American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 347 The Risk of Capsizing, Coast Guard

“Dad, look what’s that?” Raven’s voice suddenly became hesitant as she pointed to a giant fishing boat speeding away in the distance.

The ship was enormous, at least 80 feet long, with four powerful outboard motors kicking up huge white waves at its stern.

It was cutting in from their side and rear at an astonishing speed of over 40 knots, its flight path full of provocation.

"Damn idiots!" Captain Mike cursed immediately after glancing at them. "It's those bastards who were out causing trouble over the weekend again! They're drunk!"

According to navigation rules, motorized vessels must give way to sailboats.

However, this fishing boat clearly disregarded the rules completely. Instead of slowing down at all, it deliberately sounded its horn, seemingly to show off and provoke.

"What is he going to do?" Raven's expression changed as well.

“He wants to cut across our bow and give us a good wash with his wake!” Mike instantly realized the other party’s intention, his face turning ashen.

"This is the most dangerous and most bastardly thing you can do at sea! Grab onto anything you can! Hold on tight, Lin!"

Almost instinctively, Lin Yu'an reached out and grabbed Raven's arm, pulling her half a step behind him. At the same time, he gripped the helm tightly with his other hand, trying to stabilize the boat.

A firm and strong touch came from Raven's arm, which gave her a strange sense of security amidst her panic.

Before they could finish speaking, the giant fishing boat, like an out-of-control steel shark, roared past them less than ten meters away.

The people on the boat were even whistling and giving them the middle finger when a huge V-shaped wave, nearly two meters high and the size of a small mountain, crashed down on them!
"Hold on tight!" Mike yelled.

Small sailboats like the "Wanderer" are as fragile as a leaf thrown into a washing machine in the face of these man-made giant waves!

The ship was first violently lifted to the crest of the wave, as if it were about to fly into the sky, and then crashed heavily into the trough of the wave, almost like a free fall! The enormous impact sent everything on board flying!

"Watch out!" Raven exclaimed, losing her balance and crashing headfirst into Lin Yu'an's broad back.

But at that very moment, an even more fatal accident occurred!
Due to the sudden impact, a stainless steel pin on the mainsail's foot rope pulley snapped with a sickening metallic crack.

With a "bang," it broke in two!
"Oh no!" Mike's heart sank to the bottom.

Without this crucial anchor point, the entire mainsail is like a wild horse that has broken free of its reins, instantly losing all control!

The thick metal spade that was tightly connected to and supported the mainsail thus became an out-of-control, destructive swing arm.

Driven by the combined forces of wind and waves, it dragged the massive canvas, sweeping back and forth wildly in a completely unpredictable trajectory!

"Get down! Everyone get down!" Captain Mike roared.

The hearts of all the viewers in the live stream felt as if they were being squeezed by an invisible hand!
The camera shook violently, and in the scene, the sail bar looked like the Grim Reaper's scythe, wildly swinging across the deck!
[Holy crap! Holy crap! Something's happened!]

This is murder! That speedboat did it on purpose! Call the police! Call the police now!

[Lin Shen! Teacher Raven! Lie down right now!]

Mike and Raven had already taken cover on the deck, but Lin Yu'an hadn't.

He was in the helm position, with the fragile instruments behind him and Raven who had just bumped into his back. He had nowhere to retreat!

Just as the sail swept towards him again from an odd angle with overwhelming force, Lin Yu'an displayed a fighting instinct beyond that of ordinary people.

Almost at the same moment the boom swept towards him, his body reacted like a spring that had been triggered.

His core strength erupted instantly, and he bent over in an incredibly low posture, his body almost touching the deck.

Immediately afterwards, using his left shoulder as a pivot, he completed an extremely smooth tactical roll, the movement clean and crisp, without a single unnecessary movement.

"boom!!"

The boom almost grazed past his afterimage as he rolled, slamming heavily against the other side of the mooring line with a deafening metallic clang! The entire ship trembled.

Lin Yu'an knelt on one knee on the other side of the boat to steady himself, his eyes sharp as knives, staring intently at the still wildly swinging sail, as if observing a runaway beast.

The entire live stream room fell into a deathly silence.

The scrolling comments disappeared, as if everyone was so terrified by the scene that they forgot to breathe.

A few seconds later, the barrage of comments exploded like a volcanic eruption!

【! ! ! ! ! 】

[Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! That scared me to death! What just happened?! Replay! I need a replay!]

[That reaction...is that even a human being could react like that?! Is that prediction or instinct?! What the heck was that roll? Is he a special forces soldier?!]

That was so damn cool! That roll! I thought I was watching an action movie!

[Why are your eyes so sharp? My camera is making me dizzy!]

On the ship, Raven lay on the deck, still shaken, and looked up to see Lin Yu'an's textbook-perfect evasive maneuver.

Her blue eyes revealed a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"The mainsail is out of control! Raven, protect yourself! I'll go get the spare ropes! Let's find a way to secure the boom!"

Mike was preparing to deal with the immediate crisis, his voice hoarse from the surge of adrenaline.

As captain and father, in the moment of crisis, he instinctively took on the most dangerous task himself.

Like a seasoned old lion, he crouched low, pressed himself against the deck, and tried to crawl beneath the wildly swinging barricade to the storage box where spare ropes were kept.

However, the out-of-control barge was like a giant, erratic hammer, and with each swing, it carried the power to crush bones under the combined force of the wind and waves!
Mike tried several times to move forward, but was forced back by the howling wind from the boomerang. He was pinned to the stern and unable to get close to the storage compartments.

The drone in the live broadcast room shook violently in the air, trying its best to transmit this thrilling scene back to millions of viewers.

[Holy crap! Captain Mike can't get on! The road's blocked!]

[That sail is terrifying, it's like a mad battering ram!]

Just as Mike was at his wit's end and Raven's palms were sweating, a calm voice rang out behind them.

"That does not work!"

Lin Yu'an knelt on one knee, his eyes showing no sign of panic, staring intently at the wildly billowing sail, like a hunter observing the weakness of his prey.

"The mainsail isn't fully down; it's still catching the wind!" he said rapidly. "Because the ship has lost its balance with the mainsail, it's being pushed to one side by the wind!"

"Our current roll angle has exceeded 20 degrees and it's still increasing! If this continues, the wind will capsize our entire ship in five minutes at most!"

These words were like a wake-up call, instantly bringing Mike and Raven, who were still in a state of anger and panic, to their senses!

I glanced instinctively at the inclinometer on the ship, and sure enough, the pointer was pointing to an extremely dangerous angle!

They were so focused on dealing with the out-of-control sail that they overlooked a far more deadly crisis: the imminent danger of capsizing!

Even with the fixed camera angle that was tightly locked, viewers in the live stream could clearly feel the abnormal tilt of the ship!

[Holy crap! Is the ship going to capsize?!]

[Does Lin mean that if we don't quickly get the sails under control, we'll all be doomed?!]

What should we do? Call the police and help them!

Lin Yu'an has made the most professional judgment: "The only way is to immediately take control of the boom and then lower the mainsail completely as quickly as possible to eliminate wind pressure!"

He looked at Raven, his instructions brief and clear: "I'll go and hold it down for now! Raven, you take this opportunity to get the rope! Quickly!"

"Are you crazy?! That will kill you!" Mike and Raven shouted almost simultaneously!

To use their physical bodies to fight against the out-of-control sails was tantamount to suicide in their eyes!

"There's no time!" Lin Yu'an's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable force. "Trust me, do as I say!"

He gave them no further chance to refute him. Like a cheetah poised to pounce, he bent his knees slightly, lowered his center of gravity, and his brain was rapidly calculating the trajectory, rhythm, and energy conversion of the spade. Raven lay on the deck, watching all this in horror. She couldn't understand how Lin Yu'an intended to control that deadly swing arm.

Just then, the experienced Captain Mike seemed to instantly see through Lin Yu'an's crazy intentions. A look of horror flashed across his face, which then turned into determination!

“Hey, Lin! Listen!” Mike roared with all his might, trying to make his voice cut through the wind.

"If you insist on doing it this way, seize the moment when it swings to the centerline of the ship! That's its moment of torque conversion! Only at that moment is its sweeping force at its minimum! Seize the opportunity!"

Mike's words were not only a reminder to Lin Yu'an, but also provided crucial theoretical support for Lin Yu'an's crazy plan, drawing on his decades of sailing experience!
He knew that resisting head-on would be suicide, but by utilizing the laws of physics, there might actually be a glimmer of hope!
[Torque transition point?! Holy crap! The old captain's experience is amazing!]

[Physics teacher: You actually got this question right! Me: Because I learned it by watching physics lessons that were practically life-or-death!]

Lin Yu'an's eyes narrowed! Mike's reminder perfectly matched the calculations in his brain!
It's now!

Just as the boom swung across the centerline of the ship, and the kinetic energy began to convert into potential energy, and the sweeping force suddenly decreased, he suddenly lurched forward!
At the same time, Raven also made a move! She believed in Lin Yu'an, and even more so in her father! In the instant that Lin Yu'an rushed out and attracted all of Fan Heng's "hatred".

Like a nimble female leopard, she sprang up from the deck and sprinted forward at top speed along the other side of the ship, pouncing on the storage box!
This was a synchronized action filled with trust and tacit understanding!

Faced with the massive metal arm that was about to accelerate again, Lin Yu'an did not choose to resist it in any way.

His target was not the spade itself, but the mainsail foot rigging attached to the spade!
Just before the barge was about to unleash its destructive power once more, he lunged forward and grabbed the end of the thick sail rigging!
After grabbing the end of the rope, there was no hesitation or resistance.

He unleashed his core strength, and with the immense inertia of the swinging sail, his body propelled the rope in his hand to rapidly wrap around the sturdy mast in the center of the ship!
"Squeak——!!"

A piercing, screeching sound, like metal being forcibly tightened, rang out!
The sail that was originally billowing wildly seemed to be tightly gripped by an invisible hand!
Its kinetic energy is rapidly and violently dissipated by the enormous friction between the rope and the mast!

Ultimately, it was locked tightly to the side of the mast at a tricky angle by those few seemingly insignificant ropes, and could only tremble weakly in small movements!

"The rope!" He roared briefly and powerfully at Raven, who had already obtained the rope, his voice hoarse from exerting maximum force.

Raven seized this opportunity that she had risked her life for! She immediately lunged forward, grabbed the spare rope, and rushed to Lin Yu'an's side as fast as she could.

On the violently rocking deck, the two inevitably pressed their bodies tightly together. Raven could clearly feel the taut muscles and burning heat of Lin Yu'an's back.

Forget about being shy, she and Mike worked together to quickly re-secure the frantically struggling sail.

When the last knot was tied, the barricade, which had not long ago resembled the Grim Reaper's scythe, now stood quietly bound to the side of the ship, like a wild beast that had been completely tamed.

As the adrenaline slowly subsided, the exhaustion and lingering fear of surviving the ordeal truly welled up in my heart.

When everything finally calmed down, only the heavy breathing of the three men remained on the boat.

Holy crap!!!

[What the hell... what did I just see?! Using minimal force to achieve maximum effect?!]

[Tai Chi! This must be Tai Chi at sea! He's using ropes to secure the sail!]

[This is incredible! I'm completely stunned! He not only controlled it, but he's also fucking unharmed!]

That idiot speedboat must be held accountable!

Captain Mike looked at Lin Yu'an's arm, which was trembling slightly from exerting maximum force, and then glanced at the pin that had broken in two on the deck.

His weathered face displayed a mixture of fear, relief, and anger.

Instead of checking the damage to the ship, he immediately rushed to the VHF radio, grabbed the microphone, and pressed the emergency channel 16 call button.

"United States Coast Guard, this is the sailboat Wanderer. We wish to report an extremely serious incident of reckless driving and request an investigation!"

His voice was incredibly hoarse and low with anger, like that of an enraged lion.

A brief static crackled through the walkie-talkie, followed by a calm, official voice:

"Received, Wanderer. This is the U.S. Coast Guard Fort Lauderdale Unit. Please report your location and details of the incident."

"Wait..." The voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie suddenly changed slightly, as if trying to recognize the microphone's voice.

"Excuse me, are you Captain Mike Montgomery from Blue Water Sailing Academy?"

The Coast Guard officer called out Captain Mike's full name.

“It’s me, Tom,” Mike clearly recognized the voice, but he had no interest in reminiscing and his tone remained firm.

"I don't have time for reminiscing right now! My ship and crew were almost killed by a bunch of bastards!"

Mike's angry words, along with the last name shouted by the Coast Guard officer, instantly ignited the live stream's chat with a barrage of comments.

[Holy crap! Montgomery? Is this the Montgomery I'm thinking of?]

Which Montgomery? Is he famous?

[Don't get too excited, buddy. It might just be a coincidence. There are plenty of people named Montgomery in America.]

Just as everyone was discussing it, a knowledgeable comment popped up:
[It's unlikely to be a coincidence. In the sailing world, the Montgomery surname carries immense weight. Originating from Norman France, it's one of the oldest noble families in England. The famous Field Marshal Montgomery of World War II was the most prominent figure in this family. While it's unclear which branch Captain Mack belonged to, the Blue Water Sailing Academy's fame suggests a complex web of connections.]

This science-related comment instantly changed the viewers' perception of Mike and Raven.

[A noblewoman? Teacher Raven is a noble lady? This character design is amazing!]

No wonder Raven is so elegant, cool, and stylish; she's got that innate aura!

[Brother An, I admit I was a bit loud just now, this pairing is really great!]

The officer, known as Tom, immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. Captain Montgomery getting into trouble in his jurisdiction was no small matter.

His tone became extremely serious: "Understood, Captain Mike Montgomery! Please report your location, and we will send a ship there immediately!"

“We are located in…” Mike quickly gave the coordinates and then described everything that had just happened.

“A dark blue sport fishing boat, at least 80 feet long, with four Yamaha outboard motors, maliciously cut in from our bow and attacked us with its wake!”

"The mainsail rigging pulley pin on my ship broke, causing the mainsail to go out of control. One crew member was nearly hit by the spade! The offending vessel has fled at high speed to the southeast!"

"I didn't see the registration number clearly, those sons of bitches opened it way too fast!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the walkie-talkie: "Mike, you know, without a registration number, finding them on the vast ocean is extremely difficult..."

Just then, Lin Yu'an, who had been leaning against the cabin wall to catch his breath, spoke up: "We have evidence."

Mike and Raven both looked at him in surprise.

Lin Yu'an turned his gaze to Raven, who immediately understood. She rushed to the walkie-talkie and took the microphone from Mike's hand.

"Uncle Tom, this is Raven! We have full HD live video recording here! And multiple angles from the ship's fixed cameras!"

"The video is in 4K quality and clearly records all the external features of the offending vessel, details of its modifications, and even the people on its deck!"

"Their dangerous behavior and the direct damage they have caused us are all irrefutably documented! We can send the video footage and raw data to your designated email address!"

This high-definition, multi-angle live video recording with timestamps is more powerful than any eyewitness testimony.

The U.S. Coast Guard will definitely open a case and launch an investigation when it receives such a report, especially when it is accompanied by such clear video evidence!

The voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie immediately became serious again, even tinged with excitement: "Roger that, Raven! Great! Please send the video evidence to the officers later."

"We will immediately notify all nearby patrol units of the characteristics of the vessel involved in the incident and launch a comprehensive tracking operation based on your video footage!"

"Please stay put and keep the channel open, our ship is on its way!"

“Received!” Raven answered crisply.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(The little polar bear has already started shipping, and they should all arrive this week~)

(End of this chapter)