The central and southern parts of Baffin Bay and Smith Sound are located between 70 and 80 degrees north latitude. Even in midsummer, the average daily temperature is only a few degrees above zero. At night, people cannot stand going out without cotton clothes.
When we first entered the Smith Sound, everyone on the boat was very happy because the temperature had risen rapidly due to several consecutive days of sunny weather. The ice on the sea surface was thinning and melting at a speed visible to the naked eye, and some sea areas even revealed a rare blue color.
Sailing in polar waters for a long time is a great test for both crew members and passengers. Because when sailing here, apart from the blue sky and the white sea, you can basically not see other colors, which is very, very boring. And in summer, you can't see the aurora even if you want to.
Gege wanted to see the Northern Lights after she left Nuuk, but her wish was doomed to fail. At this time of year, the sun hardly sets and the sky is bright all day long. Where can you see the Northern Lights?
Gege even stayed up for two nights hoping to see the aurora with her own eyes, but the result was extremely disappointing. Here, even after the sun sets, the sky is still very bright.
This was a situation that Gege had not thought of before. Originally, she had planned to go to the Arctic to see the northern lights, but in the end, all her plans were dashed.
In addition to Gege's wish being unfulfilled, the crew and Captain Andre's joy over the good weather did not last long.
The weather in the polar seas can change as fast as a child's face. Just like today, it was sunny before lunch, and the warm sunshine made people want to take a nap. But after lunch, the sky changed immediately.
In less than an hour, the originally warm south wind turned directly into a knife-like north wind. Pushed by the roaring north wind, the thick dark clouds rolled forward at a terrifying speed, and then almost in a moment, heavy snow like goose feathers fell on people's heads.
Yang Jing and Gege swore that they had never seen snowflakes this big in their lives. Snow as big as goose feathers? That's too weak. Have you ever seen snowflakes the size of a palm?
The snowflakes that are now falling from the sky in the north wind are the palm-sized snowflakes mentioned in the legend...
Visibility immediately dropped a lot. Before, we could see the snow-capped mountains along the coast of Ellesmere Island and Greenland, but now we can see nothing. Even the sun, which had been circling above everyone's heads, has completely disappeared.
A super snowstorm came suddenly.
The visibility dropped rapidly from dozens of kilometers before the snowstorm to only a few hundred meters, forcing Captain Andre to carefully reduce the ship's speed again.
Although the Blue Whale is a PC1-class icebreaker, which is the highest level icebreaker and can sail in all polar waters throughout the year, and the Blue Whale also has the highest A5-class icebreaker rating and can sail in extremely severe icy waters throughout the year, this ship is not omnipotent.
Just like last year when the Blue Whale went to Antarctica for scientific research, it encountered a severe snowstorm on the Ross Ice Shelf, which caused the thickness of the ice on the Ross Ice Shelf to increase rapidly, and eventually trapped the Blue Whale in the ice shelf.
The maximum icebreaking capability of the Blue Whale is to break 3-meter-thick first-year ice or 1.8-meter-thick multi-year ice at a speed of 3 knots. Beyond this limit, even the Blue Whale is helpless.
This is also the main reason why the Blue Whale was trapped on the Ross Ice Shelf last year.
Now, although the Blue Whale has not yet entered the Arctic Ocean, it is very close. In addition, this is the Smith Strait, which is very narrow. Icebergs are constantly breaking off from the glaciers and sliding into the sea. In addition, visibility is getting low and the temperature is dropping rapidly. The ice layer that has begun to melt has thickened again. This requires Captain Andre to reduce the ship's speed to the safest three knots.
Only by traveling at this speed can the safety of the Blue Whale be ensured.
Andre doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of his previous boss. He doesn't want the Blue Whale to be trapped in the Arctic Ocean or hit an iceberg again...
Chris and his friends were well-traveled people. They had been to most places in the world, but they had never seen such a severe snowstorm.
"Oh shit! Shit!" Clark, a tall and strong man, ran in from outside, wrapped in cold air. As soon as he closed the door, he started cursing, "Damn it, this damn weather, this damn blizzard! It's impossible to stand outside. I was almost blown down by the gust of wind just now!"
John Bruno smiled and joked, "Who told you to be so tactless? Seeing the blizzard coming up, why don't you hurry back to the cabin? Do you want to become a frozen sculpture outside?"
"Shit!" Clark patted the snowflakes on his head and body. "I'm on duty, right? Safety first, you know that?"
Kevin Martin on the side said with a smile: "Clark, do you think there will be any pirates coming in this kind of weather and in this kind of sea? Even if there are pirates, I don't think they will need us. The weather here can kill all enemies! Look, I also came in early to avoid the blizzard."
The people around burst into laughter.
"Okay, you win!" Clark McCann spread his hands helplessly, and then cursed: "This damn, damn blizzard!" Chris handed over a cup of steaming hot coffee, and Clark immediately smiled.
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