Sloops discovery and well-intentioned Alexandra 1. The sloop “Mirny” opens Antarctica: Krusenstern-Lazarev Expedition

See also in the Presidential Library:

Northern Sea Route // Territory of Russia: collection.

In archival documents, the first mentions of the projected expedition are found in the correspondence of I.F. Krusenstern with the then Russian Minister of the Sea, Marquis de Traversay, at the end of 1818. The Tsar’s order to send the expedition came on April 6 (March 25), 1819, and already in July the ships set out on their long voyage. Such a rush to depart the expedition, contrary to the opinions of experienced circumnavigators around the world (for example, Kruzenshtern), led to many shortcomings: special ships for ice navigation were not built, there were a number of deficiencies in the equipment of the ships, the very late arrival of the head of the expedition on his ship and other organizational discrepancies.

In March 1819, the Highest order followed to equip two expeditions for research in the polar seas, Bellingshausen was sent to the southern hemisphere, and Captain Vasiliev was entrusted with command of two sloops: “Otkrytie” and “Blagomarnenny”, for research in the North Polar Sea and, especially to find a passage through the Bering Strait to the Atlantic Ocean. In February 1820, Vasiliev arrived at the port of Jackson, crossed the equator on April 23, and, following the American coast to the north, reached 71 ° 6 "north latitude. Here he encountered ice. Although Vasiliev did not consider this ice to be continuous, he did not Having with him a good longboat or another small vessel for research at shallow coastal depths, he decided to return on July 31, the sloops headed south. Having taken photographs of the shores of the island of St. Lawrence along the way and examined the islands of Paul and George, Vasilyev’s detachment arrived in Novo-Arkhangelsk. On April 30, 1821, Vasiliev went to sea again and on June 12 arrived on the island of Unalatka. Since there was little time left for sailing in the polar sea, Vasiliev decided to separate the sloop “Blagognerenny”, instructing its commander, Shishmarev, to explore the shores of Asia, north of the island. Bering Strait, and find passages to the Atlantic Ocean there, or, in case of failure, make a description of the Chukotka land; he himself wanted to describe the coast between the Bristol Bay and Norton Bay, then go north, along the coast of America, and look on this side for the northern one; passage. On the way to Nortonov Bay, Vasiliev discovered the island of Nunivok, but did not take pictures of it, as he was in a hurry to the Polar Sea. On August 3, Vasiliev, following along the coast, reached 70°40" north latitude and here again encountered solid ice. Wanting to inspect the Icy Cape, he descended lower and located it at 70°33" north. lat. Having then withstood a severe storm, during which the sloop was almost crushed by ice floes, Vasiliev headed south and arrived on September 8 at the port of Petropavlovsk.

Having united with Shishmarev, Vasiliev got ready for the return journey and on August 2, 1822, safely reached Kronstadt. The main goal of the expedition - the discovery of the northern passage - was not achieved; but she explored a significant part of the coast of America (from Cape Nevengam to Norton Bay, this entire vast bay, and then from Cape Lisburn to Cape Ledyany), as well as some part of the coast of Asia, to Cape Heart-Stone. Subsequently, Vasiliev was a captain over the Kronstadt port, on December 6, 1827 he was promoted to rear admiral, and on April 6, 1835 to vice admiral and enjoyed the special favor of Emperor Nicholas I; mind. in Kronstadt on June 23, 1847. Vasiliev published “Notes on the New South Welsh Land” 26 and “Protest against midshipman Khromtchenko and navigator Etolin, regarding the discovery of the island of Nunivak attributed to them.”

The expedition of Captain Vasiliev was appointed for research in the North Polar Sea and, especially, to find a passage through the Bering Strait to the Atlantic Ocean.

The sloops “Otkrytie” and “Blagomarnenny”, assigned to the command of captains Vasiliev and Shishmarev, under the chief command of the former, were supplied with all supplies in the same way as the detachment assigned to the South Polar Sea. Most of the provisions of both ships were placed on the “Blagomarnenny”, which, by the way, also contained parts of a disassembled boat, which was intended to inventory the shallow shores.

On July 18, Captain Vasiliev with both sloops went to sea. Following the American coast to the north, on the 29th he reached latitude 71°6" N, longitude 166°8" W and encountered ice here. Although he did not consider this ice to be continuous, but, not having a good longboat or other small vessel for research at shallow coastal depths and constrained by fogs, he decided to return.

On July 31 we headed south. Having approached the island of St. Lawrence and entrusting the completion of the survey of its shores to Captain Shishmarev, Captain Vasiliev went from here to the shores of America, from which, however, he soon returned due to the decrease in the depth of the sea. On August 19, he arrived on the island of Unalaska, examining the islands of Paul and George along the way. Three days later the sloop “Blagonomerenny” arrived there.

This was the extent of the first attempt at sailing in the Polar Sea. Convinced of the need to have a small sailing vessel with the detachment, Captain Vasiliev went to Novo-Arkhangelsk, where he considered it most convenient to assemble a boat from the members available on the Blagoinamennye, and where he then hoped to receive interpreters for communication with the inhabitants of the polar shores of America. In mid-September both sloops arrived in Sitkha.

Having entrusted Lieutenant Ignatiev with building the boat, Captain Vasiliev and his detachment set off for the port of St. Francisco on October 27. Here he spent the winter, and in mid-February (1821) he went to sea to stock up on fresh provisions on the Sandwich Islands. On the way to this archipelago, Captain Vasiliev, like many others, looked in vain for the island of Maria Laxara, designated on the maps of Arrosmith.

Having stood in the harbor of Honolulu from March 25 to April 7, both sloops set off for Novo-Arkhangelsk and, arriving there around mid-May, found the boat completely ready and interpreters found. On the 30th of the same month, taking with him the newly built boat, Captain Vasiliev set off to sea.

On June 12 we arrived on the island of Unalaska. During this passage, by the way, it turned out that the boat was not able to stay with the sloops, which is why the Otkritie was forced to have it in tow.

Due to the shortness of the remaining time for sailing in the Polar Sea, Captain Vasiliev considered it best to separate the sloop “Blagomarnenny”, instructing Captain Shishmarev to explore the coast of Asia north of the Bering Strait and find a passage to the Atlantic Ocean there, or, in case of failure, an inventory of the Chukotka land; and he himself wanted to describe the coast between Bristol Bay and Norton Bay, then go north along the coast of America and look for a northern passage on this side. The boat remained with Captain Vasiliev.

Repeating once again the definition of the islands of Paul and George, Captain Vasiliev instructed Lieutenant Avinov, who commanded the boat, to remove the coast between Capes Nevengam and Derby, and then connect with him, by July 20, at the island. Stuart (in Norton Bay); if the sloop is not found there, or the work is not completed by that time, then go straight to the Petropavlovsk port. Vasilyev himself, with his sloop, went to Norton Bay and on the way there, on July 21, discovered the island of Nunivok, which, however, did not have time to photograph, because he was in a hurry to the Polar Sea. Continuing the journey to the north, on the 20th he stopped at Cape Derby, and not finding a boat there, he went further. Saw Cape Lisburn on the 31st.

Following along the coast with fog and variable winds, on August 3 he reached latitude 70°40" N in longitude 161°27" W and here again he encountered solid ice from W through N to NO. Wanting to inspect the ice cape, he descended lower and on August 4 identified it at latitude 70°33" N. Having then withstood a severe storm, during which the sloop was almost crushed by the surrounding ice, Captain Vasiliev headed south and left the Arctic Sea on the 9th , passing Cape Lisburn.

From here he went again to Cape Derby and Stewart Island, where he learned from the inhabitants that they had not seen any ship, and headed his way to Kamchatka. On September 8, he arrived at the port of Petropavlovsk. Here he also found the boat of Lieutenant Avinov, who during this time described part of the coast from Cape Nevengam to the north, but was forced to stop the work before finishing it for the reason that scurvy began to appear in his crew, and the boat itself had bad qualities.

Meanwhile, Captain Shishmarev, following from Unalaska to the north, on June 4 saw a previously unknown coast, which, however, due to its shallow depth, he could not examine in more detail (later it turned out that it was Cape Rumyantsov, lying at the entrance from the south to Norton Bay). Having described the northern coast of the island of St. Lawrence, captain Shishmarev entered the bay of the same name on the mainland, and then continued sailing off the coast of Asia. Often encountering ice and contrary winds, on July 21 he descended to the American coast and laid anchor near Cape Mulgrave at latitude 67° 34´ N. Having stocked up here with firewood from the waste forest, the next day he set off again to the shores of Asia, but the ice again they did not allow him there and forced him to turn north. On August 1st the sloop was at latitude 70°13" N, and on the 4th they saw Cape Heart-Kamen. Meeting constant obstacles from ice, storms and contrary winds, Captain Shishmarev decided to go from here to Mechigmensky Bay, where he hoped to reinforce the crew with fresh stocks.

Having received everything he needed in this place from the Chukchi, in mid-August he moved to the island of St. Lawrence to complete the survey of its northern coast, and from there he set a course for Kamchatka and on September 21 arrived at the port of Petropavlovsk, identifying on the way the island of St. Matthew, discovered by Lieutenant Sindom.

Having united his detachment here, Captain Vasiliev began to prepare for the return journey and in mid-October he set out to sea, intending to proceed around Cape Horn.

Three days after leaving, during fog, the sloops separated, and the Otkritie went to the island of Owaigi - place of agreed wounds maiden Accompanied by strong northerly winds up to 30° N latitude, he arrived in Honolulu harbor on November 27 and found the sloop “Blagonomennyarny”, which had arrived three days earlier.

On December 20, the sloops departed from here and, having passed through the hot zone without any special incidents, in mid-February they reached latitude 57° S in longitude 281° O. Here they withstood a four-day storm from the SW, accompanied by gloom and snow.

Having passed the meridian of Cape Horn on the 18th, they began to head north and arrived in Rio Janeiro in mid-March.

Having completed by May 5 all the inevitable amendments to the rigging and hull of the sloops after a long journey and having made new supplies of water and provisions, we set off further. On May 19 we entered the trade wind zone and exactly a month after that we left the NO limits. At the beginning of July, the detachment passed through the British Canal and, after stopping for five days in Copenhagen, arrived in Kronstadt on August 2, 1822.

To this expedition we owe the exploration of a significant part of the coast of America, namely from Cape Nevengam to Norton Bay, this entire vast bay, and then from Cape Lisburn to Cape Ledyany³; also some part of the coast of Asia, to Cape Serdtse-Kamen. The main goal is the northern passage - of course, and could not be achieved⁴ .

Several information about the inventories made by this expedition are placed in the “Chronological history of all Berkh’s travels, part II, pp. 1-20.
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¹ Subsequently, it turned out that this group is the same as the Peyeter Islands, discovered shortly before. See Add. to the analysis of the Atlas of the South Sea, op. Admiral Krusenstern.

² The dimensions of this boat are not shown, but the log shows that it went about 4 feet deep and therefore was probably no more than 40 or 45 feet.

³ It is remarkable that the survey of the coast between capes Lisburn and Ledyanny, made by Captain Vasiliev, is completely similar to the survey made there from the sloop "Blues" by Captain Beachy.

⁴ Škanečn. put. magazines, reports from the squad leader and notes from Captain Shishmarev.

List of those who participated in the circumnavigation of the world on the sloop "Otkritie" (1819-1822)

List of those who participated in the circumnavigation of the world on the sloop "Blagomarnenny"

“Our absence lasted 751 days; Of this number of days, we were at anchor in different places for 224, under sail for 527 days; the difficulty covered was only 86,475 miles; This space is 2 1/4 times larger than the circles on the globe. During our voyage, 29 islands were discovered, including two in the southern cold zone, eight in the southern temperate zone, and 19 in the hot zone; one coral shoal with a lagoon was found” (F.F. Bellingshausen. Double exploration in the Southern Arctic Ocean and voyage around the world. Part II, Chapter 7).

Since ancient times, geographers believed in the existence of the Southern Continent (Terra Australis), which, despite all the efforts of navigators, remained unknown (Incognita) for a long time. Over the years, Tierra del Fuego, New Guinea, Australia (hence the name of the continent), and New Zealand were taken as its northern tip. The persistent search for the Southern Continent was explained not only by scientific interest and by no means idle curiosity: they were dictated primarily by practical - economic and geopolitical - considerations.

The most famous navigator of the 18th century. James Cook also searched for land in the high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. Thanks to his two trips around the world, it was proven that New Zealand is not part of the south polar continent; the South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia were discovered. Cook's ships sailed in the ice, went beyond the Antarctic Circle, but never encountered anything similar to the mainland. The Englishman's enthusiasm diminished significantly after these expeditions, although he did not exclude the possibility of the existence of a large land mass at the Pole itself. After Cook's voyage, the topic of searching for the Southern Continent was closed for almost half a century. Even cartographers, who until then had constantly drawn the undiscovered continent, erased it from their maps, “burying it in the abyss of the World Ocean.”

However, in the 19th century. interest in research in Antarctica was revived - in connection with the accidental discovery of small islands in the southern high latitudes (Antipodes, Auckland, Macquarie, etc.). At the beginning of 1819, the English captain William Smith, who was sailing around South America, was carried by a storm from Cape Horn to the South Shetland Islands. Late that year he visited the area again and landed on King George Island, the largest of the group.

In February 1819, Russian Emperor Alexander I approved the proposal of famous navigators I. F. Kruzenshtern, G. A. Sarychev and O. E. Kotzebue to equip a research expedition to the south polar waters in order to search for an unknown land. In July 1819 (44 years after Cook’s second voyage), the sloops “Vostok” and “Mirny” under the command of Thaddeus Faddeevich Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev, respectively, set off for the southern polar latitudes. At the same time, the sloops “Otkritie” and “Blagomarnenny”, led by M.N. Vasiliev and G.S. Shishmarev, left Kronstadt, following a circuitous southern route into Arctic waters to search for the Northern Sea Route from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

At the end of July, all four ships arrived in Portsmouth. There at that time there was the sloop "Kamchatka" under the command of V.M. Golovnin, returning to Kronstadt from a circumnavigation. And the ship “Kutuzov” (captain - L.A. Gagemeister) also came to Portsmouth, also completing a circumnavigation. At first glance, an amazing coincidence. But if you remember how much Russians swam in those years, there is nothing to be surprised about. In November, the ships of the south polar expedition stopped in Rio de Janeiro, and at the end of the month they parted in pairs: “Otkrytie” and “Blagonomerenny” went to the Cape of Good Hope and further to the Pacific Ocean, “Vostok” and “Mirny” moved south, to high latitudes.

In mid-December, Vostok and Mirny approached South Georgia, previously explored by Cook. The expedition managed to clarify its map and discover the small Annenkov Island nearby. Proceeding then to the southeast, Bellingshausen and Lazarev discovered several islands, which were named after the officers from the expedition (Zavadovsky, Leskov and Thorson). All these fragments of land turned out to be links in an arched island chain, which Cook mistakenly took for part of the larger Sandwich Land. Bellingshausen named the entire chain the South Sandwich Islands, and gave one of them the name Cook.

Having left the islands in early January 1820, the expedition continued sailing south. Bypassing solid ice, on January 15, the sailors crossed the Antarctic Circle, and on January 16 (28 new style), reaching a latitude of 69° 23’, they saw something unusual. Bellingshausen testifies: “... We met ice that appeared to us through the snow that was falling at that time in the form of white clouds... Having walked... two miles, we saw that solid ice stretched from the east through the south to the west; our path led straight into this ice field, dotted with hillocks.” This was the ice shelf covering the Princess Martha Coast, later named after Bellingshausen. The day when Russian sailors saw it is considered the date of the discovery of Antarctica.

And at this time, the Briton Edward Bransfield, together with the discoverer of the South Shetland Islands, William Smith, was also approaching the Southern Continent. On January 18 (30 new style) he approached land, which he called Trinity Land. The British claim that Barnsfield reached the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, but the maps he made were not accurate, and the ship's log, unfortunately, was lost.

But let's return to the Russian expedition. Moving eastward, "Vostok" and "Mirny" on February 5-6 once again approached the mainland in the area of ​​​​the Princess Astrid Coast. Bellingshausen writes: “The ice towards SSW is adjacent to mountainous, firmly standing ice; its edges were perpendicular and formed bays, and the surface rose gently to the south, to a distance the limits of which we could not see from the saling” (saling is an observation deck at the junction of the mast with the topmast).

Meanwhile, the short Antarctic summer was ending. According to the instructions, the expedition should spend the winter in the tropical Pacific Ocean in search of new lands. But first it was necessary to stop at Port Jackson (Sydney) for repairs and rest. For the passage to Australia, the sloops - for the first time during the voyage - split up to explore an almost unexplored area of ​​​​the World Ocean.

Having found nothing worthy of attention, Bellingshausen and Lazarev arrived in Sydney - the first on March 30, the second on April 7. At the beginning of May they went to sea again. We visited New Zealand and stayed in Queen Charlotte Sound from May 28 to June 31. From here we headed east-northeast to the island of Rapa, and then north to the Tuamotu Islands. Here, a “rich catch” awaited travelers: one after another, the islands of Moller, Arakcheev, Volkonsky, Barclay de Tolly, Nihiru were discovered and mapped (neither a sailor nor a political figure with that name exists, that’s what the natives called the island), Ermolov, Kutuzov-Smolensky, Raevsky, Osten-Sacken, Chichagov, Miloradovich, Wittgenstein, Greig. In Tahiti, we stocked up on provisions and checked the instruments. We returned to the Tuamotu Islands and discovered an atoll named after M.P. Lazarev (now Mataiva). From here the expedition headed west.

South of Fiji, the islands of Vostok, Grand Duke Alexander, Mikhailov (in honor of the artist of the expedition), Ono-Ilau and Simonov (in honor of the astronomer of the expedition) were discovered. In September, the sloops returned to Australia, only to leave again for the icy continent a month and a half later. In mid-November, the expedition approached Macquarie Island, and from there headed southeast.

The circumnavigation of the ice continent from west to east continued, and at the first opportunity the sloops rushed to the south. The choice of the general direction of movement was not accidental. In the oceanic ring that covers Antarctica, westerly winds dominate and, naturally, it is easier to sail with tailwinds and with the current. But near the very shores of the icy continent, the winds are no longer western, but eastern, so every attempt to get closer to the mainland is fraught with considerable difficulties. In the Antarctic summer of 1820-1821. The expedition managed to penetrate the Antarctic Circle only three times. Nevertheless, on January 11, the island of Peter I was discovered, and a little later the Land of Alexander I. It is curious that the navigators believed that the lands they discovered were not parts of one continent, but islands of a huge polar archipelago. Only after the English oceanographic expedition on the corvette Challenger (1874) was a map of the coast of Antarctica drawn up - not very accurate, but it removed all questions regarding the existence of the continent.

From Antarctica, the sloops headed to the South Shetland Islands, thanks to which new Russian names appeared on the map. At the end of January, after the sloop Vostok sprung a leak and continued navigation in the polar latitudes became impossible, Bellingshausen decided to return to Russia. At the beginning of February, the expedition crossed the meridian of the capital of Russia, and on July 24, 1821, it returned to Kronstadt.

The voyage of Bellingshausen and Lazarev was not only marked by numerous discoveries, but it also turned out to be very productive from the point of view of scientific research. Thanks to the latest instruments and numerous measurements, geographic coordinates, as well as magnetic declination, were very accurately determined. During anchorages, the height of the tides was determined. Constant meteorological and oceanological observations were carried out. The expedition's ice observations are of great value.

Bellingshausen was promoted to captain of the 1st rank, and two months later to captain-commander, Lazarev to captain of the 2nd rank. Already as a rear admiral, Bellingshausen participated in the Turkish campaign of 1828-1829, then commanded a division of the Baltic Fleet, in 1839 he became the military governor of Kronstadt, received the rank of admiral and the Order of Vladimir, 1st degree.

Lazarev became the only Russian sailor in the sailing fleet to sail around the world three times as a ship commander. Soon after sailing around Antarctica, he commanded the battleship Azov. The crew of the battleship distinguished itself in the famous Battle of Navarino (1827), and Lazarev was promoted to rear admiral. In 1832, he took the post of chief of staff of the Black Sea Fleet. Then, already with the rank of vice admiral, Lazarev became its commander, as well as the Nikolaev and Sevastopol military governor.

FIGURES AND FACTS

Main characters

Thaddeus Faddeevich Bellingshausen, head of the round-the-world expedition; Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev, commander of the sloop "Mirny"

Other characters

English sailors Edward Bransfield and William Smith

Time of action

Route

Around the world in high southern latitudes

Target

Searches for the Southern Continent

Meaning

Evidence of the existence of land in the south polar region has been obtained

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