Chapter 51

"Brother Luo! I'm sorry, I really couldn't get away these past two months. As compensation, how about I invite Brother Luo to be the first guest on my boat?"

Luo Youde arrived in a narrow boat, which had two rows of wooden wheels on each side, propelled by human pedaling, somewhat like the duck boats in modern parks, except the wheels were on the sides of the boat, and there were four people pedaling on each side!

"Oh, I would be delighted! Brother Hong, the boats from your hometown are truly unique. Why is the deck empty except for a round disc?" Luo Youde, ignoring the strong smell of fresh paint on the new boat, quickly stepped onto the simple dock and curiously examined the small boat, his eyes full of questions.

"This boat isn't good for carrying cargo but is excellent for speed. This round disc is called a steering wheel, used to control the rudder." Hong Tao signaled to Karl, who immediately removed the gangplank and picked up a long bamboo pole to push the boat away from the dock, pointing the bow towards the sea, ready to set sail.

"Speed? I wonder how many knots this boat can reach?" Luo Youde still couldn't understand how a large disc could control the rudder, but he was even more curious about its speed.

"Knots, I'm not quite sure about that. I estimate it should be able to reach over 10 knots, covering about 40 li in half an hour." Hong Tao had never quite understood the nautical unit "knots," as it wasn't a fixed value but a ratio that needed to be measured each time they set sail. So, he converted it to li to give Luo Youde a clearer idea.

"80 li in an hour! Isn't that like flying?" This time, Luo Youde didn't speak; instead, his companion, Luo Dacai, shouted first, clearly thinking Hong Tao was a braggart.

"Why don't we just try it out? What's the difficulty in that?" Hong Tao didn't want to argue with anyone. The boat was already in the sea; what was the point of so much idle talk?

"Wait a moment! Brother Hong, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Why don't we move our evening game forward for some fun? It's 20 li to Ximao Island. I'll bet my boat against yours. If my boat is faster, this boat will be mine. If yours is faster, my boat will be yours. How about it?"

Luo Youde reached out to stop Hong Tao, who was about to take the helm, and proposed a bet.

"Hey! ... I'm in!" It was said that the Song people loved gambling, even setting up bets during meals. This time, Hong Tao had a real eye-opener. He was truly a gambler at heart! One hundred guan was a lot for him now, but he had confidence in the new boat.

He first looked up at the wind vane and the simple anemometer at the top of the mast. It was a south wind, with a force of about 4 on the Beaufort scale. The Ximao Island Luo Youde mentioned was a small island directly west of Zhenzhou Port. If this new boat couldn't reach 10 knots with a 4-force side wind, it would be a real disappointment. Besides, the boat was already built, and even if it were dismantled, it wouldn't be useful for anything else. It couldn't carry much cargo and would be a waste in his hands. He might as well use it to take a chance; winning a boat like that would be good, considering its fine craftsmanship, it would fetch at least a hundred guan if sold.

"Ai Cai, go tell the people on the boat that there will be a reward for winning, and no punishment for losing! Brother Hong, let's start. Raise the sail first!" Luo Youde was quite fair, knowing that sailboats took longer to accelerate, he deliberately let Hong Tao set sail first.

"Karl! If we lose this time, your plan to return home will be delayed by five years. You decide! Raise the main sail!" Hong Tao didn't waste words with Luo Youde. He stood behind the steering wheel, pulled the sail control line, and shouted in German.

Karl had been with Hong Tao for over two months and was familiar with his modern German, able to communicate roughly. Hong Tao had also taught him some sailing skills and promised to send him back home within five years. This nobleman and knight from the Holy Roman Empire, far from home, immediately became Hong Tao's loyal servant, doing whatever he was asked without hesitation.

"Screech... screech... screech..." As the main sail was raised higher and higher, the hull and mast emitted harsh creaking sounds, the wood straining against the different forces. This wasn't abnormal; after a few more uses, the wood would fit tightly together, and the creaking would only occur under greater strain.

The 20-foot-long sailboat, propelled by the wind, seemed even lighter than the pointed wooden boats used by the Dan people. It suddenly jolted and began to accelerate from a standstill. As Hong Tao adjusted the sail with the control line, the acceleration became more noticeable. It wasn't a push in the back, but standing on the deck required holding onto something to avoid being knocked over.

"Strange indeed!" Luo Youde, though not a boatman, had probably sailed on more sailboats than Hong Tao. The boat's quick response made him exclaim, and he held onto the wooden railing on the aft deck to steady himself, carefully observing Hong Tao and Karl's actions.

Suddenly, a scream came from behind. Hong Tao turned to see the car boat churning up waves and catching up. If it were a race in starting speed, a sailboat would never match a human-powered car boat. It had excellent initial burst, but its endurance was lacking. If those people were replaced by a steam engine, Hong Tao wouldn't dare to race it, whether in a short or long distance, unless he had a racing sailboat.

The two boats sailed out of the small harbor one after the other. In the short half-kilometer distance, the car boat overtook Hong Tao's sailboat, moving like a centipede, its wheels churning the water, and the distance between the two boats grew, quickly exceeding four or five boat lengths.