mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i5-041

- 201 -

several beams from both sides. The ice, pressing the left
side, moved the right to the firm ice, and shortly surrounded
us on all sides. Our unfortunate sloop squeaked and creaked
in all its joints and finally, it was lifted on its port
side and heeled at a 45˚ angle. We remained in this posi-
tion almost 24 hours and we would have been unavoidable crushed
if the ice floes had not pressed against firm ice, and were,
therefore, not able to move farther. After midnight, a light
wind blew at first from the WNW, which, gradually increasing,
reached to unter-zeilia* toward morning. This served as our
deliverance. Masses of ice pressing us got into motion and
ceared a route for us so that we, toward evening, safely
freed ourselves from the labrynth of enormous ice floes
floating near us. Removing ourselves to a considerable dis-
tance, the captain ordered us to sail close hauled and to
hold only under the staysail while waiting for favorable
weather.

Being stormbound a whole 24 hours, we again went north
when the wind died down, moving there slowly among floating
ice. Dense fog, almost always accompanying the north wind,
prevailed now, often falling apart as thick snow, which so
covered the deck that the sailors on duty were constantly busy
shoveling it off. The temperature fell sometimes to two,
three, or more degrees below zero [Réaumur].

* A wind in a navy parlance equal in strength to a storm.