After the dozen or so soft sails on the three masts of the "Blue Star" were adjusted and filled with wind, the trainees finally experienced the speed of the tall-masted sailboat and no longer harbored any resentment towards the soft sails that had tormented them so much and made them so difficult to control.
"This is the kind of ship we should be navigating." All the young people, including Han Kun, uttered a silent sigh.
The meticulously crafted new rigging, the newly designed mainsail and support sails, and the comfortable-to-operate rudder all excited the group of guys and sparked their imaginations.
There were a lot of sails, and each one needed to be adjusted to the best wind angle according to the ship's course. Even with the new rigging designed by Qin Mo based on his memories from his previous life, the crew, both new and old, were still very busy. After all, this was a brand new ship, and everyone needed time to accumulate experience.
Captain Xu was very familiar with this route; he knew exactly what kind of winds often blew in each sea area. He carefully explained the techniques for adjusting these soft sails to the naval academy students. Compared to the Chinese-style hard sails, manipulating soft sails was far too complicated.
Whenever Old Xu started sharing his experience with the trainees, whether it was about sailing or ocean currents, Han Kun would shamelessly crowd around to listen. As long as it didn't involve the most crucial parts, Old Xu wouldn't shoo him away. They were all sons of high-ranking officials; others might not know how hungry the prince was for talent, but how could Old Xu not know?
When the "Blue Star" sailed into Edo Bay, the trainees and sailors had a completely new understanding of the ship. They were all very excited. The young men, who had never experienced a storm, thought that the "Blue Star" was a fun toy. Watching a huge sailboat change direction and sail at will, the great sense of accomplishment overwhelmed the boredom and monotony at sea.
The "Blue Star" could not raise all its sails when entering or leaving the port. When the wind was bad, it even had to lower most of its mainsails and slowly turn and dock. The people at the Edo Port dock had already seen the huge sailing ship. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched the somewhat cumbersome ship slowly approach the shore.
The sailors, including Han Kun, all climbed onto the barge and laboriously furled the sails. It took them a full half hour before the "Blue Star" finally docked at the pier.
The Great Xia flag flying aboard the "Blue Star" instilled awe in the Japanese on the shore; only the Great Xia was worthy of possessing such a large ship.
But the person who disembarked from the large ship surprised them, because it was a Japanese woman wearing a kimono. Judging from the attitude of the Xia crew members towards her, she was clearly the person of the highest status present.
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