As the Wuhan epidemic worsened and spread to all provinces across the country, the nation entered a period of complete lockdown.
This lockdown is so strict that it involves all sectors, and everyone must comply with the relevant epidemic prevention regulations.
As February 10th arrives, the Lantern Festival of the new year has passed, and the New Year celebrations are officially over.
According to his uncle's original plan, he should have taken the crew out to sea again after the Lantern Festival, but due to the pandemic, the ship could not go out to sea.
It's not that you can't go to sea at all, but you need to report it and get approval from the relevant departments before you can go to sea, and there are restrictions on the places you can go.
If they are going to another country, they will be subject to a week of quarantine upon their return.
However, they can't even go to their own waters now, let alone go to other countries, because their company's application hasn't been approved yet.
On the morning of the 10th, the eldest uncle strolled leisurely to Bai Yu's house. As soon as he entered, he saw Bai Yu sunbathing in his own yard.
"Xiao Yu, why are you so relaxed? Our boat has been sitting at the dock for almost a month, aren't you worried at all?"
"Uncle is here! Please have a seat. Yueyue, pour Uncle a cup of tea."
When Bai Yu saw his uncle arrive, he immediately got up from the recliner and gave it to his uncle, while he himself moved a stool and sat down next to his uncle.
Then Bai Yue brought out a cup of tea from the living room and placed it in her uncle's hands.
"Uncle, as for whether we can go to sea, it's not something I can just decide on my own. Xiaoxue has already submitted several applications these past two days. The relevant departments said that we need to get all the crew members' test reports done, and once those are done, we can go to sea."
All our crew members have been tested, and we'll be able to set sail soon. Just two more days, no rush.
"Okay, that's enough. We'll wait two more days and then set sail."
"By the way, Uncle, I'd like to go with you on this sea voyage. Do you think it'll be alright to bring just the two of us, Wang Hai and me?"
Bai Yu was also full of anticipation for this voyage.
Because of the massive outbreak of the pandemic, it is not just our country that has been affected, but all parts of the world have been affected to varying degrees.
The only places left unaffected are probably some isolated locations.
As a result, the IAAF was also affected, with some of its competitions being postponed after the Lunar New Year.
It was precisely because of this delay that Bai Yu had the time to go out to sea with the fishing boats.
"Are you coming along too? Aren't there any matches coming up lately?"
When asked about Bai Yu's idea of going out to sea with him, the uncle didn't immediately refuse or agree, but instead inquired about the other party's itinerary.
After all, once they set sail, they would be adrift at sea for ten days, half a month, or even longer, which was uncertain.
If Bai Yu has any plans during this period, it would be unrealistic for him to return temporarily. Therefore, if Bai Yu wants to go to sea with them, he must make good arrangements for his itinerary.
After receiving a positive reply, the uncle agreed to the other party's idea. It was just two more people, which wouldn't be a big problem, as there were plenty of crew rooms on the fishing boat to accommodate them.
As the 12th arrived, Bai Yu and his team's application to go to sea was approved, and the company's employees had arrived in Sanya one after another and checked into the crew quarters on the fishing boat.
Immediately afterwards, Liu Tianyu called all the suppliers and asked them to start delivering supplies to them.
The purchasing work was originally supposed to be done by Li Shuang, but since returning home before the Lunar New Year, he has been in quarantine at home due to the epidemic.
Li Shuang was unlucky. A few days ago, a new case was found in his residential community, and the entire community was locked down. He couldn't get out even if he wanted to.
Then the procurement work was handed over to Liu Tianyu, who contacted various suppliers to start delivering goods, refueling, and other tasks.
In just one day, the fuel tank was full, and all kinds of supplies were replenished. They were ready to set off.
At noon on February 14th, after sounding its horn, the fishing boat Yuxue slowly sailed away from the dock and headed into the deep sea.
There were only 39 people on the fishing boat this time. Even with the addition of Bai Yu and Wang Hai, the number still did not exceed 40.
Unfortunately, not all of the crew members in the company are from Sanya; some are from other cities. And this time, several crew members couldn't come because of the lockdown.
Fortunately, the crew members in the main positions have all arrived. The absence of two or three people will not have a significant impact on the operation at sea. Bai Yu and Wang Hai have filled in for them.
After the fishing boat left the dock, Bai Yu led Wang Hai to the third deck, which was where the captain's cabin was located.
'Knock knock knock'
"Uncle, the view from your captain's cabin is really good. Standing here and steering the ship, you can see everything clearly and without any obstruction."
Bai Yu walked into the captain's cabin and looked out at the sea through the glass in front of the helm.
To be honest, this was the first time Bai Yu had ever seen the sea from this perspective, and the sea had a unique flavor in his eyes.
"What's up, Xiaoyu? Do you want to learn how to drive a boat too?"
The eldest uncle didn't respond to what Bai Yu said, but Liu Tianyu, who was standing to the side, chimed in.
Regarding the operation of the Yuxue, the eldest uncle arranged for two shifts. He and Liu Tianyu would drive for twelve hours, and then the first mate would take over with the second mate and drive for another twelve hours.
"Brother Tianyu, is this thing easy to learn? I remember you only knew how to drive a boat, how long did it take you to learn?"
"Xiao Yu, to be honest with you, I can indeed drive this kind of fishing boat, but I can't drive it. I don't have a driver's license for this kind of thing, so I can't drive this kind of big boat."
"Only now, out at sea, with my dad standing next to me who has a captain's license, can I get a chance to steer the boat for a bit. If I were on another fishing boat, with my current position as third mate, I'd probably just be stuck on the instrument panel, checking the fish finder and stuff."
The allure of sailing is as immense as the attraction of a handbag to a woman.
The Yuxue fishing boat is a massive 75-meter-long vessel. I don't think any man could resist the allure of piloting such a behemoth.
Unfortunately, there are very high restrictions on operating this kind of vessel. At least when the fishing boat is sailing on the open sea, there must be at least one person with a captain's license on board; otherwise, it is considered illegal operation.
Driving illegally at sea is the same as driving without a license; both will result in fines and detention.
Different vessels have different requirements; the requirements for small boats are slightly lower, requiring only a vessel driver's license.
During its voyage, the Yuxue fishing boat maintained an economical cruising speed of 20 knots per hour, heading towards the depths of the South China Sea.
This speed consumes relatively less fuel, and the boat will maintain this slow speed unless there are special circumstances.
About five hours after setting sail, and about 100 nautical miles from the dock where they had departed, my uncle picked up the walkie-talkie and called the crew on deck; they were about to begin their work.
The moment her uncle picked up the walkie-talkie, Bai Yu hurriedly ran out of the captain's cabin and onto the second deck to watch the crew work from above.
Bai Yu had a deep understanding of himself: he and Wang Hai were just two rookies, going out to sea for the first time to carry out maritime operations.
They won't rush to help until they're familiar with the work procedures on the ship, otherwise they might easily end up making things worse.
After all, when he saw all the different machines on the deck, he knew that it was beyond the understanding of the two brothers.
As the captain's uncle gave orders from the cabin, Liu Ming, a crew member on the first deck, also got busy. They opened the two trawl nets tied at the stern and slowly lowered them into the sea.
During this process, you must be very careful and avoid getting your limbs tangled in the trawl net. Otherwise, if you are taken to the sea by the trawl net, the final outcome is unpredictable.
This was a minor matter for the crew on deck; they had done this countless times before and were unlikely to encounter any accidents.
The fishing vessel Yuxue has two trawl nets at the stern, located on the left and right sides of the stern, which means that the Yuxue can operate both trawl nets simultaneously.
As both trawl nets were lowered into the sea, they stretched out and opened wide, catching various marine creatures.
That's not all. In front of these two trawl nets, there are several ropes that firmly secure them, and in front of the ropes are two huge winches.
After the trawl net was extended, two other crew members started the winch, and the ropes with the trawl net attached were released one loop at a time.
Seeing this scene, Bai Yu suddenly realized that it was so similar to fishing. The winch was like a reel, the rope was like a fishing line, and the trawl net was like bait.
The winch lowers the trawl net into the sea behind it by releasing a rope, and can also control the depth of the trawl net in the ocean, thereby catching marine life.
Unlike fishing, the winch is purely mechanically powered. No matter how much fish is in the trawl net, the crew doesn't need to haul it up; the winch does all the work.
Soon, the winch, which had been spinning, stopped. It seemed that the trawl net had reached the depth it was supposed to be at, both in terms of distance and depth.
And that was it. The preliminary work for the fishing operation was completed, and the crew on deck could finally rest for a while.
Next, you just have to wait. Once the fishing boat has traveled a certain distance and the trawl net has been in the ocean long enough, you can haul it in and check the harvest.
As for how long that will take, that will need to be determined by the crew in the captain's cabin.
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