The history of V. Bering's voyage on the boat "St. Gabriel" to the Arctic Ocean

PATRIARCH OF KAMCHATKA SEASHIP

The history of Kamchatka is rich in the names of ships that glorified the Russian fleet and science, and were participants in great geographical discoveries and historical events. This is "Vostok", which paved the sea route from Okhotsk to Kamchatka in 1716, participated in the voyage along the Kuril ridge in 1721 as part of the first scientific expedition in Russia; "St. Peter" and "St. Paul", sailing in 1741 to the shores of northwestern America; "Glory to Russia", in 17901791. explored the Aleutian chain and Alaska; "Juno" and "Avos", sailing in 1806-1807. to California and defeated Japanese military posts in the Southern Kuril Islands and Sakhalin; ships participants in Russian voyages around the world in 1803–1850s. (there are about forty of them); "Aurora", which played a decisive role in repelling the attack of the Anglo-French landing on Petropavlovsk in 1854; "Vityaz", held in the 1860s. oceanographic research in the North Pacific Ocean; "Taimyr" and "Vaigach", in 19111914. those who paved the northern sea route, and dozens of others.

But a special place among these famous Russian ships is occupied by the boat "St. Archangel Gabriel" - the first sea vessel, built in 1728 in Kamchatka from local forest. Before St. Gabriel, only two Russian ships sailed in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, but they were built in Okhotsk: Vostok in 1716 and Fortuna in 1727. In the 18th century. Several nomads were built, capable of walking on the sea near the shores on which S. Dezhnev, F. Popov, M. Stadukhin and others sailed.

"St. Gabriel" served in the Pacific for 27 years, until 1755. In documents of that time, he was called differently: "St. Gabriel", "Gabriel" and even "Gabrila" or "Gabriel". Many discoveries and glorious historical events are associated with them. Such, for example, as the voyage of the first European ship beyond the Arctic Circle in the Chukchi Sea in 1728, the discovery of Alaska in 1732, participation in the survey of the southwestern coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Shantar Islands in 1730, participation in the suppression of the Itelmen uprising and the founding of the new Lower Kamchatka fort, the first Russian visit to Japan in 1739, the exploration of Avachinskaya Bay and the founding in 1740 of one of the oldest cities in the Russian Far East Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

Such famous Russian navigators as V.Y. Bering, A.I. Chirikov, M.P. Shpanberg, P.A. Chaplin, K. Moshkov, J. Gens, I. Fedorov, M. S. Gvozdev, V. Valton, I. F. Elagin and others.

Documents of the First (1725-1730) and Second (1733-1743) Kamchatka expeditions, as well as the campaigns of A.F. Shestakov and D.I. Pavlutsky (1727-1746) allow us to trace the main stages of the activities of “St. Gabriel" from the moment of its laying until the end of the Second Kamchatka Expedition. Unfortunately, it is not possible to trace his further fate using the documents available to us.

1. "SAINT GABRIEL" IN THE FIRST KAMCHATKA EXPEDITION

On December 23, 1724, Peter I signed a decree of the Admiralty Board on the organization of the First Kamchatka Expedition, and two weeks later, on January 6, 1725, shortly before his death, he wrote instructions on its tasks. It said: “It is necessary in Kamchatka... to make one or two boats with decks. 2. On these boats [sail] near the land that goes to the north... 3. And in order to look for where it came into contact with America, and to get to what city of European possessions; or if they see what kind of European ship, check from it, as this bush is called, and take it to the letter, and visit the shore yourself, and take the original statement, and, putting it on the map, come here.”

The idea of ​​the expedition arose from Peter I in the last months of his life as part of grandiose geographical research. Peter I planned to establish direct maritime relations with India, for which he was going to send an expedition to explore the sea route from Arkhangelsk to the Pacific Ocean. But for this it was necessary to clarify the question: is there a strait separating Asia and America.

The story of the “mechanic and turning art teacher” A.K. Nartov has been preserved: “At the beginning of January 1725, in the very month when the fate of the Almighty determined the end of the life of Peter the Great, and when His Majesty already felt painful attacks in his body, his still tireless spirit worked for the benefit and glory of the fatherland, for he composed and wrote with his own hand the order of the Kamchatka expedition, which was to inspect and find by navigation whether Asia was connected to the northeast with America... I, being then constantly with the sovereign , saw with my own eyes how His Majesty was in a hurry to compose instructions for such an important undertaking, as if foreseeing his imminent death, and how calm and satisfied he was when he finished. Having handed over the instructions to the Admiral General who was called to him, he said the following: “Bad health forced me to stay at home; These days I remembered something that I had been thinking about for a long time and that other things prevented me from doing, that is, about the road across the Arctic Sea to China and India."

The 43-year-old captain Vitus Jonansen Bering was appointed head of the expedition, and his assistants were lieutenants Martyn Petrovich Shpanberg and Alexey Ilyich Chirikov. It consisted of 60 people. lower ranks. The navigator was midshipman Peter Chaplin, promoted to midshipman during the voyage. The expedition included surveyor Grigory Putilov, boat and boat craftsman Fedot Fedotovich Kozlov.

By 1727, the expedition reached Okhotsk, where the single-masted ship Fortuna was built (ten years later, S.P. Krasheninnikov arrived in Kamchatka on it V.A. ). On August 22, 1727, the expedition left Okhotsk on the Fortuna under the command of Bering and on the old boat Vostok, built in 1716, led by Chirikov. On September 4, she arrived in the Bolsheretsky prison, where it was decided to spend the winter. At that time, no one had yet sailed around Cape Lopatka, especially in the autumn.

Bering counted fourteen households of Russian settlers in Bolsheretsk. From here it was decided to send the expedition's property in the fall to the Nizhnekamchatsky fort along the Bolshaya, Bystraya and Kamchatka rivers, and in the winter on dogs. By the spring of 1728, all cargo was transported to Nizhnekamchatsk.

On May 11, 1728, Bering reported to the Admiralty Board: “...on the 4th morning of September we arrived at the mouth of the Bolshaya River and wanted to fulfill our intention in order to go around the Nose (Cape Lopatka V.A. ), but only hampered by fierce nasty winds and rain. And they reasoned that the time here was late and the place was unknown, since no one had ever been to such ships before. And they found a way to transport materials and transport along the Bystraya River. And on the 18th day, Lieutenant Spanberch and with him, loaded with materials and pravianta, 30 one-wood boats, which are locally called bahts, were sent up the designated river. And before the lieutenant had reached the top of the Kamchatka River, sixty versts away, he unloaded the materials and materials from the battalions, leaving him on guard until the spring, and ordered Lieutenant Shpanberkh to go to the Lower Kamchadal fort to make scaffolding for the boat building.

On January 13, 728, he and a few people from Bolsheretsk rode on dogs to the Upper Kamchadal prison, and some of them went with me to the village. And under Bolsheretsky, he left the rest to be sent to Praviant in winter time to Upper Lieutenant Chirikov...

Tenth day (March V.A. ) having arrived at the Ushki tract, sixty miles short of reaching the Lower Fortress, where my team of craftsmen are preparing the forest for construction...

On April 4, one boat was laid down... And we found tar to sit on the structure of the ship near the local forests and we hope to be satisfied with this tar, and we also hope for God’s mercy and we will get fish supplies, then we will prepare to go to sea this summer.”

Midshipman Chaplin also reports about the laying of the bot: “April. Thursday 4. Arrived at the building. And the student reported on the bot case (F. F. Kozlov V.A. ), which, when working, ensures that the forest is all ready for laying the bot. At 9 o'clock in the morning, having gathered all the ministers and craftsmen, said a prayer and laid down the boat; and then Mr. Captain gave everyone plenty of wine."

The ship was built according to the drawings of the best warships. The parts were fastened with iron nails. Sixteen Yenisei and Irkutsk carpenters, four blacksmiths and two caulkers took part in its creation. On June 9, that is, two months after being laid, the boat was launched without a deck and christened in honor of the Holy Archangel Gabriel, whose day was celebrated. They decided not to build the second ship (galiot), but to send it from Bolsheretsk in the spring (“Fortuna” V.A. ). Shitik "Fortune" with the remains of the expedition's equipment under the command of the navigator K. Moshkov arrived from Bolsheretsk on June 6. This was the first voyage of a sea vessel around the Kamchatka Nose (Cape Lopatka). Due to insufficient time to prepare the Fortuna for a long voyage, it was decided not to take the second ship.

The completion of "St. Gabriel" was completed on July 6. The ship had a keel length of 18.3, a beam of 6.1 and a draft of 2.3 m, a cargo hold, a crew quarters, officer cabins and a galley.

Bot "Holy Archangel Gabriel"

Midshipman Chaplin reports readiness for sailing: "Servants on board: Mr. captain 1, lieutenant 1, doctor 1, navigator 1, midshipman 1, quartermaster 1, sailors 13, drummer 1, soldier 6, carpenter foreman 1, carpenters 4, 1 caulker, 1 sailboat, 2 interpreters. A total of 35 people. Officers' servants 6 people. Provisions provided: flour 458 pounds 29 pounds, crackers 116 pounds 25 pounds, cereal 57 pounds, meat 70 pounds, salted fish 10 barrels 21 knittings, fish oil 2 barrels, salt 2 pounds, beef lard 7 pounds 20 pounds, gunpowder 7 pounds 27 pounds, water 35 barrels, kvass 2 barrels, peas 2 pounds, 5 or 6 fathoms of firewood.

On July 13, 1728, "St. Gabriel" left the mouth of the Kamchatka River into the sea and headed north. The voyage lasted until September 2. The sailors did not have any navigational charts, and none of them had experience sailing in polar waters. They walked along the shore and determined their place using a magnetic compass. On July 30, the boat was in the Gulf of Anadyr, where it discovered the Gulf of the Holy Cross. On August 8, the participants of the campaign saw the Chukchi for the first time, talked with them and found out that there were islands in the sea opposite their land.

“At seven o’clock after midnight,” wrote A.I. Chirikov, “we saw a boat rowing from the ground towards us, on which eight people were sitting. And, rowing close to our boat, they asked where we came from and what for. "They told themselves that they were Chukchi. But when we began to call them to the ship for a short time, they did not dare to dock. Then they landed one person on bladders made of seal skin and sent them to us to talk."

To the question: “Where is the Anadar River?” The Chukchi replied: “We passed the Anadar River and are far behind us. How did you come so far here? Before this, no ships came here.” “Do you know the Kolyma River? “We don’t know the Kolyma River, we only heard from the Alena Chukchi that they go to the river with earth and say that Russian people live on that river; and this river is the Kolyma or another, we don’t know about that.” “Isn’t there any Nose stretching from your land into the sea?” sea ​​of ​​what islands or land?! “There are islands not far from the land, and if it weren’t for fog, then you could see. But on that island there are people, but we don’t know any more land, only all our Chukotsky land.” On August 10, the island was actually discovered, which received the name St. Lawrence.

The logbook, or logbook, was supposed to record astronomical location determinations in the ocean at least once a day, and when sailing in sight of the shores, precise bearings to noticeable landmarks. For this, primitive instruments were used: a compass, an hourglass, a log in the form of an oak plank, weighted with lead, attached to the end of a thin line, marked with knots at regular intervals. The speed was determined by how many knots were unwound on a lagline thrown overboard in half a minute. Depth was measured by lot. Corrections for wind were made by eye.

All these measurements on the St. Gabriel were made by navigators Chaplin and Chirikov. They, together with the surveyor Putilov, compiled a navigation map. Half a century later, in 1778, the great navigator James Cook sailed in these places, using maps compiled by the navigator of the St. Gabriel. He writes: “I must say that he (Behring V.A. ) very well marked this coast, and determined the latitudes and longitudes of its capes with such accuracy that it was difficult to expect, given the methods of determination that he used."

When the Asian coast turned sharply to the west, Bering violated the instructions that ordered him to sail along the coast without losing sight of it. On August 13, Bering gathered a council to decide how to sail further. Shpanberg proposed going north for three days to 66 degrees north latitude, and then turning back. Chirikov advised sailing west along the coast to the mouth of the Kolyma: “And if the earth tilts further N, then on the 25th of this month, in these places, we must look for a place where we could spend the winter, and especially opposite Chyukotsky Nos on land on which, according to the request received from the Chyukochs through Pyotr Tatarinov, there is a forest.”

Chirikov meant information about Alaska reported by the Chukchi who came to the Anadyr fort in 1718. They said that not far from the Chukchi Nose there is an island, and from “that island beyond the sea there is a large Land, which can be seen from the said island... they are shoveling onto this Land Chukchi in canoes in calm weather from this island in one day", the forests there are "great", and the people live "toothed" (that is, Eskimos V.A. ). Similar information was presented to the Anadyr prison by the Yakut serviceman P.I. Popov back in 1711. Local residents informed him that “before, their Russian people, the Chukchi, were kochs by sea” (apparently, we are talking about the kochs of F.A. Popov and S.I. Dezhnev in 1648 V.A. ). From the “nose” Chukchi Makachkins, I learned that against “the Anadyr Nose on both sides from the Kolyma Sea and from the Anadyr Sea there is a de-meaning island,” which was called the “Big Land”, on it there are large forests, a variety of animals, “toothed people, and faith de, and any other custom, and the language is not theirs, Chukotskov’s, special.”

Bering accepted Spanberg’s proposal: “Having examined the submitted opinions, I put down my resolution: if we now linger any longer in the northern regions, it is dangerous so that on such dark nights and in the fogs we do not come to such a shore from which it will be impossible to move away due to adverse winds, and speaking about the circumstances of the ship... it is difficult for us to look in these parts for places where to spend the winter, rather than any other land than Chukotskaya, where the people are not peaceful and there is no forest. But in my opinion, it is better to go back and look for a harbor in Kamchatka for wintering."

In a report to the Admiralty Board on March 10, 1730, V. Bering wrote: “15 days (August 1728 V.A. we reached a northern width of 67°19' and a length from the mouth of the Kamchatka River 30°14', but in the right country along our course from the island I did not see any land, and the land no longer extends to the north and slopes towards the west, and then, I reasoned that He fulfilled the decree given to me and returned back."

By this time the expedition was seventy miles from Cape Dezhnev. On the way back she discovered the island of Diomede. On September 2, the sailors entered the mouth of the Kamchatka River. During the winter in Nizhne-Kamchatsk, they received a decree from the Admiralty Board dated December 2, 1728 on the need to describe and draw up a detailed map of Kamchatka: “... you have been ordered to describe the Kamchatka Nose both inside and on the shore, showing cities and notable places and tracts again and, having made a lantkarta, send it to the College."

After wintering on June 5, 1729, the boat went out to sea and went “to the east to look for land, since we heard from the Kamchatka residents that there was land in the vicinity opposite the Kamchatka mouth.”

Not finding land (Commander Islands V.A. ), which Bering assumed was America, the boat turned south and, calling on Bolsheretsk on July 3, arrived in Okhotsk on July 23, 1729, where Bering handed over the St. Gabriel to the port commander against receipt.

This ended the participation of "St. Gabriel" in the First Kamchatka Expedition. On March 1, 1730, Bering, Shpanberg and Chirikov returned to St. Petersburg. Although the expedition did not finally resolve the question of the existence of a strait between Asia and America, nor did it find America, its geographical discoveries and rich ethnographic material were of great scientific importance. The northeastern coast of Asia was mapped from Cape Lopatka to Cape Kukurny in the Bering Strait, and an inventory of this coast and the islands of St. Lawrence and Diomede was made.

This was the first scientific expedition in history to high latitudes. Her main scientific activity lasted only three months, and four years and nine months were spent on preparatory activities and completion: the transition from St. Petersburg to Kamchatka, the procurement of provisions and building materials, the construction of an expedition ship, and the return.

Historian A. A. Sopotsko calculated that the participants of the First Kamchatka Expedition on the St. Gabriel made 155 territorial and 18 oceanographic discoveries, and mapped 66 geographical objects.

All members of the expedition were promoted in rank. V. Bering was awarded one thousand rubles and, out of turn, on August 14, 1730, promoted to captain-commander (a rank corresponding to the rank of rear admiral). M. P. Shpanberg received the rank of captain of the third rank, A. I. Chirikov captain-lieutenant, and in 1732 captain of the third rank, P. A. Chaplin non-commissioned lieutenant. According to the proposal of V. Bering, on September 7, 1730, 25 other participants in the voyage on the St. Gabriel were promoted to rank.

2. TO THE SHORES OF THE "BIG LAND"

The further fate of "St. Gabriel" is connected with the expedition of A.F. Shestakov D.I. Pavlutsky, created in 1727 to search for and develop new lands and islands. The report of the Senate to Catherine I about the organization of the expedition spoke of the need for the final approval of Russian possessions in Kamchatka and on the islands: “... having truly learned about them, what kind of peoples are on such islands and under whose possessions, and whether they trade with whom and what, about everyone should write to the Siberian governor and the Senate."

In the decree of April 10, 1727, the expedition was ordered to “...send from the Admiralty College a surveyor, who would have a thorough map of the islands when they were at sea. And for the sea voyage, from the Admiralty, send a navigator, a co-navigator, and a good ten sailors , choosing from the Siberians, and with them ten or fifteen compasses with accessories, so that these navigators and sailors in the western and eastern seas could, in necessary cases, sail on the ships that they now have or will build in the future, with the designated service people...”

The expedition included four detachments: Anadyr, Kamchatka, Okhotsk and Marine. Surveyor Mikhail Spiridonovich Gvozdev, navigator Jacob Gens, navigator Ivan Fedorov, boating apprentice I. G. Speshnev, sailors A. Ya. Bush, I. I. Butin, K. Moshkov, N. were sent to the naval detachment (admiralty group). M. Cod and ten sailors.

In 1730, "St. Gabriel" was placed at the disposal of the expedition, the leadership of which, after the death of A.F. Shestakov, which followed on March 14, 1730 in a battle with the Chukchi near the Penzhina River, was taken over by Major Dmitry Ivanovich Pavlutsky. "St. Gabriel" played a leading role in maritime exploration. In the summer of 1730, under the command of I. Shestakov (nephew of A.F. Shestakov), “St. Gabriel” sailed from Okhotsk to Bolsheretsk, then went to describe the western coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, went to the mouth of the Uda and Amur rivers, to the Shantar Islands, where Hydrographic measurements were carried out and drawings were made.

In the fall of 1730, D. I. Pavlutsky ordered J. Gens and I. Fedorov “with the available servicemen from Kamchatka on a sea-going boat, which was built for the navy by captain Mr. Bering (“St. Gabriel” V.A. ), ... to the Anadyr mouth to explore the sea islands ... take with you the apprentice Speshnev and the surveyor Gvozdev."

After wintering at the mouth of the Bolshoi River, "St. Gabriel" arrived on July 9, 1731 at the mouth of the Kamchatka River. Due to the illness of Gens and Fedorov, the bot was actually commanded by M. S. Gvozdev during the transition. It was planned to immediately, after replenishing food supplies and taking interpreters on board, go to the Anadyr mouth, as D.I. Pavlutsky ordered. The departure to sea was scheduled for July 20. But on this day, the Itelmen uprising began under the leadership of the Elovsky toyon Fyodor Kharchin. The rebels burned Nizhnekamchatsk and killed many Russians.

The crew of "St. Gabriel" had to take part in suppressing the uprising and eliminating its consequences. I had to spend the winter in a destroyed prison in the most difficult conditions, as reported by I. Fedorov: “And now in the winter I have fish food and have nothing or anything. Also, now I still live on the boat “Gavril” very hard, I am sick in my right leg , even now I can’t control myself and can’t walk, but now the cold winter time is coming, and I can’t stand such cold and filth in my illness without warm peace and without a veil, which is especially harmful to my illness and is even worse for repairers, and service people and the rest of the Vaters took over everything.”

On February 11, 1732, D. I. Pavlutsky sent J. Gens a new order to transfer command of the expedition to surveyor M. S. Gvozdev, “we already know that you are now very blind and sick in your legs and it is impossible to send the work entrusted to you.” Gvozdev was instructed to go “... on the boat Gavril to the Anadyr mouth and against the Anadyr Nose, which is called Bolshaya Zemlya, the islands were explored, a great number of them, and on those islands there were people to inspect and again look for and take yasak from those from which yasak had not been collected ".

On July 23, 1732, "St. Gabriel" left the mouth of the Kamchatka River. The sick Gens remained on the shore. On board were M. S. Gvozdev, I. Fedorov, navigator K. Moshkov, four sailors, thirty-two servicemen and interpreter Egor Buslaev. On August 5, the sailors approached the Chukotka nose and until August 15 sailed along the coast, landing in several places, trying to make contact with local residents. They were looking for islands.

Only on August 17, the expedition saw the island (now Ratmanov Island), but was unable to approach it due to strong winds and returned to the Chukotka coast. Two days later she managed to approach the northern tip of the island. M. S. Gvozdev with sailor Petrov and ten servicemen landed on the shore, where a skirmish occurred with local residents. Gvozdev examined two wooden yurts, saw a spruce and pine forest, and “from that island they saw the mainland.”

This is how Russian people saw Alaska for the first time. Then “...we went near the same island to the southern end... and here there were about twenty yurts..., and the island was a mile and a half in length, a mile in width.” On the morning of August 20, we anchored off the second island (Krusernshtern Island V.A. ), and between the first and second islands, a distance of a mile and a half, we saw an island no larger than the first island, less.”

They also landed on this island. Thus, the sailors of "St. Gabriel" were the first Russian people to visit the islands of Ratmanov and Kruzernstern.

The next day, August 21, 1732, can be considered historical. The first Europeans reached the northwest coast of America. This happened nine years before Bering's voyage. M. S. Gvozdev reports this as follows: “On August 21 in the afternoon at the third hour the wind began to blow, and we went to the mainland and came to that land and anchored about four versts from the ground.” From the southern end to the western side, the sailors saw yurts - housing about a mile and a half, "and it was impossible to get close to these yurts due to the wind, and they went near the ground on the southern side, and it became a shallow place, they abandoned the lot, depths seven and six fathoms, and from that place they returned back and began to maneuver near the Great Land in order to approach the land, and there began to be a great wind from the opposite land... And such a great wind blew away from that Great Land, and the wind was north-northwest. fourth de island (King's Island V.A. ) brought the Chyukcha to the boat in the small yalych, according to them they call it kukhta...” To questions about the Great Land, the Chyukcha answered that “... their own Chyukchi live on it, and there is a forest, and also rivers, and about animals he said that there are wild red deer, martens, and foxes, and determined beavers.”

Serviceman Ilya Skurikhin, who was on the St. Gabriel voyage and interrogated on April 8, 1741, spoke about this somewhat differently in the office of the port of Okhotsk. Approaching the Great Land, “...they saw that it was not an island, but a great land, a shore of yellow sand, housing in yurts along the shore and a lot of people walking on that land; there was a great larch forest on that land, a spruce and poplar forest. And they went near that land to left side. We walked for about five days, but we didn’t reach the end of that land.”

The land to which the St. Gabriel approached was Cape Prince of Wales on the Seward Peninsula. A strong north wind blew the ship south. Provisions were poor, fresh water was running out, the crew was tired and barely had time to pump out the water. The servicemen submitted a petition to Gvozdev and Fedorov, “to whom, having announced their many needs, they asked that for those needs and the lateness of the time, they would return from that voyage to Kamchatka.” On September 28, 1732, "St. Gabriel" returned to Nizhnekamchatsk for the winter.

Unfortunately, the details of this historical voyage remain unknown, since the original documents logbook and maps have not been preserved. On December 19, 1732, Gvozdev sent D.I. Pavlutsky to the Anadyr prison a detailed report about the campaign and “proper inventories,” but Pavlutsky was not there at that time, he was in Yakutsk. A copy of the logbook (logbook) was attached to the report. The original lagbook was sent in the summer of 1733 to the office of the port of Okhotsk, but without a map. Gvozdev explained that the map of the campaign was not drawn up due to lack of agreement with navigator Fedorov, who believed that his job was to compose a sea map, and the surveyor’s job was to compose land maps, that is, land maps.

Fedorov himself died in Nizhnekamchatsk in February 1733, and M. S. Gvozdev remained in Kamchatka until the summer of 1735, carrying out instructions “in the construction of new forts.” In 17351738 he was under investigation for a false denunciation, and after his release he performed various duties during the Second Kamchatka Expedition.

It is unknown why neither Pavlutsky nor the office of the port of Okhotsk informed either the Admiralty Board, or the Tobolsk provincial and Irkutsk provincial offices about the results of the voyage of "St. Gabriel" to the mainland. Apparently, they did not attach much importance to the results of the expedition.

Only in 1738 did information about this voyage reach the Admiralty Board. It happened like this. In 1735, sailor L. Petrov, a participant in the voyage on the St. Gabriel, accused the expedition leaders J. Gens, M. S. Gvozdev and I. G. Speshnev of state crimes, for which they were all arrested and imprisoned in Tobolsk prison. The denunciation turned out to be false, and Petrov himself ended up in Kronstadt prison. Here he submitted a report to the commander of the Kronstadt port about the voyage to the shores of America in 1732 and about the extraordinary fur wealth of the land they discovered. This message interested the Admiralty Board. On February 14, 1738, she made a decision to release M. S. Gvozdev and J. Gens from prison and to immediately send Gens to St. Petersburg with journals, inventories and maps. But Gens was no longer alive; he died in prison on October 23, 1737.

On April 22, the Siberian Provincial Chancellery sent a decree on the immediate sending to the Admiralty Board of all materials from the voyage of “St. Gabriel” in 1732, since no papers related to the voyage were found in the property of J. Gens after his death. In December 1738, there was a new decree from the Admiralty Board to the Siberian authorities to search for and send inventories, journals and navigation maps to St. Petersburg. They were never found again. Only in 1743 M.P. Shpanberg discovered a journal that I. Fedorov unofficially kept during the voyage. By order of Shpanberg, M. S. Gvozdev compiled a map of the voyage of 1732 in October 1743. The original map was delivered by Shpanberg to the Irkutsk chancellery and was also lost. Only a copy sent to the Admiralty Board has survived.

Later, other maps were compiled based on oral descriptions of the voyage.

The question of the discovery of M. S. Gvozdev arose in 1741 in connection with the testimony of I. Skurikhin, a participant in the voyage, given by him in April 1741 in the office of the port of Okhotsk. Gvozdev himself was interrogated there in 1743. In 1741, the commander of the Okhotsk port, A. Divier, proposed sending the Bering expedition on small ships to explore the islands against the Chukotka Nose. In 1743, it was planned to send Gvozdev there, but in the same year the Second Kamchatka Expedition completed its activities.

In 1791, G. A. Sarychev, examining the Diomede Islands (Ratmanov and Kruzernstern), gave them the name “Gvozdev Islands”.

3. TO THE SHORE OF JAPAN

Russian sailors were representatives of the fifth European country to reach the shores of Japan. Europeans first learned about Japan at the end of the 13th century. from the diary of Marco Polo: “The people of the island of Jipangu are very rich. Very rich in gold. The roof of the imperial palace is covered with gold sheets. The ceilings of the house, as well as the windows, are decorated with gold, and inside the rooms there are tables made of pure gold.”

In 1459, the island of Dzipangu appeared on the Italian map, standing alone somewhere in the eastern sea. In 1542, the Portuguese reached the island of Tanegashima (148 km south of the island of Kyushu). In 1584, the Spaniards arrived in Japan and began to spread Christianity among the inhabitants of the islands. In 1600, the Dutch reached the shores of Japan, and in 1609 they began trading with Japan. In 1613 the British arrived here. In 1638 the Europeans were expelled. Only the Dutch managed to maintain friendly relations and the right to trade with Japan. In 1639, Japan passed a law prohibiting contact with foreigners (the “Closing of Japan”), which remained in effect for more than 220 years.

In Russia, the first information about Japan appeared at the end of the 17th century. The Cosmography of 1670 provides information about its geographical location, climate, natural resources, morals and customs of the Japanese, their religion and occupations.

The idea of ​​finding a sea route from Kamchatka to Japan was born to Peter I in 1702 after a conversation with the Japanese Denbei Tatekawa, brought by V. Atlasov to Moscow from Kamchatka. In the same 1702, the Siberian order on behalf of the tsar ordered the Yakut voivodeship office to send “willing people” to Kamchatka to explore the route to Japan through the Kuril Islands in order to “make considerable trades with the Japanese state ....”

In October 1705, teaching the Japanese language began at the St. Petersburg navigation school. The same Japanese Denbei, who was baptized and named Gabriel, was appointed teacher.

In 1712, the Siberian Order again instructed the Yakut governor to collect information about Japan, to find out “what routes to this land there are, whether its inhabitants can have friendship and trade with the Russians.” However, it was possible to explore the route to Japan only in 1739. This was done by the naval detachment of the Second Kamchatka Expedition under the leadership of M.P. Shpanberg. The detachment of four ships included the St. Gabriel, which was distinguished by the fact that its sailors were the first Russians to set foot on Japanese soil on June 19, 1739.

The detachment of M.P. Shpanberg was one of the eight detachments of the Second Kamchatka Expedition. Five detachments were formed to survey the coast of the Arctic Ocean, an Academic detachment for a comprehensive study of Kamchatka and two naval detachments by V.I. Bering to open the sea route from Kamchatka to America and M.P. Shpanberg.

By decree of the Senate of December 28, 1732, Spanberg’s detachment was ordered: “For the sake of observation and exploration of the route to Japan... to build on the Kamchatka River one boat with a deck and two snipe boats with 24 oars each with a deck and, having built and armed, proceed in the direction shown voyage to Captain Spanberch... If the boat left over from the previous expedition is found in such a condition that it will be possible and safe to go on a voyage (we are talking about “St. Gabriel” V.A. ), then do not make the bot shown again...".

The bot, “left over from a previous expedition,” turned out to be in normal condition. After returning from a voyage to the mainland in 1732, he was in Nizhnekamchatsk until September 1733 during the “construction of a new prison.” In 17331735 By order of the commander of the port of Okhotsk G. G. Skornyakov-Pisarev, “St. Gabriel” made voyages under the command of J. Gens as a “carrying vessel” between Kamchatka and Okhotsk, delivering people and various cargoes. So, in October 1733, he brought to Kamchatka the Marching Investigation Office, headed by Major V.F. Merlin and D.I. Pavlutsky, sent to punish those responsible for the Itelmen uprising of 1731.

On August 4, 1735, "St. Gabriel" set off on its last voyage as the lead ship of the Shestakov-Pavlutsky expedition. The participants of the 1732 voyage to the mainland, M. S. Gvozdev, boating apprentice I. G. Speshnev, and sailor L. Petrov, who together with J. Gens were summoned to Irkutsk “on important business,” also departed on it. Before being sent to Irkutsk, J. Gens handed over “St. Gabriel” to M.P. Shpanberg for sailing to Japan as part of the Second Kamchatka Expedition.

The Decree of the Senate to M.P. Shpanberg further prescribed: “And first go to those islands that went from the Kamchatka midday Nose to Japan ... and if further to Japan itself there are islands or lands subject to the Japanese Khan or other Asian rulers, also inspect the same and seek friendly treatment with the peoples living on those islands and lands... And at the same time, inquire about their condition and other things that are relevant... and, having been here, follow to the very Japanese shores and there, for the same reason, explore the dominion, oh ports, can they deal with it amicably?

The instruction of the Admiralty Board of February 28, 1733 set the same tasks for Spanberg’s detachment.

In 1737, the Okhotsk flotilla of the Second Kamchatka Expedition was formed. It included the "St. Gabriel" and the ship "Fortune", repaired in 1736, as well as the brigantine "Archangel Michael" and the three-masted double-sloop "Nadezhda" built under the supervision of M.P. Shpanberg. The brigantine was launched on July 7, 1737, and the double sloop on July 19. Due to a lack of provisions, the expedition had to be postponed until the spring of 1738.

Bot "Holy Archangel Gabriel". Reconstruction. Hood. A. S. Garistov

On June 16, 1738, Shpanberg reported to the Admiralty Board: “And since the beginning of sowing spring, three sea vessels, which are prepared by construction and repair for the voyage shown to me, namely: the brigantine “Archangel Michael”, the boat-boat “Nadezhda” and the boat " Gabriel "caulked, scraped, tarred and fixed other small items and equipped them with the proper rigging."

On June 18, 1738, the detachment left Okhotsk and arrived in Bolsheretsk on July 6. Here the teams were fully staffed, food and fresh water supplies were replenished. On July 15, three ships set sail from Bolsheretsk to Japan. "Archangel Michael" was commanded by M.P. Shpanberg, "Nadezhda" by Lieutenant Vilim (William) Shelting. Four days later, “St. Gabriel” lagged behind the detachment, and on July 24, “Nadezhda”. Shpanberg alone reached the Frieza Strait, rounded the island of Urup and on August 18 returned to Bolsheretsk. Spanberg reached 45 degrees N. sh.: “And I alone didn’t dare to go beyond that degree... no one from the Russian people has ever been there except us.”

V. Walton managed to reach 43°19‘N on August 11, 1738. sh.: saw the earth from NNW To WtN, “which seemed like seven islands, the northernmost part with very high mountains...”.

This was the northern tip of Matemai Island (Hokkaido). "St. Gabriel" returned to Bolsheretsk on August 6, "Nadezhda" on August 24. At the beginning of September, due to the absence of a “carrying vessel” (the “Fortune” shitik, on which S.P. Krasheninnikov arrived in Kamchatka in October 1737, on that voyage “everything was broken completely at the Bolsheretsk mouth” V.A. ) it was decided to send "St. Gabriel" to Okhotsk to transport the teams of the Marching Investigation Office of V.F. Merlin and yasash furs. "Gabriel" was supposed to return that same fall, but ran aground near the Krutogorovsky fort and was forced to winter there under the protection of a guard of eight people.

Since the expedition after the death of “Fortuna” did not have a light vessel “for traveling to the islands,” it was decided to build a sixteen-oared sloop “Bolsheretsk” from timber harvested along the Bolshaya and Bystraya rivers. This was the second sea vessel after the St. Gabriel, built in Kamchatka. "Bolsheretsk" had a length of 17.5, a width of 3.9, a hold depth of 1.6 m. It sailed until 1744, until it was thrown ashore in the area of ​​the Bolshoy River. For comparison: “Archangel Michael” had dimensions of 21, 6.3 and 2.6 m, respectively, “Nadezhda” 24.5, 6 and 1.8 m, “St. Gabriel” 18.3, 6, 1 and 2.3 m. (The dimensions of Bering's packet boats were: 24.4, 6.7 and 2.9 m). "Archangel Michael" and "Nadezhda" crashed in 1753.

On May 23, 1739, a flotilla of four ships set off again for Japan. During the voyage, Shpanberg changed the commanders of Nadezhda and Gabriel. V. Valton began to command the boat. Midshipman Vasily Ert was appointed commander of Bolsheretsk.

On June 14, on the approach to the island of Honshu, "St. Gabriel" fell behind and continued sailing on its own. All four ships approached the Japanese coast on the same day, June 16. Spanberg's ships cruised along the Japanese coast until June 22, reaching 37 degrees N. w. (area of ​​the modern city of Iwaki). "St. Gabriel" was off the coast of Japan until June 24 and went to 34°30', that is, to the Tokyo Bay area.

Spanberg did not dare to put people ashore, “fearing that the Japanese would not be deceived by an accidental attack or flattery.” On June 22, the sailors received many Japanese on board. There was a brisk barter trade going on. The Japanese offered the Russians fish, rice, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, and accepted gifts and treats from them.

In his reports, Shpanberg provides interesting observations about Japanese ships, nature, settlements, agriculture and fishing, and describes the appearance of the Japanese and their clothing. “Notable people” came to the Archangel Michael, whom Shpanberg presented with Russian coins. In the book of the Japanese historian S. Nakamura, “The Japanese and the Russians,” it is specified that this happened in Chishirohami Bay near the village of Isomura. An official, Chiba Kansichiro, was sent from the city of Sendai to Isomura, who, accompanied by three local officials, arrived on board the Archangel Michael. The Japanese were accompanied by three Ainu translators, but they did not know Russian. Therefore, the meeting ended without results. The Japanese bowed politely. Shpanberg treated them to vodka, gave them furs and coins, and showed them Russia and other countries on the map. He allowed the Japanese to inspect the ship and take notes on what they saw.

Chiba Kansichiro reported his visit to the Russian ships to the Principality of Sendai. This caused concern among the authorities and they began to mobilize military units and began preparing the defense of the coast from the port of Ishinomaki to the Ojika Peninsula. The Japanese fisherman Kisabee, who was the first to meet the Russian sailors, received playing cards from them as a gift, which he gave to the headman Dzembee. Silver coins and playing cards were delivered to the capital. The government turned to the Dutch trading post in Nagasaki for advice. The Dutch explained that paper cards are not banknotes, as the Japanese thought, but playing utensils, and the coins were minted in the “state of Muscovy” (Orosia, that is, Russia).

Shpanberg reports on the structure of Japanese ships: “And they, the Japanese, arrived on sharp-nosed trays, and the sterns were blunt, and on top the boards were lowered about four feet, sharp, about four fathoms long, and the bows of those trays were lined with many of them with green copper. And Their large trays are built in the same way as the small ones, and their rudders have a tray, two curved oars, rowed standing, obliquely, placing the oars on the oarlocks, and the handles are tied with a rope; and these trays are sewn with copper, and the anchors are V.A. ) they have four horns, made of iron. And those trays with decks, and boxes for water were made on them, and on the deck there were stoves, in which they had cauldrons for cooking porridge, and they smelled the sea. And there were seventy-nine of the above-mentioned trays around the circle, and there were ten, twelve or more people on each of them.”

Shpanberg also reports about fishing among the Japanese: “...two Japanese trays passed a mile of our vessel, and after sailing they caught fish and came to us, and, having been with the ship for a short time, they went to catch more fish... and we also sent from a boat of his own ship, on it were three servants and one interpreter for fishing for fish, which this interpreter, according to the Kuril custom, stabbed with a knife and towed to us, and, having towed it, brought it onto the ship... and then she was still alive, and what is her rank? a fish, it is impossible to describe due to ignorance, only large and flat, a round voice, two large flippers on the head, with round grooves on the upper and lower sides. And this fish weighs more than nine pounds, this fish has a white body, the skin on it is thick, and pink and prickly. Also from 43 to 37°, in the place where we went, we saw many different fish playing, which are not seen in our sea."

Shpanberg provides interesting information about the appearance of the Japanese. “These Japanese people are of medium height and small. Their dresses are very similar to the Tatar ones. They walk barefoot, no one has pants or trousers. From the half of the head down to the forehead, the hair is cut and glued with glue, tied at the back with a bush that sticks up. Their hats are large , grass, flat, some wear those hats tied under their beards, and those who don’t have hats tie their heads with rafts. V.A. ), made of paper... And the body of these Japanese, some are white, some are darker, their eyes are small, their hair is black, they shave their beards. And in addition to those Japanese, a Japanese tray was rowing close to our ships, on which there were six people, and it is clear from the dress and from the persons that they are the children of noble fathers. And in their hands they had fans from the sun, only from what kind of material, it is unknown, but it is only clear that the color is white. And these Japanese are white and young people."

Apparently, the sailors of “St. Gabriel” saw the same thing, which passed along the coast of the island of Honshu from 38°29‘ to 34°30‘. Lieutenant Walton notes that they came across many Japanese ships and they met Japanese on board their ship. Twice, on June 19 and 22, the Russians landed on the shore, which M.P. Shpanberg did not dare to do.

V. Walton reports that on June 16 they saw land at 38°29‘N. w. On June 17, we approached closer to the shore, “they saw that thirty-nine Japanese ships without flags had gone from the shore to the sea, and each of them was the size of our galley or more, and the sails on them were on each ship one and those were straight, made from Chinese mothers (Chinese light yellow paper fabric V.A. ) blue, with white stripes, and on others all white, which I followed in ships along the shore to find their harbor, but only these ships were divided into villages, and they are not in the harbor. And from the 18th day they lay at anchor near their ship... On the morning of the 19th day of June, a Japanese ship rowed towards us... and there were eighteen people on it, with whom we did not have any conversations, for lack of an interpreter in their language, only they had a mutual understanding with their hands, and it is significant that they called us to the shore, for which reason I sent the boat and on it the navigator Kazimerov, and the quartermaster Cherkashenin, and six soldiers to bring water to our boat, who was given several gift items from me so that you can get around them in a friendly manner. And that same day, navigator Kazimerov returned safely from the shore and brought 1 1/2 barrels of water."

Kazimerov said that when they began to approach the shore, about one hundred and fifty small rowing ships headed towards them, “on which there were about fifty people or more (? V.A. ) in a long Chinese dress... And the rowers on those ships were all naked, except for their shame, and they were rowing so close to the yawl that our rowers could row in need.”

The Japanese showed gold coins to the Russians, expressing their desire to trade. Kazimerov concluded that there is a lot of gold in Japan: “...they showed us gold from the ships, and they admit that they have a fair amount of gold... And when he began to land on the shore with his boat..., there were men on the shore “A large number of people and the inhabitants... were very glad to see me and bowed to me as is their custom, and when they saw two empty barrels on the yalbot, the residents took them and carried them to one yard, and filled one and a half barrels with water, and took them back to the yalbot.”

According to S. Nakamura, all this happened in the village of Amatsumura (Nagasaki County, Awa Province, Chiba Prefecture), located at 35°10' N. w. Kazemerov further says: “... he came to the same house where water was being poured, and the owner of that house met him at the door with great courtesy and brought him into his chambers and, having seated him, treated him and the servants who were with him to grape wine from porcelain dishes. And he set them snacks on porcelain dishes - sheptalu (dried apricots or peaches) V.A. ), soaked butto in molasses and chopped radishes. Then he placed tobacco and Chinese pipes in front of him, and Kazimerov, after sitting in that house and thanking the owner, went to another house, and the owner of that house brought him in the same way, and sat him down next to him, and served them snacks, and finished off with grape wine, and they brought Sorochinsky millet (rice V.A. ) Varenova... And after sitting in the indicated house, he went out and walked around the settlement, in which, for example, there are about 1500 courtyards, and the buildings in this settlement are wooden and stone chambers, and are built along the shore near the sea... about three miles. And the inhabitants of that settlement have clean houses and flower beds in porcelain cups, and also shops in their houses with goods, in which he saw among paper and silk, and he saw brocades... They have livestock, horses, and cows, and chickens , but apparently they have no bread except millet and peas; Vegetables they have are grapes, oranges (oranges) V.A. ), whisper and radish."

“Seeing on the shore two people with sabers, of which one had two, then on the shore he did not hesitate for an hour and, having come to the boat, rolled away from the shore and rowed to the boat. Then many of these ships rolled away from the shore after them. And from those ships one ship came up and took a tug from the yalbout, which towed our yawlboat to our boat, and the other ships all followed them to watch... And with him, Kazimerov, a Japanese nobleman went with such a small ship..., whom we recognized as the voivode, because we escorted him from the shore with more than a hundred ships, and on each ship there were many people, about fifteen people, whom I received with all pleasantness and treated him and the people who were with him to the water and Kamchatka wine, which drank without reluctance. Also, the aforementioned Japanese nobleman brought with him to us on Botrenskov (Rhenish V.A. ) Belov, about a quarter of a bucket, with which he fed us evenly, except that there were no conversations with him. And although these people seemed favorable to us, I did not dare to stand there for a long time, for a great number of their ships surrounded our boat and, moreover, they had even left the shore without number. For this reason, I began to weigh anchor, and the aforementioned noble man, meanwhile, said goodbye to us in a friendly manner, and went to his ship and cellar to the shore...

And on June 20th we came to the island and lay at anchor to look for water, only we saw that there was nowhere to land the boat on the shore, since the great waves were moving. On the same June 21, we raised anchor and went between the islands to the Japanese coast, where two small ships met us. And as these ships rowed close to our boat, I, through reasoning with those people with my hands, since there was no one to talk to them due to ignorance of their language, pointed out to them that we needed firewood and water for the ship, and somehow they saw, immediately as friendly people, without making any excuses, rowed ashore and brought water and firewood. And for their work I gave them one pound of beads and a piece of needles, and they called us to the harbor, and because there was such a depth in that place that it was impossible to anchor, and also the wind was small, for this reason these two ships took our boat towed and towed.

Meanwhile, not allowing Havana (Shimoda V.A. ), they met a ship on which there were fifteen people with sabers, and they ordered the said two ships to stop towing our boat, and I, fearing, because so as not to show opposition to them, they turned away from the shore and went out to sea from the northern widths 34° and 30' had a course between OtZ And ZO.

On the same June 22nd day, we came to the island and anchored at a depth of 12 fathoms, and sent a boat to find water, but it was impossible to get just water there, because the water was a long distance from the shore. Just then, the doctor Diaghilev drove off from the boat, brought from there various herbs and, moreover, announced that he had seen on the said island Japanese inhabitants in white linen clothes and cattle, namely horses with brown and brown hair and black cows. Yes, he, Diaghilev, brought a branch of a walnut tree... and a pine branch, and two pearl shells... On the 23rd of June, the inhabitants of the said island came ashore and shouted to us, and it is significant that they called us to the shore, but because of the great excitement, send a yalbot It was impossible to go there, and besides, the shore was rocky and it was impossible to stand at anchor. On the 24th day of June, they raised anchor and followed back to the sea, but kept to the more eastern side in order to inspect whether there was any other land on that side, they had a course between N And O, but they didn’t see any land until they arrived near Avachenskaya Bay and began to be 52°28’ wide, and from there they followed between Lapatka and the first Kuril Island to the Big River. July 23 days entered the mouth of the Bolshaya...”

On July 26, the boat "Bolsheretsk" arrived there, having fallen behind Shpanberg near Kunashir Island on July 3. The supplies on the ships were running out and, after waiting at the mouth of the Bolshaya River until August 7, it was decided to go to Okhotsk, believing that Shpanberg was already there. In addition, V.F. Merlin and D.I. Pavlutsky, who had been stuck in Bolsheretsk since last year, demanded to be sent to Okhotsk.

A week after the departure of "St. Gabriel" and "Bolsheretsk", the "Archangel Michael" arrived at the mouth of the Bolshoi River and also soon set off for Okhotsk. "Nadezhda" arrived in Bolsheretsk only on August 31 and was forced to spend the winter here. The voyage of the Nadezhda was accompanied by casualties: eleven people died, and “the rest could barely walk.” "St. Gabriel" and "Bolsheretsk" lost one person each.

Thus ended this historic voyage, which opened the sea route from Kamchatka to Japan and the Southern Kuril Islands. Shpanberg's report and materials from the voyage, but for some reason without Walton's log and map, were received at the Admiralty Board. On November 19, 1739, Shpanberg was ordered to go to St. Petersburg “with all haste, day and night... without stopping anywhere, it is imperative to appear in the office of the High Commander.” But Shpanberg received this decree only on April 10, 1740, at the very time of the mud. Shpanberg was able to leave Yakutsk only on June 13, but soon a new decree was received, which proposed that Bering go to St. Petersburg, and Shpanberg take command of the Kamchatka expedition.

The instructions drawn up for Shpanberg prescribed that in the spring of 1740 Chirikov and I. Endogurov on two ships should head to America, and Shpanberg, Walton and Chikhachev should go to Japan. But the preparation of a new expedition to the shores of Japan dragged on until September 1741, so it was only possible to describe the mouth of the Uda and the Shantar Islands. Only on May 23, 1742, a detachment of four ships (instead of the St. Gabriel there was the St. John) left the Bolsheretsk mouth.

On the way, the ships got lost and only one “St. John” under the command of Spanberg approached the shores of Japan (41°15‘N). Having no small ships to survey the Japanese coast, having discovered a leak, Shpanberg, having reached latitude 39°35' on June 30, decided to return to Kamchatka without ever seeing Japan. "Nadezhda" under the command of Shelting took part in this voyage off the coast of Sakhalin to the La Perouse Strait (45°34' N).

The voyage of Russian navigators in 1739 to the shores of Japan and their discovery of the southern Kuril Islands in Europe became known at the beginning of 1740: on January 13, 1740, an Amsterdam magazine published a letter from the Dutch resident in St. Petersburg, Schwartz, who reported that Spanberg managed to reach the eastern coast Japan.

In Russia, a version appeared that Shpanberg and Walton only reached the shores of Korea. A special commission was created, which, in a report dated May 20, 1746, “without any doubt” admitted that “Captain Walton, by all circumstances, was truly off the eastern shores of the island of Japan, and not off the land of Korea.” G. F. Miller, who also doubted at first, subsequently came to the following conclusion: “Evidence began to multiply that our navigators ... were not mistaken; and now no one doubts this, for the glorious French geographers Anville, Buache and Bellin on their maps they believe there is as much or even more difference in longitude between Kamchatka and Japan than Spanberg and Walton.”

4. STUDY OF AVACHI BAY AND FOUNDATION OF PETROPAVLOVSK

In the summer of 1740, “St. Gabriel” once again reminded itself. It became the first sea vessel in history to enter Avacha Bay. Its crew, under the command of navigator midshipman Ivan Fomich Elagin, compiled a map of Avachinskaya Bay, determined the site for construction and laid the first buildings of one of the oldest cities in the Russian Far East.

The first Russian people visited the Avacha Bay area in 1703. It was a detachment of yasak collectors under the command of Rodion Presnetsov. In 1707, Ivan Taratin and Afanasy Popovtsov visited the bay, in 1711 and 1715. I. P. Kozyrevsky, in 1712 D. Ya. Antsiferov. We also know about the first sea voyage from Avachinskaya Bay. In 1715, I.P. Kozyrevsky sent a detachment of Fyodor Baldakov from here on kayaks to collect yasak on the Kuril Islands. In 1726, Kozyrevsky met with Bering in Yakutsk and gave him his own “Drawing of the Kamchadal Nose and Sea Islands,” which for the first time depicted the outlines of the Avacha Bay. Apparently, Bering could have learned more detailed information about the lip from Kozyrevsky.

While in Bolsheretsk in 1727, Bering collected information about the Kamchatka coast. He made a request to the customer of the Bolsheretsky fort, A. Eremeev: “... all around the Nose (Cape Lopatka V.A. ) by canoes or by dry route along the shore to the mouth of the Kamchatka River, have there been such people who have been and how long they walked, and what kind of places they have there, and is it possible for sea vessels to go around the Nose to the mouth of the Kamchatka River." Ereemeev answered: "From the Bolsheretsk mouth It takes five days to walk to Lopatka on foot, and the ground is soft, and the same amount of rowing with canoes; from Lopatka to the Avacha River, it takes ten days to row with canoes, but there is no walking, because the lips and sherlops (rocks V.A. ), and the cliffs are great, and from Avacha to Kronotsky Nose is ten days on foot, and from that Nose to the Kamchatka mouth is five days..., and to Lopatka there was a serviceman Andrei Taramygin, and on the other sea there were servicemen Andrei Voronin canoing to Avacha , Pyotr Gornastaev, and from Avacha to Kronotsky Nos there was a service man Fedot Slobodchikov, and from Kronotsky Nose to the Kamchatka mouth there was a service man Grigory Kudarinsky."

In June 1728, from Bolsheretsk to the mouth of the Kamchatka River, the ship "Fortune" sailed for the first time around Cape Lopatka under the command of the navigator K. Moshkov, delivering to Bering the cargoes of the First Kamchatka Expedition that remained in Bolsheretsk. This was the first sea vessel to pass near the entrance to Avachinskaya Bay. And in June 1729, Bering twice, on June 27 and 29, passed at a short distance from the mouth of Avachinskaya Bay. On June 27 at noon, the high Avachinskaya Mountain was revealed to the sailors of the St. Gabriel. On June 29, the navigator of the "Gabriel" took bearings twice on the Avacha hill. Bering and his companions saw the coast of Kamchatka from Cape Mayachny to Cape Nalychev (that is, Khalaktyrsky beach V.A. ), located fifteen miles from the coast. Cape Povorotny, the southwestern entrance cape of Avachinsky Bay, was also clearly visible.

On the final map of the voyage in 1729, the location of Avacha Bay is quite accurately determined, and the entrance capes of Avacha Bay are indicated: Shipunsky and Povorotny, the Avacha River and Avachinsk Sopka. However, Bering could not see the inner waters of Avacha Bay. But in July of the same year, while staying at the mouth of the Bolshaya River, Bering sent the first builder of the St. Gabriel, boat apprentice F. Kozlov, to these places, who had visited some “small island near Avachin.”

But only the Second Kamchatka Expedition began to closely explore Avachinskaya Bay. In 1737, M.P. Shpanberg sent second lieutenant surveyor I. Svistunov and navigator E. Rodichev from Okhotsk to Kamchatka on the ship “Fortune” to find the Bolshaya and Kamchatka rivers, as well as Avachinskaya Bay, and to build lighthouses there. Bering reports about this: “And the second lieutenant in charge of the geodetic post, Ivan Svistunov (who was with navigator Rodichev to measure this lip back in 737 last year) ... announced with a report that he, Svistunov, described and measured this lip alone, ... in which the report and description of that lip are attached."

But Bering was not satisfied with Svistunov’s description, “for Svistunov had a description on the shore.” The reason for this was that in the fall of 1737, the Fortuna, on which Svistunov and Rodichev were supposed to conduct research on the Avachinskaya Bay, was thrown ashore by a storm at the mouth of the Bolshoy River and was broken. At the same time, many instruments were lost. Therefore, Svistunov limited himself to geodetic observations. A map of the bay was drawn up and a place was chosen for the construction of a pier at the mouth of the Avachi River. In 1738, construction of a lighthouse, barracks and housing for officers began there. But due to the lack of sufficient timber, only a lighthouse and a barn were built.

Wintered in 17381739. in Bolsheretsk, M.P. Shpanberg was going to go here himself to speed up construction work, but because he was busy preparing for the voyage to Japan, he decided to send his son Andrei: “... you should go to that Avacha River to take a plan and the situation there and to inspect Ovachenskaya sea bay and a proper description of convenient and safe places where you can be in Havana, and other notable places... And to assist you in your task, soldiers Vasily Spirin and Pyotr Kopotilov have been appointed from us, and for interpretation of foreign speeches, interpreter Alexey Mutovin."

However, a month later, on April 16, 1739, Shpanberg drew up new instructions for one soldier, Kopotilov, limiting his tasks only to logging and building housing on Avach. Whether A.M. Shpanberg was on Avach, as well as Kopotilov’s activities, is not reported in the expedition documents.

“St. Gabriel” took part in the further exploration of Avachinskaya Bay and the preparation of a wintering base for V. Bering’s expedition. Upon returning from a voyage to Japan, the boat arrived in Okhotsk on August 22, 1739. The commander of the port of Okhotsk, G. G. Skornyakov-Pisarev, demanded it at his disposal to transport yasak collectors and “merchant people” to Kamchatka. However, V. Bering, conferring with A.I. Chirikov and Lieutenant S. Vaksel (Shpanberg left with a report on the voyage to Japan in Yakutsk), decided: “not to hand over the boat “Gavrila” to the Okhotsk administration, but to send this boat away from the expedition and The commander was to appoint navigator Elagin, who was sent on the same September 29th day, and with him navigator Vasily Khmetevskoy, herdemarin... Yagan Sint (Johann Sindt V.A. ), sailor and other ranks nine, twelve people in total."

In a report to the Admiralty Board on September 10, 1793, Bering defined the purpose of the expedition as follows: “... as is known, in Kamchatka, except for the Avachinskaya Bay, there are no safe places for seagoing vessels to settle, and there is no real news about that, but in what depth is it located and is it possible for the packet boats built for our voyage to enter that bay from the sea with ships... Moreover, at this bay there should be a building for housing, as well as for luggage, right for shops, and from the Big River to the said bay The seashore has not yet been described."

“And for the above-mentioned navigator Elagin... in order to arrive at the big river, the boat “Gavril” entrusted to his command was placed in a convenient place, ... in winter time he should sail from the Big River along the shore to Avachinskaya Bay and describe that shore, and if the person comes against the shore of the island, those put it on the map... And he, Elagin, according to the description of that shore, from Avachenskaya Bay will return again to the Big River... and go on a boat to Avachenskaya Bay and that lip will die out and describe with the circumstance whether it is possible to enter that lip by packet boats in winter winter without danger."

I. F. Elagin, having arrived in Bolsheretsk in the fall of 1739, began to carry out Bering’s instructions. Navigator V. Khmetevetsky was sent by him “to measure the mouth of the Kamchatka River, and he, Elagin, from the Bolsheretsk mouth along the seashore to Lopatka ... described the coast. And from that Kamchatka corner (Lopatki V.A. ) to Avachinskaya Bay near the sea along the eastern shore, it is impossible to compose an inventory by dry route, because there are great mountains and stone cliffs that cannot be passed by a person on foot or, according to local custom, on dogs.

The second report from him, Elagin, announced on September 20th: he, Elagin, set off from the Bolshaya River on a boat on May 16th of the same year 740 to Ovachinskaya Bay and arrived in that bay on June 10th safely. At which point Kamchatka servicemen and Yasash foreigners built five residential quarters in one cluster, three barracks, and three barns with two apartments. Also in the said bay the depth of the water died out. And with that report he attached a map in which the coast of Kamchatka land was laid out from the mouth of the Big River, lying south to the Kuril Lopatka or to the southern Kamchatka corner, measuring the Kuril Islands with the first, second and third islands and with the straits existing between them, which in the said I happened to see his path in passing, and put it on the map from bearings. And from the Kuril Lopatka along the eastern shore of the Kamchatka land to Avachinskaya Bay and with the inner harbor in it, which has a harbor and a structure near it, and what kind of forest there is at Avachinskaya Bay, I attached a map... And the above-mentioned harbor is very capable of settling sea vessels in winter, and for this reason, we arrived in this harbor in two packet boats with the entire crew of the same 740th October 6th day safely, where we spent the winter. And this harbor was named by us as Saints Apostle Peter and Paul."

View of the Peter and Paul Bucket. 18th century engraving

It is difficult to add anything to these words of V.Y. Bering from his report to the Senate dated April 22, 1741, that is, a month and a half before sailing to the shores of America. From the report it is clear that I. F. Elagin exactly followed the instructions given to him by Bering.

It should be noted that "St. Gabriel" became the first sea vessel to enter Avachinskaya Bay. This happened on June 10, 1740. The passage of “St. Gabriel” from Bolsheretsk around Cape Lopatka and Avacha Bay was the sixth in the history of navigation in Kamchatka waters. The first of them performed the shitik “Fortune” in 1728, the other five “St. Gabriel” (in 1729, 1731, 1733 and 1739).

Unfortunately, the documents of the Second Kamchatka Expedition do not mention the further fate of “St. Gabriel”. Probably until the end of her long life (dismantled in 1755), she served as a transport vessel for the Okhotsk chancellery, delivering goods and people from Okhotsk to Kamchatka and back.

"St. Gabriel" had worthy successors. In 1758, the wealthy Irkutsk merchant Ivan Bechevin developed a plan for exploring the sea route from Kamchatka to the polar part of Siberia and searching for new islands in the Eastern Ocean. With his own funds, he built in Okhotsk the largest fishing vessel at that time, the “Holy Archangel Gabriel,” whose length was 62 feet (about 20 m) and could accommodate 60 fishermen. Typically, fishing vessels of that time accommodated 35 x 40 people.

In 1759, an investigation was launched against Bechevin, and “Gabriel” ended up at the disposal of the Kamchatka administration and was sent in 1760 to the Aleutian Islands. The ship was commanded by Quartermaster Gavriil Pushkarev, who sailed in 1741-1742. with Bering on the "St. Peter" to the shores of America, having survived the winter on the island. Bering.

Winter 17601761. "Gabriel" spent on about. Atha, and in the spring “we set off from this Atha island to the second one, called Alaska, on May 26th,” Pushkarev wrote in his report. Thus, "Gabriel" was the first Russian ship to reach the shores of the American continent after Bering and Chirikov. On the way back, "Gabriel" crashed off the Kamchatka coast in a bay at the base of the Shipunsky Peninsula, which was named Bechevinskaya after the name of its former owner.

In 1766, for the expedition of P.K. Krenitsyn M.D. Levashov, four ships were built in Okhotsk, including the boat "Gabriel". On October 10, the squadron left Okhotsk. Only one "Gabriel" safely reached the mouth of the Bolshoy River, the rest of the ships were wrecked, and one died. But the next year, during the passage from Bolsheretsk to Nizhne-Kamchatsk, the boat developed a leak and was declared unsuitable for further sailing to the Aleutian Islands and Alaska.

Good afternoon, dear colleagues. I present to your attention a model of the first Russian research vessel Bota “St. Gabriel"

Historical reference:

"Bot" St. Gabriel" served in the Pacific Ocean for 27 years, until 1755. In documents of that time he was called differently: "Saint Gabriel", "Gabriel" and even "Gabrila" or "Gavril". Many discoveries and glorious historical events are associated with them Such, for example, as the voyage of the first European ship beyond the Arctic Circle in the Chukchi Sea in 1728, the discovery of Alaska in 1732, participation in the survey of the southwestern coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Shantar Islands in 1730, participation in the suppression of the uprising Itelmens and the founding of the new Lower Kamchatka fort, the first Russian visit to Japan in 1739, the exploration of Avacha Bay and the founding in 1740 of one of the oldest cities in the Russian Far East - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
The creation of “Saint Gabriel” was destined by Peter I
“... in that very month when the fate of the Almighty determined the end of the life of Peter the Great, [...] his still tireless spirit worked for the benefit and glory of the Fatherland, for he composed and wrote with his own hand the order of the Kamchatka expedition. [...] To the summoned Admiral General [F.M. Apraksin], having handed over the instructions, said the following: “the other day I remembered something that I had been thinking about for a long time and that other things prevented me from doing, that is, about the road through the Arctic Sea to China and India” (A.K. Nartov)
The 43-year-old captain Vitus Jonansen Bering was appointed head of the expedition, and his assistants were lieutenants Martyn Petrovich Shpanberg and Alexey Ilyich Chirikov.
(Peter I personally knew Bering, who was in good standing for his excellent knowledge of maritime affairs, diligence and honesty; more than once during the long war with Sweden he carried out special assignments for Peter I, and was later appointed commander of the then largest combat vessel in the Russian fleet - 90 -cannon battleship "Lesnoye".)
The navigator was midshipman Peter Chaplin, who was already promoted to midshipman during the expedition.
The expedition also included “the boat and boat work of a student of Fyodor Fedotov’s son Kozlov... with him to send 4 carpenters with their tools, which would have been younger...” a mastmakor apprentice, a carpentry foreman, three carpenters, two gunners, two sailboats and blacksmith
Kozlov’s detachment was to become the founder of the shipbuilders of Kamchatka. They had to independently, without counting on the help of the Admiralty Board, create a shipyard on the distant shores of the Pacific Ocean and build “one or two deck boats” on it.
On January 24, 1725, the expedition members left St. Petersburg.
The government ordered the Siberian governor, Prince M.V. Dolgoruky, to provide all possible assistance and assistance to the expedition in all cities and towns along its route. In Yeniseisk and Irkutsk, sixty “good carpenters” were allocated to the expedition.
In January 1727, the expedition reached Okhotsk. Even before Bering’s arrival in Okhotsk, a ship was laid down for the expedition here in 1725, which was launched in June 1727 and named “Fortune”.
On August 22, 1727, the expedition left Okhotsk on the Fortuna and the old boat Vostok, built in 1716. On September 4, they arrived in the Bolsheretsky fort, where it was decided to spend the winter. From here the expedition's property was sent to the Nizhnekamchatsky fort along the Bolshaya, Bystraya and Kamchatka rivers, and in winter - on dogs.
By the spring of 1728, all cargo was transported to Nizhnekamchatsk.
Meanwhile, Fyodor Kozlov, sent ahead, in the valley of the Kamchatka River near the Ushki tract, chose a place for the first shipyard in Kamchatka. By the time the main forces of the expedition arrived at the site, the shipyard was ready, bending production and a forge had been set up. The preparation of the body kit parts was also mostly completed.
It should be noted here that all equipment, parts and materials not only for future ships, but also for the shipyard itself were delivered to Kamchatka from St. Petersburg.
The receipt of property (“in strict accordance with the state and of the best quality”) from the Admiralty warehouses of St. Petersburg was supervised by Lieutenant A. Chirikov, with the active participation of F. Kozlov.
On April 4, 1728, on the banks of the Kamchatka River, a solemn ceremony of laying the boat took place: “At 9 o’clock in the morning, having gathered all the ministers and craftsmen, prayed and laid the boat; and then Mr. Captain gave everyone plenty of wine” (P. Chaplin)
It would be useful to recall once again that the type of vessel and the requirements for it were determined by Peter I: a small draft, so that shallow waters would not become an insurmountable obstacle for the expedition; high maneuverability, allowing you to maneuver confidently; good seaworthiness; relatively small dimensions, but at the same time sufficient carrying capacity - an important requirement for an expedition vessel.
In addition, as mentioned above, the boat had to be equipped and equipped in strict accordance with existing regulations - so that in the event of a meeting with foreign ships it would look like an exemplary vessel and worthily represent the Russian Navy.
The boat was built in strict accordance with the drawing developed by the St. Petersburg Admiralty according to the drawings of the best warships.
The architecture of the boat complied with the regulations of that time for ships of this class: three compartments - a cockpit for the crew, a cargo hold, officer's cabins and a crew chamber.
The vessel had a keel length of 18.3, a midship width of 6.1, and a draft of 2.3 m.
On June 9, that is, two months after being laid, the boat was launched without a deck and christened in honor of the Holy Archangel Gabriel, whose day was celebrated.
Fedor Kozlov's team did an excellent job. Despite the fact that the building was built in the shortest possible time, this did not at all affect its quality. Moreover, looking ahead, we can say with confidence that over almost thirty years of operation of the ship in the harsh conditions of northern latitudes, it demonstrated excellent seaworthiness and never let the sailors down.
The completion of "St. Gabriel" was already carried out on the water at the mouth of the river. Fyodor Kozlov urgently completed the construction of the ship. Work was carried out non-stop all daylight hours. We have completed the flooring of the deck, the equipment of cabins and crew quarters, storerooms and enclosures. Two hatches were made on the deck into the bow compartment and the hold, leading to the officers' cabins.
The spar and rigging were installed so that the rig could carry five sails.
The ship had two hand pumps for pumping water out of the hold. Along the sides there were fins (wooden panels in the form of fins, the upper end of which was fixed to an axis, which made it possible to lift them out of the water. They were used to counteract drift, as well as calm pitching). The boat was equipped with two anchors and two dregs (dreg or drek - a boat anchor of the Admiralty system weighing up to 48 kg)
According to the regulations, the artillery armament of bots of this class consisted of 4 falconets. However, taking into account the fact that the construction of the 2nd boat was not carried out, “Saint Gabriel” took over all the artillery provided for the expedition - 7 falconets (1 was lost along the way)
The construction of "St. Gabriel" was completed by July 6th. By July 10, 1728, the acceptance of cargo was completed and the crew moved from shore to board.
The bot “Holy Archangel Gabriel” was ready to set out on its maiden voyage.

First voyages

From the notes of midshipman Chaplin: "Servants on board: Mr. captain 1, lieutenant 1, doctor 1, navigator 1, midshipman 1, quartermaster 1, sailors 13, drummer 1, soldier 6, carpenter foreman 1, carpenters 4, caulker 1, 1 sailing ship, 2 interpreters, 35 people in total, 6 officers' servants.
Provisions include: flour 458 pounds 29 pounds, crackers 116 pounds 25 pounds, cereal 57 pounds, meat 70 pounds, salted fish 10 barrels 21 strings, fish oil 2 barrels, salt 2 pounds, beef lard 7 pounds 20 pounds, gunpowder 7 pounds 27 pounds, 35 barrels of water, 2 barrels of kvass, 2 pounds of peas, 5 or 6 fathoms of firewood.
July 13, 1728 "St. Gabriel" left the mouth of the Kamchatka River into the sea and headed north.
Lieutenant A. Chirikov, with the help of midshipman P. Chaplin, began mapping the coast. They, together with the surveyor Putilov, compiled a navigation map.
On the morning of July 17, “St. Gabriel" began the countdown to geographical discoveries: the first was Karaginsky Island.
Steadily moving north, the expedition reached 67 ° 19 "N by August 16. Having reached these latitudes, Bering gives the order to take the opposite course: “but in the right country, along our course from the island, I did not see land, and the land is more to does not extend to the north and bends towards the west, and then, he reasoned that he had fulfilled the decree given to me, and returned back.”
One of the tasks set by Peter I for the expedition - to reach the shores of America - was not solved this time. Communication with the Chukotka aborigines played a significant role in this (“according to the tales of the Chukotka inhabitants,” there is no Great Land to the east of the Chukotka Nose...)
With considerable difficulties, having passed through fierce storms and fogs, the boat returned and by the evening of September 3 anchored at the mouth of the Kamchatka River.
The first voyage of the "St. Gabriel" was successfully completed. Upon completion of navigation, the boat was disarmed for the winter, equipped, preserved and the necessary repairs were carried out. With the onset of spring, F. Kozlov’s team began working with the bot again - hull parts, spars, rigging that required repairs were repaired and replaced. "St. Gabriel" was preparing for new voyages.
During the winter, Bering received a decree from the Admiralty Board dated December 2, 1728 on the need to draw up a detailed map of Kamchatka: “... you were ordered to describe the Kamchatka Nose both inside and on the shore, showing cities and notable places and tracts, describe again and, making a lant map, send to the College"
On June 5, 1729, the boat went out to sea and went “to the east to search for land; we had heard from the Kamchatka residents that there was land in the vicinity opposite the Kamchatka mouth.” Bering intended to undertake a search for the Land of Guana da Gama (which Bering assumed was America), marked on the maps of European cartographers not far from the southeastern coast of Kamchatka.
Already on June 7, “St. Gabriel" was 30 miles from the Commander Islands; in clear weather they would have been visible even at night.
But there was fog...
From June 9 to July 1, "Gabriel" maneuvered off the southeastern coast of Kamchatka.
Not finding land (the Commander Islands), Bering turned the expedition south and, calling on Bolsheretsk on July 3, arrived in Okhotsk on July 23, 1729.
The first Kamchatka expedition has come to an end. “Saint Gabriel” was handed over to the Okhotsk governor, and Bering and his team returned to St. Petersburg, delivering invaluable scientific material.
It would be worth noting that the expedition officers were well aware of the importance of their mission. The logbook was kept by Chirikov and Chaplin extremely carefully, in much more detail than required by the regulations of that time. Geographic coordinates were entered with an accuracy of one hundredth of a minute, and time - to the minute. For a long time, the expedition's logbook was considered lost. It was only in 1973 that it was discovered at the TsGAVMF by historian A.A. Sopotsko.
The first Kamchatka expedition on the "St. Gabriel" made 155 territorial and 18 oceanographic discoveries, 66 geographical objects were mapped

Discovery of America

The further fate of "St. Gabriel" is connected with the expedition of A.F. Shestakova - D.I. Pavlutsky.
This expedition was tasked with exploring and developing a gigantic territory in the extreme east of Asia and the adjacent maritime space.
The “Admiralty Group” of the expedition (naval detachment) was to explore the shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Kuril Islands, the “Great Land” lying opposite the Chukotka Land, “... having truly discovered about them, what peoples are on such islands and under whose possessions, and trade with whom they have whether and with what, write about everything to the Siberian governor and the Senate" and wherever "new lands" and islands are found, annex them to the possessions of Russia.
Navigator Jacob Gens, navigator Ivan Fedorov, surveyor Mikhail Spiridonovich Gvozdev, sailors Kondraty Meshkov, Ivan Butin, Nikifor Treska and 10 sailors were appointed to the “admiralty group”. To supervise the shipbuilding work, the boating apprentice I.G. Speshnev was enlisted on the expedition.
In the fall of 1730 D.I. Pavlutsky ordered Y. Gens and I. Fedorov to go “with the existing servicemen from Kamchatka on a sea-going vessel, which was built for the navy by Captain Mr. Bering, ... to the Anadyr mouth to explore the sea islands ... take with them the apprentice Speshnev and surveyor Gvozdev” .
Leaving Okhotsk on September 19, 1730, the naval detachment under the command of J. Gens crossed the stormy autumn Sea of ​​Okhotsk with great dangers.
Having endured a difficult winter at the mouth of the Bolshoy River, the team of "St. Gabriel" arrived on July 9, 1731 at the mouth of the Kamchatka River. Due to the illness of Gens and Fedorov, the bot was actually commanded by M.S. during the transition. Gvozdev.
On July 20, the boat was ready to go to sea to travel to the shores of Chukotka in search of the “Big Earth”, in the existence of which Bering did not want to believe.
But on this day the Itelmen uprising began. The crew of "St. Gabriel" had to take part in suppressing the uprising and eliminating its consequences. We spent the winter in the destroyed Nizhnekamchatsky prison in the most difficult conditions. The team was sick. The sick Gens was taken ashore, I. Fedorov, too, could no longer even move, but continued to remain on the Gabriel.

Fortunately, by July 1732, I. Fedorov had somewhat recovered from his illness and took command of the boat (J. Gens remained on shore).
On July 23, 1732, he took the St. Gabriel out of the Kamchatka River and sent it north.
On August 5, the expedition approached the Chukotka nose and began to carry out its tasks. Two islands were discovered (now the island of Ratmanov and Kruzernstern). They landed on both islands and explored them, “from that island they also saw the mainland.”
August 21, 1732 M.S. Gvozdev wrote: “On the 21st of August in the afternoon at three o’clock the wind began to blow, and we went to the Great Land and came to that land and anchored about four versts from the land... and began to tack near the Great Land in order to approach the land , and there began to be a great wind from the opposite land... And such a great wind blew away from this Great Land, and the wind was north-northwest."
The land that the St. Gabriel approached was Cape Prince of Wales on the Seward Peninsula. And although it was not possible to land on the North American shore at that time due to weather conditions, the first contacts (and exchange of gifts) with the Alaskan natives took place.
On September 28, “Gabriel” returned to its winter quarters at the mouth of the Kamchatka River.
Unfortunately, later factors of a completely different order interfere with history - intrigues, intrigues, false denunciations...
Reports and reports by I. Fedorov and M. Gvozdev, original logbooks (log books) and navigation maps sent to D. Pavlutsky and the Okhotsk administration were lost. (Only in 1743, M.P. Shpanberg discovered the unofficial notes of I. Fedorov, which he kept during the voyage.)
When information about the voyage of “St. Gabriel” reached the Admiralty Board (in 1738), some participants in the events were no longer alive - I. Fedorov was never able to recover from his illness and died during the winter in Nizhnekamchatsk in February 1733. , and J. Gens died in the Tobolsk prison in October 1737. M.S. were also there in the Tobolsk prison. Gvozdev and I.G. Speshnev based on a false denunciation (sad as it is - sailor L. Petrov - together with Gvozdev, the first to enter Ratmanov Island...)
But "Saint Gabriel" has not yet said his last word

To Japan

In subsequent years, “Saint Gabriel” tirelessly runs between Okhotsk and Bolsherechetsk, connecting Kamchatka with the mainland.
While the bot “St. Gabriel” worked honestly in the vastness of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, new projects are being developed in St. Petersburg to explore the eastern borders of Russia. The new decree of the Senate prescribed: “to go to those islands that went from the Kamchatka midday Nose to Japan... And meanwhile, inquire about their condition and other things that are relevant... and, having been here, follow to the very Japanese shores and there along the same to investigate the dominion, about the ports, whether they can manage this in a friendly manner."
M.P. was appointed head of the “Japanese” expedition detachment. Spanberg.
In 1737, a flotilla was formed. It included “St. Gabriel” and the “Fortune” shitik, repaired in 1736, and also built under the supervision of M.P. Shpanberg in 1737, the brigantine "Archangel Michael" and the three-masted double sloop "Nadezhda".
For comparison: "Archangel Michael" had dimensions (length-width-draft) 21 m - 6.3 m - 2.6 m, "Nadezhda" - 24.5 m - 6 m - 1.8 m
Due to a lack of provisions, the expedition had to be postponed until the spring of 1738.
On June 18, 1738, the detachment left Okhotsk and arrived in Bolsheretsk on July 6. Here the teams were fully staffed, food and fresh water supplies were replenished. On July 15, three ships set sail from Bolsheretsk to Japan. "Archangel Michael" was commanded by M.P. Shpanberg, "Nadezhda" - Lieutenant William Walton, "St. Gabriel" - midshipman Alexey Shelting. However, 10 days later the ships lost each other in the fog and they had to return. Shpanberg did not dare to go on a “long voyage” to a “foreign sea” again on the eve of autumn; the trip was postponed until next year.
On May 23, 1739, the flotilla set off again for Japan. Already at sea, Shpanberg suddenly changed the commanders of Nadezhda and Gabriel. V. Valton began to command the boat.
The motives for such a decision were not disclosed by Spanberg, but apparently he “suspected” Walton of being too independent and thus tried, as far as possible, to cool his ardor.
However, this did not help. On June 24, under the plausible pretext of “St. Gabriel" first fell behind the detachment, and then "got lost." V. Walton, having gotten rid of the tedious control on the part of Shpanberg, headed straight for the Japanese Islands, “hoping to find Mr. Captain Shpanberg there.” On June 16, the Japanese shores appeared. For a week, until June 24, "St. Gabriel" cruised off the coast of Japan and reached 34°30', that is, the Tokyo Bay area.
During this week, Russian sailors actively communicated (as far as possible without knowing the language) with the Japanese, went ashore and received delegations on board the St. Gabriel. The first contacts of Russian sailors with the Japanese certainly had a positive result.
On June 25, "Saint Gabriel" headed north. On the way back, Walton decided to deviate further to the east in search of new lands (Land of da Gama), which was depicted on the maps of European cartographers. “...But we didn’t see any land until we arrived near Avachinskaya Bay.” Walton headed for Bolsheretsk, and from there to Okhotsk, where they arrived on August 22.
Thus ended this historic voyage, which opened the sea route to Japan.
Shpanberg's report and voyage reports (for some reason without Walton's log and map) were sent to the Admiralty Board.
But the story of “Saint Gabriel” is not over yet.

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

The year 1739 was ending, the 2nd Kamchatka Expedition was already in full swing, the construction of the packet boats “St. Peter” and “St. Paul” was completed at the shipyards of Okhotsk, however, “... as is known, in Kamchatka, except for the Avachinskaya Bay, seagoing vessels There are no safe places, and there is no real news about that bay, but what depth is it and is it possible for the packet boats built for our voyage to enter that bay from the sea..."
Bering drew attention to Avachinskaya Bay during the 1st Kamchatka expedition, but its hydrography was not studied.
The new bot commander, navigator Ivan Elagin, receives Bering’s order:
“And he, Elagin, should go on a boat to Avachenskaya Bay and make that lip extinct and describe with the circumstance whether it is possible to enter that lip by packet boats and spend the winter in the winter without danger,” which he (I. Elagin) fulfilled with precision:
“He, Elagin, set off from the Bolshaya River on a boat on the 16th day of the same year 740 to Ovachinskaya Bay and arrived safely in that lip on June 10th. At which point Kamchatka servicemen and Yasash foreigners built five residential quarters in one cluster, three barracks, and three barns with two apartments. Also in the said bay the depth of the water died out. And with that report, he attached a map... to Avachinskaya Bay and with the inner harbor in it... And the above-mentioned harbor is very capable of settling sea vessels in winter, and for this reason we arrived at this harbor in two packet boats with the entire crew of the same 740- On the 6th day of October it was safe, where we spent the winter. And this harbor was named by us as Saints Apostle Peter and Paul” (report of V.Y. Bering to the Senate dated April 22, 1741)

Throughout its entire existence, the bot “Holy Archangel Gabriel” honestly worked at the disposal of the commander of the port of Okhotsk, connecting Kamchatka with the mainland. But the years took their toll. In 1755, the boat was expelled from the state and dismantled."

Features of the set

The Russian company “Master Ship” has developed this model, which stands out for its high quality and detailed elaboration of the model itself and parts, laser application of a line for processing the edges of the frames. Special hull design that compensates for the deformation of materials, laser cutting of each plank and parts, double skinning, photo-etched brass parts, patterns and fabric for making sails. Even a novice modeler will be able to assemble this model, thanks to step-by-step, detailed photo instructions, drawings and recommendations for assembling the model.

Drills required for the construction of this model - with a diameter of 0.9 mm, 1.5 mm, 2.5 mm, 4.0 mm (tools are not included in the kit)

Historical reference

A special place in the history of Kamchatka, famous for its Russian ships, is occupied by the boat “St. Archangel Gabriel” - the first sea vessel, built in 1728 from local forest. Bot "St. Gabriel" served in the Pacific Ocean for 27 years, until 1755. Many discoveries and glorious historical events are associated with him: the voyage of the first European ship beyond the Arctic Circle in the Chukchi Sea in 1728, the discovery of Alaska in 1732, participation in the survey of the south -the western coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Shantar Islands in 1730, participation in the suppression of the Itelmen uprising and the founding of a new Lower Kamchatka fort, the first Russian visit to Japan in 1739, exploration of Avacha Bay and the founding in 1740 of one of the oldest cities in Russian Far East - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Such famous Russian navigators as V.Y. Bering, A.I. Chirikov, M.P. Shpanberg, P.A. Chaplin and others sailed on the “St. Gabriel”. On December 23, 1724, Peter I signed a decree of the Admiralty Board on organizing the First Kamchatka Expedition. The idea of ​​the expedition arose from Peter I in the last months of his life as part of grandiose geographical research. Peter I planned to establish direct maritime relations with India, for which he was going to send an expedition to explore the sea route from Arkhangelsk to the Pacific Ocean. But for this it was necessary to clarify the question: is there a strait separating Asia and America. Documents from the First (1725-1730) and Second (1733-1743) Kamchatka expeditions, as well as the campaigns of A.F. Shestakov and D.I. Pavlutsky (1727-1746) allow us to trace the main stages of the activities of “St. Gabriel" from the moment of its laying until the end of the Second Kamchatka Expedition. Unfortunately, it is not possible to trace his further fate using the documents available to us.

In the winter of 1725, dank, cold winds blew over St. Petersburg. They raised snow tornadoes in vacant lots, swept over the frozen swamps of the Swamps, and broke into the doors and windows of houses standing on trellises. The rare pedestrians, driven out into the street by chance or necessity, tried to quickly reach the warmth, hiding their noses and ears in their collars as they went. The city lived with anxious anticipation: in his palace, surrounded by the Preobrazhentsy and Semyonovtsy, lay the seriously ill Tsar Peter. Back in the fall, while rescuing sailors from a sinking ship in icy water, the tsar caught a cold and fell ill. They were waiting for Peter's death. And he, turning over in his mind the things that he had planned but did not accomplish, remembered that he was going to send an expedition to Kamchatka in order to find out whether there was a strait between Asia and America. And Peter writes the command with his own hand:

“1) It is necessary to create one or two boats with decks in Kamchatka or another customs place.

2) On these boats, sail near the land that goes north and, as expected (they don’t know the end of it), it seems that that land is part of America.

3) And in order to look for where it came together with America.”

Peter ordered fleet captain Vitus Bering to command the expedition; Alexei Chirikov and Martyn Shpanberg were appointed as his assistants.

At the end of January, Tsar Peter died...

So, the question of the expedition was resolved. It entered the history of geographical science under the name of the “First Kamchatka Expedition” and was part of the measures of Peter the Great, which were aimed at strengthening the position of the Russian state in the Pacific Ocean and, in addition, at developing trade with eastern countries.

The expedition set off in early February 1725 - sixty people and a huge convoy, which carried food and materials necessary for building ships.

The path to the shores of the Pacific Ocean was difficult and long. Of the 663 horses, 267 died. There was not enough food, and famine began. “Walking along,” Bering wrote in one of his reports to the Senate, “the whole crew became hungry, and from such hunger they ate dead horse meat, rawhide bags and all sorts of raw leather, leather clothes and shoes.”

Only in July 1727 did the entire expedition gather in Okhotsk. It took another year to deliver cargo to Kamchatka and build the ship. On July 8, 1728, it was launched and given the name “Gabriel.” Soon the ship went to sea. The Gabriel, a twenty-meter vessel built in three months, carried a forty-person crew and a year's supply of food. On July 28, the expedition reached the Anadyr River, beyond which it discovered a bay called Cross Bay. On August 10, the Asian coast turned sharply to the north, and a few days later, when the Gabriel reached 65° north latitude, Bering called the ship's officers to a council. The question had to be resolved: should we sail further?

Two opinions were expressed. Martyn Shpanberg advised going north for three more days and then turning back. Winter is approaching, he said, and the Gabriel could get stuck in the ice. Chirikov had a different opinion. He believed that the goals of the expedition had not been achieved, the strait was not open and that he should sail on. The final decision depended on Bering. After some thought, the head of the expedition took Spanberg’s side.

On August 16, having reached 67°8" northern latitude, "Gabriel" set off on a reverse course. On September 1, the expedition arrived at the mouth of the Kamchatka River, where it spent the winter.

Yes, “Gabriel” walked for six days through the strait, which is now called the Bering Strait. But the head of the expedition did not know this. He also did not know that he was separated from America by some 80 km. If Bering had been more decisive, he would have accepted Chirikov’s proposal, and the question of the existence of a strait between Asia and America would have been clarified in 1728.....

You can buy a set for building a model of the ship Bot St. Gabriel on a scale of 1:72