Storm at Sea

"The ship should be moored on the leeward side of the island with mooring lines," Zijin read from the guidebook. "We already have mooring lines."

"Secure the cargo and all loose items aboard, and do not light a fire or cook during the storm." Su Ming looked at the things in the cabin. There really was a lot of stuff, and securing it all would be a hassle.

"So we're going to be tossed around like food in a can for hours?" Zijin grew a little worried after reading another book's description of how terrifying storms were.

"If there's an island, people don't have to spend the night on the ship. Go ashore and build a shelter to avoid injury or death." Su Ming had read something similar. "So we go ashore?"

Zijin thought for a moment. "These books are about how ships get through storms. Is it possible that I'm not actually a ship?"

"Uh..." Su Ming caught on too. "You really aren't!"

Once they thought of it that way, the problem became simple. Zijin suggested running the Zhiyuan straight onto the beach and moving it back into the sea after the storm. Su Ming objected because that would damage the propeller.

So they needed to change the ship's shape.

Su Ming stretched the hull out to both sides and flattened the bottom, turning it into a flat-bottomed boat. With its draft greatly reduced, he took advantage of the rising tide and drove it straight into a shallow bay on the island.

Then he flooded the ballast tanks, and the White Bone Fortress settled firmly onto the beach, looking like an offshore drilling platform.

"Whew, now we're safe."

Judging by the time, it was just midnight in the United States on Earth. Su Ming lay down again and