Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

Sailors are already on board the three ships. All preparations for departure are complete. Meanwhile, a small boat is waiting outside the dock. It will accompany the three ships on their sea trial.

If any of these three ships encounter problems, a rescue operation will be conducted. This will also allow for a comparison of the ships' performance differences.

After boarding the ship, Lin Hao went directly to the stern steering wheel. There, a circular steering wheel mechanism was installed on the stern deck.

To be honest, Lin Hao lost countless brain cells when designing this mechanism. He searched through all kinds of mechanical knowledge in his head and constantly combined it with the complete structure in his memory before finally completing the design of this mechanism.

Today's sea trial is also a test of the capabilities and reliability of this system.

All the sailors participating in the sea trials were the best performers in training. Two days prior, Lin Hao had conducted large-scale training sessions for them, meticulously instructing them on how to operate the ship's new sails.

Single-masted sailing ships are not difficult to operate, and these people will soon master the skills of operating the ship by combining theory with practice.

The sailors carefully inspected the boat and tested raising and lowering the sails. Lin Hao patiently waited for them to familiarize themselves with the process.

Once all preparations were complete, Lin Hao took a deep breath and immediately ordered the mooring lines to be released, and all ships set sail for a trial run!

After the mooring ropes were untied, several sampans appeared in front of the boat. The sailors on the sampans tied a rope to the stern of the sampan and to the boat.

Then, a dozen or so rowers began to row vigorously to the sound of their unified chants. The ropes quickly became taut, and the sailboat, towed by the sampans, gradually began to move, eventually being pulled slowly into the bay.

The mooring lines were then released, and the sails were hoisted. The ship began to move forward on its own, propelled by the wind.

As the ship left the dock and entered the bay of Dongluo Island, Lin Hao became somewhat nervous. He knew that three of his Lin family's top generals were on board. If the ship broke down, the Lin family would be finished.

Fortunately, no accidents occurred until the three ships slowly sailed out of the bay. Meanwhile, the sailors reported that after several rounds of movement, the ships were still not taking on water, and there was no loosening of the hull. Lin Hao immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking towards the azure sea in the distance, Lin Hao called out, "Turn left, let's go to a wider area. We can't stretch out here."

Subsequently, three schooners and three bird boats sailed past the west side of Dongluo Island and headed out to sea.

Throughout this process, Lin Hao continuously adjusted the rudder. The sailors, following Lin Hao's commands, also continuously adjusted the sails.

Soon, Lin Hao realized that his ship was incredibly agile.

Lin Hao had never operated the rudders of a Fujian-style ship before. But every time he saw the helmsmen covered in sweat, he knew it was physically demanding work.

At that moment, he turned the helm with ease and pleasure. The ship spun freely under his control, following his will.

This level of maneuverability left the other bird boats speechless. Finally, after mastering everything, Lin Hao even maneuvered the schooner, circling the bird boats on the sea. The schooner's agility was truly remarkable.

In fact, it's not just the steering wheel system developed by Lin Hao that gives the schooner such flexibility. The schooner's own triangular sail and main spars can also assist in steering.

With this dual-steering technology, the sailboat's maneuverability is bound to be excellent.

The other two sailing ships, though not as quick to learn as Lin Hao, quickly imitated his actions after seeing them. Soon, they began drawing all sorts of circles on their decks. The sailors left on the three small ships looked at each other in bewilderment.

After having a good time sailing around the sea with the schooner, Lin Hao finally felt relieved. The fact that so many boats had been running without problems for so long meant that the three boats were of good quality. Furthermore, the fact that they could complete such a difficult circling maneuver also showed that everyone had mastered the sail handling techniques.

At this time, the wind at sea gradually increased, and the ship's speed also slowly increased.

Lin Hao then gave the order to everyone: "Go full speed ahead, let me see where this guy's limit is."

After the flag bearer relayed Lin Hao's orders to the other ships via flag signals, the single-masted schooner finally hoisted its sails and sped off southward.

The wind grew stronger, and the ship sped up. Its white hull sliced ​​through the azure water, leaving a long white spray in its wake.

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As the sailors of those bird-shaped boats stared in disbelief, the schooner moved further and further away from them with a smooth and elegant motion.

"Young Master, those bird boats can't keep up anymore. Should we speed up?" a sailor on the ship asked Lin Hao.

Lin Hao turned his head and saw that the bird boat was already several kilometers away from him. Now, the only boats that could keep up were the other two sailboats.

Standing at the bow, Lin Hao gripped the helm and declared confidently, "Full speed ahead! Ignore them. Adjust course and continue towards Nangantang Island. I want to see just how fast this ship can go."

The sailors on board were also extremely excited. Navigating such a fast ship filled them with a sense of pride. Following Lin Hao's orders, the sailors continued to adjust the sails.

At this time, a northeasterly wind was blowing, making it a perfect time to sail south with a tailwind.

All sails were fully unfurled and adjusted to the optimal windward angle. The topmost barn sail was also fully loaded with wind and billowing.

The ship began to accelerate again, speeding southward.

The other two heavy sailing ships followed suit. The three ships carved three beautiful lines in the sea, attracting countless seabirds that chased after the fish and shrimp in the churning waves.

"My goodness, they're moving way too fast! In the blink of an eye, they've disappeared completely." The crew on the bird ship could only see the silhouettes of the three ships in the distance. At this moment, a sailor exclaimed in amazement.

"Hahaha, good, good, good! Speed ​​things up! This is the kind of ship Lin Chengfeng should be on. With these ships, I'll see who can challenge us in the Fujian waters!" Lin Chengfeng stood on another ship, as excited as a child. Feeling the wind constantly brushing against his face, he knew without testing that the ship's speed was at least 10 knots. At this speed, no Fujianese ship could escape pursuit.

"Begin measuring speed." When the ship reached its maximum speed, Lin Hao finally ordered the speed measurement.

Immediately, the sailors on board took out the measuring tools they had prepared beforehand and went to the bow to begin taking measurements.

A moment later, the person at the stern reported that the bamboo segments had arrived. The person at the bow then checked the number of bamboo segments measured with their measuring tools.

A moment later, the sailor reported to Lin Hao: "Report, young master, we are currently sailing with the wind at 12 knots."

A wooden sailing ship with a speed of 12 knots is an astonishing figure. Although in later generations any ship could easily exceed this speed, in the present era, a Fujian-style ship sailing with the wind and current would only reach a maximum speed of 6 to 8 knots.

While large Western sailing ships could barely reach 10 knots in strong winds, they struggled to maintain high speeds.

It might sound like there's not much difference. But you should know that the biggest advantage of a schooner isn't its speed with the wind, but its speed against the wind. In other words, even its weakness is that it far surpasses other boats.

Among sailing warships, there were indeed vessels that could travel faster than these schooners, such as the clipper ship, a high-speed sailing vessel originating in 19th-century America. It was characterized by a hollow bow, a tapered hull, and a flowing design with a length-to-beam ratio exceeding 6:1. Equipped with tall masts, large sails, and wing sail systems, it could reach speeds exceeding 15 knots in favorable winds, representing the pinnacle of 19th-century sailing technology.

However, this kind of clipper ship is not as simple as minor modifications to the sails and hull; it involves deeper shipbuilding principles, which are beyond Lin Hao's current capabilities.