Chapter 152: Deep Sea Salvage Is Not as Easy as You Think
Xiao Peng said seriously, "I'm telling you the truth. If I weren't doing underwater salvage work, I wouldn't want to stay at sea."
"But it should be very profitable, right? Wouldn't it be rich if you discovered a shipwreck full of treasure?" Claire asked.
Xiao Peng smiled and shook his head: "Claire, it would be great if it's not as simple as you think!"
"Isn't it simple?" Claire asked Xiao Peng.
Xiao Peng thought for a moment and said, "Do you think deep-sea salvage is as simple as finding a sunken ship and then diving down to pull up the treasure? Let me give you an example. Have you heard of the King George V-class battleship?"
Claire shook her head. "I don't know."
Xiao Peng said, "It's a battleship built by Britain during World War I. At that time, there were no aircraft carriers, and battleships were the largest and most powerful warships."
"What's wrong?" Claire asked in confusion.
Xiao Peng explained, "There were four King George V-class battleships. The third ship, HMS Daring, struck a mine and sank on October 27, 1914, in the waters off Northern Ireland. Fortunately, all crew members escaped with no fatalities. The exact coordinates of the ship's sinking location are known, and the waters were not deep, just over 60 meters. As the only King George V-class warship to sink in World War I, the British naturally wanted to know what had happened to it, so they sent personnel to search for the wreck at the location where HMS Daring struck a mine. Can you guess how many years it took them to find this 182-meter-long, 27-meter-wide steel monster with the precise coordinates of the mine?"
Claire shook her head to indicate that she didn't know.
"They have the coordinates of where the HMS Daring sank, just fourteen nautical miles off the coast of Northern Ireland. They're using military sonar to search the seabed at breakneck speed, and even with those conditions, it took them four years to find the wreck!" Xiao Peng held up four fingers and said, "If the depth exceeds a hundred meters, the search becomes twice as difficult! The deeper, the lower the chance of finding it. The infamous Titanic took decades to find! And sometimes, even if the ship is found, it's useless—the treasures on board aren't worth salvaging! There are countless shipwrecks off the north coast of Cornwall, England. While many have been discovered, many remain undocumented. Many salvage companies are trying their luck there. One found a sunken cargo ship, but found nothing on board. It was later discovered that the ship was the Armenia, and it was carrying 1,400 mules when it was sunk by a German submarine. The salvage company's entire investment was instantly wiped out. So what? Do you still think underwater salvage is easy?"
Claire fell silent after hearing this.
At this moment, Xiao Peng pointed ahead and said, "We're at La Ciotat. Do you want to see my ship?"
"Okay!" Claire said.
Xiao Peng drove to the dock and pointed at the two boats parked there. He said, "Both of these are mine. This one is the 'Red Head Boat', and this one is the 'Dragon Boat'."
"Is 'Dragon Boat' your salvage vessel?" Claire thought for a moment and said, "Why do I feel like it looks like a small Atlantic-style longline fishing boat?"
Xiao Peng was stunned after hearing this: "Do you know the Atlantic-style longline fishing boat?"
Lisa answered the question: "Of course. Two years ago, my family went on vacation to Gloucester, Massachusetts, and visited the replica of the 'Andrea.' That's a ship like that!"
After hearing this, Xiao Peng couldn't help but sigh inwardly that this person must go out and see more of the world. Look at these two girls, they are only in their teens and they know so much.
Of course, their ability to go out and broaden their horizons is also directly related to the fact that they have a rich father.
It's a reality these days: the resources available to children of wealthy families differ dramatically from those of children of poor families. Even though people often make fun of the idiotic lives of the rich second generation, it's undeniable that the vast majority of them are better off than those from poor families!
This strength does not refer to their wealth, but to their own minds.
The Grouchiste that Lisa mentioned is a fishing port in the North Atlantic. In 1991, a super storm rarely seen in history occurred in that area. Later, someone wrote a novel called "The Perfect Storm" based on the true story of that storm. It topped the bestseller list for 100 consecutive weeks and was later made into a movie of the same name.
The longline fishing boat that appears in this movie is very similar in appearance to Xiao Peng's "Dragon Boat", both of which are high in the front and flat in the back.
Atlantic longline fishing vessels primarily target large marlin and tuna. Therefore, they require a wide platform for work. Therefore, the wheelhouse and lounge are concentrated in the front, leaving the back free for fishermen to work.
Xiao Peng explained, "Many salvage vessels are converted from longline fishing boats, because, like tuna fishing, salvage operations require a large workspace. The rear platform of this vessel is a modified version. Look, even on such a small platform, there are two winches! These two winches connect to the underwater robot and underwater camera; and this small winch connects to the underwater sonar. This crane is more useful. We rely on this crane to salvage heavy objects. Although its power is not high, it is sufficient for deep-sea salvage. We have also installed a pair of brackets to facilitate loading cargo into the cabin. Why don't we go up and take a look?"
Actually, this was rather unnecessary. Blair had already jumped onto the Dragon Boat. She looked around and asked curiously, "Xiao, when are you going to salvage it?"
Xiao Peng replied, "It will take a few months. We're still short of a lot of equipment. I have to wait until the money is in place before I can buy what I need."
"Can you take me to see it then?"
"sure."
Lisa looked around on the shore and said, "Xiao, don't you feel bored living in a small town like this? How come you live more old-fashioned than my parents?"
Xiao Peng's face was filled with black lines.
How could he not look old-fashioned?
You two girls, your age, are not with your parents, and you have a habit of running to Adege Corner whenever you have nothing to do. Xiao Peng has taken on two hot potatoes. What if you go out and get into trouble, how will he explain it to Aimer?
That's why he brought the two of them back to La Ciotat.
Before Xiao Peng could reply, Lisa suddenly became excited: "I remember hearing about La Ciotat somewhere! Blair, is this the place where Gemma mentioned the 'Devil's Breath'?"
"Yes, yes! It's right here!"
"The devil's breath?" Xiao Peng was confused!
Lisa explained, "I have a classmate named Gemma. He brags all the time about how awesome his dad is. He has a vacation villa in Marseille and comes here every year for vacation, right at La Ciotat. But when he went back this year, he looked completely listless. He said there was a demon in La Ciotat, and it was emitting 'devil's breath' every day."
Xiao Peng blinked. 'Devil's Breath'? Did he mean playing the suona?
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