page_title: First Russian Antarctic Expedition
section_title: Subantarctic exploration
hierarchical_section_title: First Russian Antarctic Expedition / Expedition / First season (December 1819 – March 1820) / Subantarctic exploration
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Михайлов Павел Николаевич - Хохлатый пингвин
context_page_description: The First Russian Antarctic Expedition took place in 1819–1821 under the direction of Fabian Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. The expedition aimed to reach the Southern Ocean in order to prove or disprove the existence of a suspected sixth continent, Antarctica. The sloop Vostok was under the command of Bellingshausen, while Lazarev commanded the sloop Mirny. Overall, the crew consisted of 190 people.
  Due to extreme haste in equipping the voyage, it was impossible to assemble a science team. Thus, almost all scientific observations in the fields of geography, ethnography, and natural history were conducted by officers and the only scientist on board – associate professor Ivan Mikhailovich Simonov, who taught at the Imperial Kazan University. A novice painter, Pavel Mikhailov, was hired to depict the events, landscapes, and biological species encountered during the expedition. His paintings of the South Shetland Islands were used in English sailing directions until the 1940s.
  The Russian Antarctic expedition ended in complete success and became the second expedition to circumnavigate Antarctica after James Cook's expedition a half century earlier.
context_section_description: After November 29, 1819, the weather began to deteriorate markedly. On that day, there were two squalls with rain and hail. Bellingshausen compared the December weather with Petersburg's weather "when Neva river opens, and the humidity from it brings the sea wind to the city". The ships set sail toward South Georgia Island, from which Bellingshausen wanted to enter the Southern Ocean. After the departure from Rio, watch officers began sending observers to all three masts to report on the state of the sea and the horizon every half of an hour. This procedure was maintained until the end of the expedition.
  On December 10, "warmth significantly decreased", and starting from this day the hatches on the upper deck were closed. On the mainsail hatch, the crew made a 4 square foot glass window, cast-iron stoves were permanently fixed, and their pipes were led into the main- and fore-hatches. The crew received winter uniforms consisting of flannel linen and cloth uniforms. On December 11, the crew noticed many seabirds and, particularly, southern rockhopper penguins. However, due to the birds' caution, the hunters and taxidermist could not get any sample. On December 12, temperature measurement showed the result of 3.7 °R (4.6 °C) at midnight, and in the living deck – 6.8 °R (8.5 °C).
  The sloops reached the south-western shore of South Georgia on December 15, noticing the cliffs of Wallis and George at 8 am at a distance of 21 miles. Due to severe swells, the expedition rounded the island at a range of one and a half to two miles from the coast at a speed of 7 knots. Soon they were met by a sailing boat under the English flag. The English navigator mistook Russian vessels for fishing sloops. That same day, the crew of the sloops discovered Annenkov island at 54°31′ south latitude. The expedition then tacked to the east.
  On December 16, the expedition vessels passed Pickersgill Island, which had been discovered by James Cook. At this point, the "Mirny" lagged behind the "Vostok" because Lazarev ordered his crew to procure penguin meat and eggs on the shore. The mapping of South Georgia was finally completed on December 17, ending the work begun by James Cook 44 years before. Sailor Kiselev mentioned in his diary that watches guards who noticed new islands received a bonus of five thalers which was put into the logbook.
  On December 20, the travelers observed an iceberg for the first time. During their attempt to measure the sea temperature, they got a result of 31,75 °F (−0,13 °C) on a depth of 270 fathoms. However, the deep-sea thermometer from John William Norie broke. It was noted that this was the only deep-sea thermometer that was available.
  On December 22, the crew discovered Leskov Island (Antarctica), which was covered in ice and snow. The island was named after Lieutenant Leskov, one of the participants in the expedition. The next day they discovered the mountainous and snowy Zavodovski Island. This island was named after the captain-lieutenant. In 1831, Bellingshausen renamed it "Visokoi Thorson island "due to participation of Konstantin Thorson in the Decembrist revolt.” Three newly discovered islands were named after Traversay, the Minister of Sea Forces. On December 24, the vessels approached the iceberg to cut some ice in order to replenish freshwater stocks:
  To conduct an experiment, I ordered tea prepared from the melted ice without mentioning it to the officers; everyone thought the water was excellent, and the tea tasted good. That gave us hope that while sailing between ice plates, we would always have good water.
  On Christmas, thermometer readings dropped to −0.8 °R (−1 °C) and the vessels had to maneuver with an opposite south wind. For Christmas, a priest was brought to "Vostok", and he served a rogation with kneeling on the occasion of "deliverance from Russia from the invasion of the Gauls and with them two hundred languages". Shchi was a celebratory meal ("favourite meal of Russians") that was made of fresh pork with sour cabbage (on ordinary days they were cooked from corned beef), and pies with rice and 
caption: Southern rockhopper penguin, from the album of P. Mikhailov
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