PREPARATIONS FOR SAILING 37 



Delisle de la Croyere, 127 31'; variation of the compass K rhumb 

 easterly. 2 



In the Harbor of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul 



April 23, 1741 

 Today with the help of God we began to load the ship St. Peter, on 

 which worked eighteen men. The main shrouds were made fast to the 

 mainmast, the preventer stay was also loosely secured; calked inside the 

 ship, and near the mainmast hole nailed blocks for opening the cannon 

 portholes; cleaned the hold, and in the afternoon took on ballast. 



April 24, 1741 

 This day there were eighteen men at work, and they brought aboard the 

 ship various rigging, also topmasts and yards; the cannons were secured 

 on the port side while the starboard side was being calked. In addition 

 we took on ballast. 



April 25, 1 741 



Sixteen men were at work on board the ship. They rigged the mainsail 

 and fore-topsail yards, worked about the rigging, and did some carpenter 

 work. 



April 26, 1741 



This being Sunday there was no work. 



April 27, 1741 

 There were seventeen men at work. Water and ballast were put into 

 the hold. We rigged the fore and main yards; and other things were also 

 done. 



April 28, 1 741 

 This being the coronation day of Her Imperial Majesty there was no 

 work. 



April 2Q, 1741 

 Twenty-one men at work, rigging shrouds, backstays, and stays to the 

 main-topmast and fore-topmast and stowing casks of water in the hold. 



April 30, 1 741 

 A strong unsteady wind from the NE accompanied by rain. We put 

 barrels of water into the hold, raised the best bower anchor clear off the 

 ice and secured it to the port side of the ship, and made fast the shore 

 anchor line to the anchor on shore. 



2 "Rhumb" is used in two senses in the log book: (i) in statements of the varia- 

 tion of the compass, as here and in the 24-hour summary at the end of each day's log, 

 in the sense of "point", or 11 M ° of angular measure; (2) in the 24-hour summaries and 

 elsewhere, in the sense of "course," i.e. the angle formed by the ship's path and the mag- 

 netic meridian. 



