamb to be slaughtered.

However, they still underestimated the madness of the pirates.

The slender pirate ship first lowered its bow sail, and then retracted its bow mast. However, its speed did not decrease, and its direction did not change at all, and it rushed straight towards them.

The "Ocotal" is a traditional galleon with a light and tough hull, like a black shark in the sea, elegant and powerful.

The canvas rustled in the wind, the sailors were busy working on the deck and on the sails, and the gunners were shirtless, seizing every minute and second to prepare for the next round of bombardment.

However, in front of the huge pirate ship, the "Ocotal" blocking the front inevitably looked a little weak and helpless.

As the two ships gradually approached, the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and sea water, and the atmosphere suddenly became so tense that time could almost freeze.

The huge pirate ship rushed towards them like a ferocious beast, without any hesitation or pause, carrying a tremendous force and the momentum of stepping on the sea, and crashed into them fiercely.

The huge impact force made the entire water surface tremble. The "Ocotal"'s sturdy hull made terrifying tearing and cracking sounds at the moment of impact, as if expressing unwillingness and helplessness.

All the sailors were panicked. They had conquered countless storms before, but facing that resolute and turbulent impact, all their bravery and fearlessness seemed so insignificant.

Their eyes were filled with despair and endless fear.

A terrifyingly large hole was knocked open in the front center of the "Ocotal". Then, in less than half a minute, the wood around the hole began to break, causing the hole to spread into the interior of the hull at a terrifying speed.

"Click!..."

The Ocotal broke in two and sank rapidly.

The sailors struggled hard in the waves, their eyes revealing their desire for life and endless attachment to their families.

But as a terrifying whirlpool formed at the place where the shipwreck occurred, it mercilessly sucked them all in, and sank them to the bottom of the sea.

After the violent collision, the mighty pirate ship only paused for a few breaths and then sailed away like a proud sea shark.

(End of this chapter)