Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
journey more than half-way round the globe. The pioneering voyage
was made between 1803 and 1806 by Baron A. J. von Kruzenstern,
who reached Kamchatka via the Horn and continued westwards, re-
turning to the Baltic without having lost a single crew member from
his two ships. The young fifth lieutenant in the
Nadezhda
was Thad-
deus Bellingshausen. Thirteen years later he was given the com-
mand of his own expedition.
By this time Russia had rapidly emerged as one of the leading
European powers and national prestige demanded that she demon-
strate her capability in all fields of human endeavour. But that was
not the only reason for Bellingshausen's voyage. It was obvious in
St Petersburg that any further colonial and commercial expansion
would depend on an efficient navy. To help achieve this the govern-
ment decided to commission a voyage which would test men and
ships to the uttermost. Bellingshausen's own prime motivation came
from his intensely high regard for Captain Cook. He wanted to com-
plete the great pioneer's work in the Antarctic by circumnavigating
as far as possible within the circle.
After a personal send-off by Tsar Alexander I, Bellingshausen
quitted the port of Kronstadt with two ships, the
Vostok
and the
Mirnyi,
on 23 June 1819. He sailed for the South Atlantic where
he completed the survey of South Georgia begun by Cook. He fol-
lowed his hero's eastward path but aimed to strike farther south. He
crossed the Antarctic Circle at the beginning of 1820 and travelled
south-eastwards through the steadily thickening ice-fields. Three
weeks later, in about 69°S, Bellingshausen made the following entry
in his immaculately-kept journal:
The ice towards the south-south-west adjoined the high icebergs
which were stationary. Its edge was perpendicular and formed into
little coves, whilst the surface sloped upwards towards the south to a
distance so far that its end was out of sight even from the masthead.
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