PREPARATIONS FOR SAILING 47 



May 26, 1 7 41 

 No wind. We dried the upper and lower sails. At three o'clock we took 

 in the sails. At six o'clock the wind was SSE. The Captain Commander 

 went in the small boat to look over Rakovaj'a Bay. 



May 27, 1741 

 No wind, cloudy and sunshiny. Pitched the boat on both sides. 



May 28, 1 7 41 



No wind, cloudy, thick weather. Members of the crew went ashore by 

 watches to have a bath. At ten o'clock the wind was SSE. At two o'clock 

 in the afternoon we hauled on deck the spare anchor, with the cable, 

 which had been down at the stern on the port side, and put in its place 

 the stream anchor with the hawser made fast at the stern. The best 

 bower anchor was lowered in the water to be cleaned and, after that, was 

 stowed away in the hold, and to it was bent a cable 150 fathoms long, 

 which had been unwound and spliced. 



May 2Q, 1741 

 At four in the morning a shot was fired to signal the St. Paul for reli- 

 gious service. Half an hour later another shot as a signal to get under 

 way. (Main-topsail loose.) At six o'clock the small bower anchor and 

 the stream anchor were weighed, and we were towed out of the Harbor 

 of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul into the roadstead of Avacha Bay. 

 After passing the leading buoy, leaving it to starboard, which was in 15 

 feet of water and had a white flag at the top, we entered the roadstead 

 and let go the small bower anchor and played out 20 fathoms of cable. 

 Took soundings and got 7, 8, 9, 10, 5, 3, 4, 9, 12, 13 fathoms and blue 

 slimy mud. When the gun was fired we hoisted the anchor flag. 



May 30, 1741 



At one o'clock in the afternoon the wind was S by E; at four o'clock SE. 

 Cleaned the small bower anchor cable. The Captain Commander issued 

 a supplementary signal order for Captain Chirikov. In case it should be 

 necessary to be towed, the ordinary jack should fly from the main-top- 

 mast-standing-backstays opposite the top. At four in the morning the 

 signal was made for the lieutenant of the St. Paul to come to us, and in 

 response navigator Elagin came and received the above signal order and 

 returned to his ship. From six to nine in the morning we warped between 

 S and W. During that time we made three tows of 390 fathoms each. 

 From nine to ten we made two tows of the same length and then anchored 

 in g'jA fathoms of water. The lighthouse at the entrance bore SEJ2 E 

 from us, and the native summer homes at the mouth of the Harbor of 

 St. Peter and St. Paul NE by E. The winds were unsteadj- and shifted. 



