CHAPTER VII 



THE JOURNAL OF CHIRIKOV'S VESSEL, THE 

 "ST. PAUL" 



The second of the two vessels that started on June 4, 1741, 

 from Petropavlovsk on that eventful voyage was the St. Paul, 

 Captain Alexei Chirikov in command. The first-hand records 

 consist of a log book, a daily journal of the voyage, and Captain 

 Chirikov's report to the Admiralty College in St. Petersburg. 

 Of the originals * in the Russian archives, a translation of the 

 journal is given in this chapter and of Captain Chirikov's 

 report in the next chapter. It has not been deemed necessary 

 to publish the log book, as, other than routine navigational in- 

 formation, it contains nothing that is not reported even more 

 fully, in the journal and report. The log book has, however, been 

 used in plotting the track of the St. Paul (see p. 330, footnote 1). 



Journal Kept on the Ship "St. Paul" in Command of Captain 



Alexei Chirikov At the Time It Made the Voyage East 



From the Kamchatka Harbor of the Holy Apostles 



Peter and Paul to the Western Coast of 



America in the Year 1741 



The reckoning begins from the landmark called Vaua at the mouth of 

 Avacha Bay, situated in latitude 52 53' north, longitude (according to the 

 observation taken recently by Professor of Astronomy Delisle de laCroyere) 

 127 55' from the meridian of St. Petersburg and 175 55' from the Peak of 

 Teneriffe Island. For our reckoning we take the meridian which runs 

 through Vaua as the first meridian. We reckon in knots, of which there 

 are sixty to the degree. After June 4 we marked on the chart our daily 

 position in latitude and longitude, the rhumb, and the distance from Vaua. 



1 Log book: Archives of the Hydrographic Section of the Ministry of Marine, 

 Petrograd: 1741-43. Nos. 645-648. Another log book, under 1742, No. 1706. 



Journal: Archives of the Ministry of Marine, Petrograd: Papers of the Admiralty 

 College, 1743, No. 16. 



Report: Archives of the Ministry of Marine, Petrograd: Papers of Captain 

 Commander Bering, No. 44. 



