Since 1775, the British explorer Cook specifically mentioned in his expedition report that there were a large number of seals and whales in the waters near the Antarctic Circle, so hunting boats from Britain, the United States, Russia, France and other countries braved the cold to hunt these sea animals in the Southern Ocean. Despite the difficult navigation in the Antarctic waters, there are still more than 1 hunting boats concentrated there every year. In just three years, more than 1 million seals have been killed in the Southern Ocean. In this carnage-like economic activity, new discoveries followed.
Most of the captains who catch seals are strong and can withstand the violent winds and waves. Many people are illiterate, but with their long-term experience in sea life, they can still come and go freely on the unpredictable ocean. James weddell, the captain of the British seal-catching ship Beauty, is one of them.
Weddell was born in a shepherd's family in England, and he didn't get much education since he was a child. Because of his active nature, he went to the harbor and became a sailor. At the age of 34, he finally became the captain of a seal boat. In 1821, he captured many seals in Antarctic waters and made a small fortune.
in p>1822, weddell sailed to the southern ocean again, hoping to gain more, but when he sailed to south orkney, he was as drunk as a fiddler, and when he landed for a rest, he was even more drunk, and his crew also drank and reveled on the island. Weddell's assistant, Cooper Hughes, advised him to set sail early many times so as not to miss the hunting season. But he is always noncommittal, and seems to have forgotten that time is passing day by day.
one night, weddell finally woke up and found that there was little money left in the warehouse, which was a big surprise. Looking up at the calendar, it was the beginning of 1823, and I couldn't help sweating. I quickly sent Hughes Lin to drag the crew who were drunk with thirst on the island back, and anchored and flew to the southeast.
the strong wind in the southern ocean is unbearable cold, and it seems that winter in the southern hemisphere is approaching. To make matters worse, the old seal hunting ground can't see a seal except for the dense flowing ice. Weddell was so worried that he could do nothing. Now, it seems that there is no other way but to continue to look south for new seal hunting grounds.
weddell decided to sail south along 3 degrees west longitude, about 185 kilometers southwest of the South Sandwich Islands, looking for a new seal habitat island. But the more ice flows to the south, the more the green water turns into horrible deep blue, and there is no sign of seals except whales that occasionally swim rapidly north in the cracks of ice.
The "Beauty" stopped in the snowstorm, and there was a loud noise of an iceberg bursting in the distance, which made people shudder. The crew has lost confidence and a rebellion is imminent.
Faced with the situation of being alienated from others, Weddell was at a loss, sitting in the captain's cabin and drinking. Then Lin Linlin, the only confidant, came in. After a whisper, Weddell's iron face broke into a smile and even called it a "coup."
the next day, the crew was called to the deck. Weddell first looked at the suspicious faces one by one majestically, and then slowly took out a piece of parchment from his pocket and handed it to Hughes Lin, who was waiting by. The latter cleared his throat and read out with a serious expression:
"We hereby order Weddell to lead the Beauty to the South Pole in order to complete the glorious mission of the Kingdom of Great Britain."
The crew members were dumbfounded when they heard this, and they all leaned forward to look at the parchment. I saw a cursive signature under three lines of formal text. Is this the will of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth or the decision of the British government? No one can know.
weddell didn't say a word to the crew's questions, but only pointed to the southern waters. Strangely enough, there was a rare bright sunshine in the originally cloudy sky, while the floating ice groups that had been dense on the sea surface avoided on both sides, forming a spacious ice-free channel.
weddell was overjoyed and shouted, "Full speed ahead. This is a gift from God! "
when the crew saw this situation, they were greatly refreshed and quickly took their positions and sailed south from the waterway. Because there was unusually little sea ice, Weddell had a pleasant journey and sailed farther south than anyone at that time until he was blocked by a huge ice shelf.
before returning home, weddell repeatedly measured the water temperature here until the thermometer broke. They hung the British flag on the ice and fired a salute to celebrate their new record of sailing in the Southern Ocean: 74 15'. This is 38 kilometers closer to the South Pole than Captain Cook's trip to the South Pole.
Although Weddell didn't catch a seal on this trip, he was given a hero's welcome when he returned home. The vast sea he sailed through with fake letters is located between the Antarctic Peninsula and the Cottage. Weddell was named George IV Sea at that time, and it was not until 19 that the geographer Dr. Carl Frick proposed to name it "Weddell Sea" after Weddell who first came here. This Weddell Sea is often full of dangers due to cold, storms and icebergs, and it is also known as the "magic sea".